I think its happened in the past but not sure where a RR was abandoned tracks and all and nothing sold, scrapped or liquidated.
The Northwestern Pacific Railroad/North Coast Railroad Authority practically, but not technically, fits that.
You don’t pick up the track if the line has a negative salvage value.
I’ve heard that there are rusted out locomotives of the Dolly Varden Mines Railway still sitting on the rails, almost 90 years after the narrow gauge mining railway shut down. This is north of Prince Rupert, near Hyder Alaska.
Or, it’s not really abandoned, just not in use. Don’t take an souveniers.
Some logging lines were abandoned this way. The area was logged out and all the machinery was left behind, there were any number of Shays left to rust in peace.
I always wondered why someone didnt pick up some day laborers at Home Depot and pull up abandoned rail around Los Angeles when the steel prices were so high…or maybe stealing the fire hydrants, catalytic converters, and the insides of empty office buildings was less obvious?
The UP Coast Line had hundreds of yards of code line ripped out above Santa Barbara a couple years ago…not sure if they ever caught the people.
I recall RWM posted photos a while back of one like that which was way north of Juneau, Alaska, if I remember right.
The Sandy River & Rangely Lakes 2-ft. gauge in Maine was abandoned that way after a major derailment during the Great Depression. See -
| Down in Maine two-footers Trains, February 1943 page 28 photos of narrow gauge railroading in Maine ( MAINE, “MOODY, LINWOOD W.”, NARROWGAUGE, SR&RL, TWOFOOT, TRN ) |
|---|
Shadows of the Sandy River Trains, August 1946 page 10 stories of the Sandy River & Rangeley Lakes ( “JAQUES, F. L.”, MAINE, “MOODY, LINWOOD W.”, NARROWGAUGE, SR&RL, TWOFOOT, TRN ) |
| A wonderful little railroad |
Thank You.
That happened to the Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin on July 3, 1957. The railroad suspended passenger service, and suspended freight service in June, 1959. It remained intact until officially abandoned in 1961. Scrapping started in November 1961.
Here are some links to photos of abandoned trains in the former Soviet Union.
A Siberian RR abandoned in the steam era:
http://englishrussia.com/?p=1305#more-1305
Railroad facilities and equipment abandoned after the fall of the USSR
I’ve known equipment to be abandoned in place. But usually if the track in left intact, it will be listed with the STB as “out of service” or “embargoed”. Such in place track may languish for years for some reason or another. Structures along the route may be sold off or someway demolished. Only the Surface Transportation Board knows for sure unless you follow listings in Progrssive Railroading or are a shipper trying to consign something in or out. You can find track structure in place in some out of the way places, even bridges and other structures in some places. There are some lines that were “rail banked” after Conrail’s formation. That meant they were to be left in place until such time it was determined that they would not be returned to service. How many such lines? I don’t know. How many still exists since that conception? Don’t know. I do know the Williamsport, PA to Elmira, NY former PC, nee PRR, nee Northern Central, was railbanked but rails were pulled. In some places such railbanked properties were turned into rail-trails. I know there is rail in front of the L&HR Great Meadows, NJ station and runs to the west end of the town; but who owns them isn’t clear. Along many abandoned lines there are still bridges and trestles, too. And isn’t the Saluda grade intact in spite of being out of service?
Anyone know if the Grasse River Railroad, in upstate New York, was dismantled, or everything left in situ?
Hey! I read that the Grafton & Upton, in MA, opened 16 (?) miles of the line! G&U - 1, NIMBYs - 0. Neat!
Hays
Cerrillos Coal Co (town & railroad)…Madrid, NM
Much of the ex-Rock Island across Missouri remains intact, although overgrown with weeds and trees. It is technically embargoed. John Timm
Owned by Amaren/UE who uses it as a hedge against UP and BNSF rail rates. The ill-fated Missouri Central was trying to re-open it in stages until Amaren/UE stepped in as majority owner. Currently, Indiana RR operates it under contract for the few miles in-service on the St. Louis end.
Speaking of…
East of Rapid City, S.D. (incidentally, near Murphy Siding [:P]) There is a section of intact Milwaukee Road track, that runs for at least a dozen miles+. The county highways have since paved over the line at the crossings, but the ties and rails are still in place.
If the Milwaukee Road disappeared around 1980, who owns this particular rail line?
According to the note along the bottom of this map, the state of South Dakota owns the 98.5 miles between Kadota and Raid City, and it is rail banked.
http://www.sddot.com/fpa/railroad/images/railmap.pdf
That’s a lot of scrap metal lying around, isn’t it?
Cool! That means I own 1/800,000th of the line! What should I do with my 7 13/16" share of the Milwaukee Road? [:P]
The little part of L&N from Mcleansboro il to Shawneetown IL is still there just grown up in weeds and all towns passenger stations are still there very poor shape. i would like to take a handcar down the line.