1. Iron Horse Paths:Iron Horse Paths:
Their Properties and FranchisesTheir Properties and Franchises
Scott SaylorScott Saylor
North Carolina Railroad CompanyNorth Carolina Railroad Company
Jeff BandiniJeff Bandini
Parker Poe Adams & BernsteinParker Poe Adams & Bernstein
2. Sec. 16. Be it further enacted, That the
company shall have power and may proceed to
construct as speedily as possible a railroad with one
or more tracks of the same width of the North
Carolina railroad…
Sec. 26. Be it further enacted, That the right
of said company to condemn lands in the manner
described in the 25th
section of this act shall extend
to the condemning one hundred feet on each side of
the main track of the road, measuring from the
centre of the same…
Laws of North Carolina, of the Session of 1852,
Chapter CXXXVI, pp. 491 & 496
“An Act to Incorporate ‘The Atlantic and the North Carolina Railroad Company’”
3. Sec. 16. Be it further enacted, That the
company shall have power and may proceed to
construct as speedily as possible a railroad with one
or more tracks of the same width of the North
Carolina railroad…
Sec. 26. Be it further enacted, That the right
of said company to condemn lands in the manner
described in the 25th
section of this act shall extend
to the condemning one hundred feet on each side
of the main track of the road, measuring from the
centre of the same…
Laws of North Carolina, of the Session of 1852,
Chapter CXXXVI, pp. 491 & 496
“An Act to Incorporate ‘The Atlantic and the North Carolina Railroad Company’”
4. Railroad v. RailwayRailroad v. Railway
Excerpt from Cecil K. Brown’s A State of Movement in Railroad Development,
1928:
“In this country in the early period the word
railway seems generally to have been used to
designate a road where horsepower was used.
The term railroad is more properly connected with
the use of steam locomotive.”
11. Component Systems in the Associated Railways of Virginia and the CarolinasComponent Systems in the Associated Railways of Virginia and the Carolinas
Source: Figures taken from Poor, Manual for 1886. Cited in Maury Klein, The Great Richmond Terminal: A
Study in Businessmen and Business Strategy. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1970, p. 103.
Road
Piedmont Air-Line (now Norfolk Southern Railway Company)
Richmond & Danville
Virginia Midland
Columbia & Greenville
Charlotte, Columbia & Augusta
Western North Carolina
Total
Atlantic Coast Line (now CSX)
Richmond & Petersburg
Petersburg
Wilmington & Weldon
Wilmington, Columbia & Augusta
Cheraw & Darlington
Northeastern of South Carolina
Total
Seaboard Air-Line (now CSX)
Seaboard & Roanoke
Raleigh & Gaston
Raleigh & Augusta
Columbia Central
Total
Grand Total
Miles
755
362
296
373
274
2,060
23
61
199
189
40
102
614
80
97
108
242
527
3,201
12. Selected Charter WidthsSelected Charter Widths
Cities Railroad Right-of-Way
Width
Citation
Morehead City to Goldsboro
Atlantic & North Carolina
Railroad Company 200’
Laws of North Carolina of the Session of
1852, c. CXXXVI, sec. 26, 491.
Raleigh to Sanford Chatham Railroad Company 200’
Laws of North Carolina of the Session of
1854-1855, c. 230, sec. 28, 287. Name
change to Raleigh & Augusta Air Line
Railroad in 1871
Charlotte to Rock Rill, SC
Charlotte & South Carolina
Railroad 130’
Laws of North Carolina of the Session of
1848-49, c. LXXXVII, sec. 21, 179.
North Durham to Henderson Durham & Northern 200’
Laws of North Carolina of the Session of
1887, c. 140, sec. 6, 338.
Durham to Dunn
Durham & Southern Railroad
Company 200’
Laws of North Carolina of the Session of
1887, c. 334, sec. 14, 590.
Charlotte to Morehead City
North Carolina Railroad
Company 200’
Laws of North Carolina of the Session of
1848-49, c. LXXXII, sec. 28, 150.
Raleigh to Gaston
Raleigh & Gaston Railroad
Company 80’
Laws of North Carolina of the Session of
1850-51, c. XXV, sec. 12, 19.
Weldon to Va. State Line Roanoke Railroad Company 80’
Laws of North Carolina of the Session of
1846-47, c. LXXXVII, sec. 11, 204.
Salisbury to Asheville,
Murphy & Paint Rock
Western North Carolina
Railroad
200’
Laws of North Carolina of the Session of
1854-55, c. 228, sec. 29
Wilmington to Weldon
Wilmington & Raleigh
Railroad Company 130’
Acts Passed by the General Assembly of
the State of North Carolina at the Session
of 1833-34. c. LXXVIII, sec. XV, 126.
