DNR begins $30 Million Monon South Trail Development

[ancjr]

 

[TheGrumpyGuy]

Is that for the new double-wide trains?

 

[ghitch75]

all of the ground the railroads set on is now stolen ground from the people it belongs to.....after the 100 year lease from the railroad the ground was suppose to go back to the property it was leased from

 

[jamil]

all of the ground the railroads set on is now stolen ground from the people it belongs to.....after the 100 year lease from the railroad the ground was suppose to go back to the property it was leased from

Well, tyrant governors have a legacy to build.

 

[snorko]

all of the ground the railroads set on is now stolen ground from the people it belongs to.....after the 100 year lease from the railroad the ground was suppose to go back to the property it was leased from

It was mostly owned as an easement, not leased. And it is a taking and therefor compensable.

 

[ghitch75]

It was mostly owned as an easement, not leased. And it is a taking and therefor compensable.

i'm only going off what some friends told me that own property next to some old tracks in Bloomington that they tried to sue the city when they took it over for a bike path....they didn't get a dime.....they just didn't want a bike path in there back yard

 

[Ingomike]

So much misinformation in these posts.

all of the ground the railroads set on is now stolen ground from the people it belongs to.....after the 100 year lease from the railroad the ground was suppose to go back to the property it was leased from

There are literally dozens of ways the right of way was obtained for railroad, those ways changed over time, it is very inconsistent, the way you describe is just one possible way.

It was mostly owned as an easement, not leased. And it is a taking and therefor compensable.

An easement has no ownership at all, it is the right to use that which is owned by others. They should go to court if they can prove they should be compensated.

i'm only going off what some friends told me that own property next to some old tracks in Bloomington that they tried to sue the city when they took it over for a bike path....they didn't get a dime.....they just didn't want a bike path in there back yard

Your friends situation is anecdotal there are dozens of ways the rights were obtained, some legal, some not…

 

[snorko]

i'm only going off what some friends told me that own property next to some old tracks in Bloomington that they tried to sue the city when they took it over for a bike path....they didn't get a dime.....they just didn't want a bike path in there back yard

I don't blame them. Upthread the process was discussed. Basically a Supreme Court decision years ago established that it was a taking. It is not automatic to pay compensation though. There are several law firms which specialize in putting together class actions. Both sides get appraisals, it goes to court, and settlements are paid. Like most public improvements, lots of folks want to be near them but few want to be on them.

 

[jamil]

Class actions. Go to court. Win judgement. Pay settlement. Lawyers take their cut. Everyone else gets a check for $1.37.

 

[ancjr]

Ahem.

Landowners owed payouts for Rails to Trails project

NEW ALBANY — Floyd County property owners with land abutting an abandoned CSX rail line may be entitled to federal payouts.

www.newsandtribune.com

Someone smarter than myself should investigate this further as it seems to me that the tax payer is actually getting charged twice here:

1) Payment to buy back land given to CSX illegally.
2) Payment to land owners who lost property rights.

 

[Ingomike]

Ahem.

Landowners owed payouts for Rails to Trails project

NEW ALBANY — Floyd County property owners with land abutting an abandoned CSX rail line may be entitled to federal payouts.

www.newsandtribune.com

Someone smarter than myself should investigate this further as it seems to me that the tax payer is actually getting charge twice here:

1) Payment to buy back land given to CSX illegally.
2) Payment to land owners who lost property rights.

I hope the landowners get what they are due…

 

[ancjr]

MRockwell sent this a while back, and it was a good read. I don't have the money to fight it in court and I figure most people would rather have whatever money is being offered than assert their rights.

Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States, 572 U.S. 93 (2014)

Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States: A railroad's right of way through public land that has been conveyed to a private citizen through a land patent constitutes an easement, and when the railroad abandons the right of way with federal approval, such abandonment terminates the easement.

supreme.justia.com

 

[snorko]

Class actions. Go to court. Win judgement. Pay settlement. Lawyers take their cut. Everyone else gets a check for $1.37.

In these cases the condemnee receives the full appraised value of the real estate plus any damages. The legal fees are paid separately by the condemnor. The actions are not about whether compensation is owed but what amounts, damages, etc.

 

[ancjr]

Just a few example over the past 4 years:
















https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB3l3hxft44

 

[Ingomike]

Just a few example over the past 4 years:
















https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB3l3hxft44

Without proper marking and blocking, cars can easily unintentionally get on the trail. Indy has had a lot of crossings not properly done.

 

[BigMoose]

Okay let me set the record right...

What your seeing here is a federal process called "Railbanking". It is to prevent the loss of these rights of way to use by future generations. While the railroad is no longer being used. All these trails have various Telco lines buried along them. Fibre Optic.

Yes many of the these ROWs were built with so called reversionary clauses. However when those were made back in the mid 1800s, no one could conceive of things like fibre optic lines left behind when the railroad is done. So the Federal Goverment came up with Railbanking. This lets the ROW stay intact and keeps the now archaic reversion clauses from taking effect by holding the ROW in a Federally designated half way, the Railroad is abandoned, but the ROW is maintained for other important uses. Preserving the Telco lines and it gets used for a trail. And in the future should a transportation system (doesn't have to be rail) need a low grade already graded ROW, it can be used for that. Rather then the absolutely impossible task of trying to create a new ROW in todays legal enviroment.

Sorry to say, because of the Federal Rail Banking, the above lawyers will absolutely be unable to retrieve any moneys for landowners. They are only out for legal fees for themselves and hope to bilk the landovers with false hope, all while tying up the Railroads legal department for a bit.. Railroad legal departments are HUGE, well paid, and WIN most times out.. they are good at what they do and only work for the railroad. Thus are well versed in the ins and outs of these cases.

This a federal level process, they just let the state (or some other entity) come in and build trails and stuff, but they are heavily regulated in what they can do the ROW, for one they can't do anything to the ROW that makes it impossible to resuse the ROW for something else in the future. All while keeping the ROW viable for the telco lines, and keeping John Q Public from messing these up cutting the lines, and deciding they want a house blocking the ROW.

 

[BigMoose]

Let's see. From what I can see.
All the court cases have been thrown out, and the trail construction begins next year.

The IDNR made a facebook link, but the site is freaking the feck out and saying its a BAD MEDIA LINK anytime I try and post it.

I will have quote it and link the pics directly

"Crews from the Indiana DNR, Radius Indiana, Southern Indiana Trailways, and other partners were out this week to assess progress on the clearing of the former Monon Railroad corridor. Once this phase is complete, construction can begin on the future Monon South Trail that will run through the towns of New Albany, Borden, New Pekin, Salem, Campbellsburg, Saltillo, Orleans, and Mitchell. Once fully constructed, the trail will be the longest contiguous recreational trail in Indiana. More: bit.ly/3uK9ibG."

 

[ancjr]

...
All the court cases have been thrown out, and the trail construction begins next year.
...

What case(s) were thrown out?

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Wonder how they’re going to get across the White River at Bedford?

 

[BigMoose]

What case(s) were thrown out?

I will have too look, but I know a couple of the class actions got tossed. You really have to do a ton of sleuthing looking at various dockets. As is usual in this stuff, the news posts the initial juicy tidbits about the cases being filed.. never a follow up

You have to go digging through casetext.com stuff to find them.