Check with the county first. If nothing, check with the state. There are different levels of "abandonment" when it comes to railroad beds.

 

Depends if the RR bed is a right of way or a deeded property. Most are deeded. this means as long as the taxes are paid, the RR owns it.

You should be able to find the name of the old railroad company; it may have changed names or been bought oout. Track thru the RR. If it was purchased, the new company is now the owner. RR will sell you portions of their unused track, cheap. there is also the possibility of getting it under a tax sale. You should invest in talking to a real-estate attorney.

I have purchased RR right of ways adjacent to my property.

 

http://www.abandonedrails.com/Auburn_to_Dauphin

I two have problems with the same RR bed. My deed states the property line is in the center of the abandoned RR bed.
My neighbors and myself have had hiking, biking, drinking, target practice, camping, 4 wheeling, hunting, you name it they have done it. All by access of the abandoned RR bed.

 

Found this on the Internet, so use your own judgement.

Prior to the Rails-to-Trails Act or whatever it's called, and its subsequent court challenge, when railroad right-of-way was abandoned, ownership of the land reverted back to the original landowners or their heirs. Nowadays the rails-to-trails people get first dibs when a line is abandoned.

However, and here's the rub, just because the rails (and crossties) are pulled up doesn't mean the line is abandoned - the railroad company owning (or leasing) the right-of-way could have placed the line in inactive status. This lowers the tax burden on the railroad, and the line can be reactivated at a later time without any governmental hoops to jump through (environmental impact statements, etc., etc.), as would be the case with a new railroad line.

Also, the railroad company may not have owned the right-of-way outright, but may merely have leased it from the original property owners (and now their heirs) under a long-term (i.e., 999-year) lease. Once the tracks are pulled, it would automatically revert to the original property owners (or their heirs).

Rails to trails act
http://www.rachelcarsontrails.org/property/rtta/?searchterm=None

 

Some railroads had the abandonment clause that caused the bed to revert to owners from whom the land was purchased/taken by eminent domain if it is not used within a certain time period. In some cases, it is transferred to a development authority to be reopened if it is ever needed. In NY, the state conservation agency was often given first dibs on the land, for either access or "rails to trails" (I used to review the lands so offered in a portion of the state when I worked for the agency). In certain cases, the old railroads were sold into private hands (there is one on a property that I manage that splits it into two, likewise their is one through state lands in the Adirondacks that does the same). Ownership issues can be very complicated. I would start with your county real property tax office and look at the tax maps. They usually refer you back to deeds that should tell the story.

 

http://palandowners.org/rails-to-trails/

 

thanks for all the info, i will read up tonight and we will do our homework on this

 

Just an FYI.

When the Reading RR sold off the Catawissa Branch they actually sold some sections of the right away which they owned. A friend of mine purchased a couple of miles that ran behind his farm.

Other sections were deeded back to the families or heirs who owned the land before the branch was built. (I think the branch dated back to about 1890) It was in the original agreements that it would go back to the original owners. Some families still lived alongside the line and took possession. I don't know how they handled it when heirs could not be found or ownership could not be established.

 

http://www.abandonedrails.com/Auburn_to_Dauphin

I two have problems with the same RR bed. My deed states the property line is in the center of the abandoned RR bed.
My neighbors and myself have had hiking, biking, drinking, target practice, camping, 4 wheeling, hunting, you name it they have done it. All by access of the abandoned RR bed.

Is that the 1 that runs along the Swamp at Swatara State Park?

 

I have gone to the court house and tried to figure out the ownership of a railroad bed for a friend. The county had no records. None at all. The tax map showed a bill was sent to the railroad, but there was no deed or easement or right of way on record. Then the question came up of the rail bed being originally a canal tow path going to a canal company in the late 1700's. The rail road company claimed it had deeded ownership, but refused to disclose any deed book and page (as I understand is the usual practice of railroads. ("we own it, stay off, we don't have to tell you squat") My friend however bought property that had been fenced in for over 40 years and included part of the old railroad bed. The fence followed the old property lines from an early 1800 deed, but it was clear that at one time, the bed ran across the property. He filed an adverse possession action and when the railroad didn't respond the judge signed the order giving him clear title.

 

Woody, That section was a branch of the same RR.
http://wikimapia.org/7057857/Reading-Railroad-Lebanon-to-Tremont-Line-Abandoned
The section i am talking about runs from my house to outwood then enter highbridge and down thru the SGL211(Stoney Valley) to Dauphin.
http://www.stonyvalley.com/frameindex.html