13. How is a 200 ft. railroad right of way put to use?How is a 200 ft. railroad right of way put to use?
- Maintenance- Maintenance
- Straightening Curves- Straightening Curves
- Replacing Bridges- Replacing Bridges
- Adding Tracks- Adding Tracks
17. Property InterestsProperty Interests
• Fee simpleFee simple
• EasementEasement
• Fee simple determinableFee simple determinable
• Fee simple subject to a conditionFee simple subject to a condition
subsequentsubsequent
• LeaseLease
• LicenseLicense
Most common restriction on use ofMost common restriction on use of
easement is railroad purposes onlyeasement is railroad purposes only
Most common interestsMost common interests
18. Methods of AcquisitionMethods of Acquisition
• PurchasePurchase
• Voluntary GrantVoluntary Grant
• LeaseLease
• Eminent Domain (Eminent Domain (easement onlyeasement only))
• Charter (possession)Charter (possession)
19. Charter Right of WayCharter Right of Way
• ““Charter” is method of acquisition,Charter” is method of acquisition, notnot
a property interesta property interest
• Charter right of way is held in feeCharter right of way is held in fee
simple, fee simple determinable,simple, fee simple determinable,
easement, etc. —easement, etc. — see chartersee charter
• If tracks in place on charter right of wayIf tracks in place on charter right of way
acquired, it’s at least an easement foracquired, it’s at least an easement for
railroad purposesrailroad purposes
20. Adverse Possession &Adverse Possession &
AbandonmentAbandonment
• No acquisition of railroad property byNo acquisition of railroad property by
adverse possession -- N.C.G.S. 1-44adverse possession -- N.C.G.S. 1-44
• Only aOnly a presumptionpresumption of abandonment 7of abandonment 7
years after railroad tracks have beenyears after railroad tracks have been
removed from railroadremoved from railroad easementeasement ----
N.C.G.S. 1-44.1N.C.G.S. 1-44.1
21. Researching Railroad Title IssuesResearching Railroad Title Issues
ExampleExample
Encroachment:Encroachment:
Adjacent landowner claimsAdjacent landowner claims
portion of what appears to beportion of what appears to be
railroad right of wayrailroad right of way
23. Identify RailroadIdentify Railroad
Tip 1: Check road mapsTip 1: Check road maps
Tip 2: Check deeds and platsTip 2: Check deeds and plats
Tip 3: Watch for trains (Beware shared use)Tip 3: Watch for trains (Beware shared use)
Norfolk Southern CSX
24. CSX Transportation, Inc.
Determine Railroad’s HistoryDetermine Railroad’s History
Seaboard System Railroad, Inc.
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Co.
Seaboard Air Line Railroad Co.
Seaboard Air Line Railway Co.
Seaboard Air Line Railway Raleigh and Gaston
Railroad Company
Raleigh & Augusta
Air-Line Railway
Chatham Railroad
1835
26. Find Deeds into Raleigh & GastonFind Deeds into Raleigh & Gaston
• Register of DeedsRegister of Deeds
• Clerk of CourtClerk of Court
• State ArchivesState Archives
• Search “Railroad,” “Railway,”Search “Railroad,” “Railway,”
“RR,” and “Ry.”“RR,” and “Ry.”
27. Deed from DW Courts toDeed from DW Courts to
Raleigh & GastonRaleigh & Gaston
“. . .Daniel W. Courts . . . doth grant, bargain, sell, and
deliver to the said Raleigh and Gaston Rail Road
Company and assigns forever, a certain lot of land . . .
being seventy four (74) feet at Hillsboro Road, and
fifty four feet in the back line.”
30. Raleigh & Gaston’s 1835 CharterRaleigh & Gaston’s 1835 Charter
Section 12:
“the land so laid out on the line of
the Rail Road shall not
exceed . . . eighty feet in width .
Charter does not state what
property interest can be
obtained by possessing land
without condemnation
CSX owns at least an
easement for railroad
purposes no wider than
80 feet
Introductions and Welcome.
After 2 years of Negotiating the TTA usage agreement, Jeff and I decided we hadn’t had enough of each other so we collaborated on this presentation.
We won’t give you all the answers today about railroad rights of way– you can probably find a case or statute to support whatever position you want to take—
But what we do want to do is give you a methodology to find the answers to that nagging railroad right of way, or former right of way, that affects your project development or title.
NCRR owns a lot of front yards and back yards, at least if our maps are correct and the calls we get are a good representation.
But first, I want to tell you something about railroads that’s not on the standard title search sheet, something that will help you find the answers– and it first relates to corporate law.
Railroad width is important!
But which width are we talking about?
The answer today, and you’ll hear this a lot today, is in the corporate charters of the railroads of North Carolina.
Let’s read these provisions from the Atlantic and NC Railroad Charter, formerly a sister company of the RR that I work for and now merged into NCRR in 1989—
Section 16 and Section 26
Next Slide
The underlined text …..
The width in Section 16, as many of you know if you’ve ever played with a train, is the width between the TRACKS.
So this says that the Atlantic and NC RR had to be built with the same GUAGE as the NCRR
That sounds simple, but these charters can be very convoluted so be sure you’re reading the “right” section on width—
Section 26 gives you the uniform width of the right of way.
I say “uniform”, because even though the charter states the width, it’s only a start. Railroad right of way always varies in width, because sometimes the RR got more R/W, sometimes it got less.
Corporate Names in Railroads are very confusing, if you’ve ever dealt with this issue.
Railroads in entirely different locations, or at different points in history, may differ only in whether they’re named “railroads” or “railways”.
In preparing for this presentation, I actually found a footnote that explains why.
HERE– horsepower really means HORSE power, not a locomotive. I guess a RailWAY used to mean something like a plank road with rails, I don’t know.
Maybe Jeff knows the answer?
North Carolina had hundreds of Railroads chartered.
Some were built, some were not.
There were only a few in 1856.
Of course, “my” railroad is the one you see extending east-west to Charlotte and Morehead City. It’s mostly 200 feet wide. I’ll have a chart in a minute to show you the uniform widths of most of the main RR’s in N.C.
Actually, our line was supposed to be built to Beaufort. Have you ever wondered why Beaufort developed the way it did (or didn’t), and Morehead City and the Hwy 70 east corridor are developed?
Well, anyway, the rest is history. They named the town that “got” the railroad after the first President of the North Carolina Railroad, John Motley Morehead.
More growth, in just a few years.
[Read over a few of the names of these RR’s.]
Many of you may practice in cities that have these railroads intact today.
The most complicated title searches, in my experience, are Charlotte, Durham, and Raleigh. Each city had as many as 5 or 6 different railroads serving their cities during the heyday of tobacco and cotton.
I hope this map is visible– it’s the best one we had to show the tens of thousands of miles of railroads we once had in North Carolina.
Many of these are probably coming to a “title search near you.”
N. C. Geological Survey, Papers on the Waterpower in North Carolina, Bulletin No. 8 (Raleigh, 1899). Cited in Orr, Douglas M., Jr. and Alfred W. Stuart, eds. The North Carolina Atlas: Portrait for a New Century. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000, p. 65.
----------------------
From an economic development standpoint, the growth occurred around these railroad lines. Towns were built up around them,
As you’ll see in the next slide
N. C. Department of Transportation, Public Transportation and Rail Division. Cited in Orr Douglas M. and Alfred W. Stuart, eds. The North Carolina Atlas: Portrait for a New Century. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000, p. 212.
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You can see the “crescent” of the railroads in the picture.
But perhaps, from a real estate perspective, National Geographic ran what I think is the most interesting map-
Next Slide-------------
2001 National Geographic Society. All rights reserved.
--------------------------
If this map isn’t visible, we have copies in the back for you.
The colors of this map show urban and suburban growth since 1993.
There’s that railroad line again.
The colors here represent:
Explain Legend::
Yellow
Red
Purple
Source: Figures taken from Poor, Manual for 1886. Table taken from Klein, Maury. The Great Richmond Terminal: A Study in Businessmen and Business Strategy. Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1970, p. 103.
-----------------------
Looked at in miles, here are the route lengths of most of our railroads in the state as of __________(date)
Charter widths
These appear in your materials.
Again, these are the “uniform” widths as stated in the charters.
The actual width may vary, so you need to go to the sources that Jeff will discuss in a minute.
Many of you probably wonder why, today, we would still need a 200 ft. right of way?
This bridge at Highway 54 in Research Triangle Park is being replaced next year with a double track railroad bridge.
In that project, a curve will be straightened, and we’ll also make room for TTA to build their transit system in the right of way.
So at this location, the width is needed to:
- build a new railroad bridge with 2 tracks;
- straighten a bad curve in the tracks, making it safer and faster;
- thereby allow widening of the HIGHWAY and raising the clearance for trucks to pass through without restriction
- and allowing room for 2 additional tracks to be built by the Triangle Transit Authority.
- These types of improvements will be needed where-ever commuter rail is built, including Charlotte area and the Triad.
Finally, This slide is in here for information, because I get a lot of questions about passenger trains and where the run in case you want to ride one.
But the important point here is that most railroad lines in N.C. never see a passenger train. Maybe one day that will change.
The NCRR line between Raleigh and Charlotte is a federally designated future “high speed corridor.” That doesn’t mean much yet, except our state is receiving a lot of federal funds to fix grade crossings and bridges because of that designation.
So on these passenger lines, you may see more construction work going on than on the other freight lines--- using that width to build a better railroad in ways that may matter to you clients.
This North Carolina Railroad steam engine was parked in Burlington around 1886 for this photo.
I really enjoy working for the North Carolina Railroad, and you are the stockholders.
With that, I’ll turn it over to Jeff Bandini to talk property law.
Acquisition often determines property interest
Modern Rule: Eminent domain = railroad easement (Blue v. Aberdeen & West End Railroad, 117 NC 644, 23 SE 275 (1895)
Most corridors established pre-Blue
Adjacent properties – Yellow and Purple
Railroad right of way – Red and Blue
Encroachment area -- Green
Resources:
Track map
Secretary of State
Supreme Court library
Secondary sources
Elements:
1. Railroad
2. Location shown
3. Preparation and revision dates
Property schedule—HOW PROPERTY WAS ACQUIRED:
1. Original grantor
2. Railroad grantee
3. Date of acquisition
4. Recording information
Useful, but not always available
Charters generally same format
Relate to example
Presumptive Ownership NCGS 1-44.2 – McDonalds Corp v. Dwyer, 338 NC 445, 450 SE2d 888 (1994).
