The end of the line?
By Larry Meyer — Argus Observer
Thursday, September 27, 2007 2:00 PM PDT
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| A semi-truck backs up to Valley Packers in Adrian, which is just one of the area businesses or other entities next to the railroad that is interested in the disposition of Union Pacific Railroad’s right-of-way through the town. |
VALE — There is no support politically for an effort to protest the application by Union Pacific Railroad to abandon most of the remaining portion of its former Homedale branch line, but exactly what will happen to the company’s right-of-way has the undivided attention of Malheur County officials and property owners.
The plan to abandon the line, though, is still in limbo because the agency set to decide the matter — the federal Surface Transportation Board — has not made a ruling.
Union Pacific proposed to abandon the branch from mile post 2, just outside of Nyssa, to the end of the line, which is now at the southern edge of Adrian.
Although referred to as the Homedale branch, the line originally went as far as Marsing. Union Pacific was previously granted authority in 1997 to abandon the line from Marsing to its current termination near Adrian.
Claudia Howells, a rail consultant advising the county on the proposed abandonment, delivered a report to the Malheur County Court Wednesday during its regular session. Howells said she had learned that railroad officials plan to file their application in the next few days.
The railroad company had planned to file the long version of the abandonment application, which would have allowed more time for input, she said. However the firm appears to be preparing to file for an abandonment exemption. An abandonment exemption accelerates the process, she said.
“The line has been out of service for two years,” she said. “We will have a shorter time to enter comment.”
If the STB approves the abandonment, Union Pacific will carry the responsibility to remove the rail from any crossings and repair the roads and remove remaining bridges, she said, noting that the trestle over the Owyhee River appeared to be the main reason for the railroad’s action.
Generally the railroad hires a contractor to remove the rail and ties, she said. Asked if the railroad could be required to removed the ballast from the right-of-way to make it compatible with the surrounding property, Howells said, “Yes.”
In regards to the right-of-way, Howells said, “the railroad was built before most of the area was developed.”
There may be two parcels of land that may have revisionary clauses, which could require that the adjoining railroad right-of-way to become part of the properties, Howells said.
Since the railroad owns most of the right-of-way outright, Union Pacific officials are free to sell to whomever they wish.
“In this case, the title is pretty clear,” she said.
But the railroad is not interested in dealing with several individual landowners, Howells said.
“Union Pacific would prefer to sell to one entity,” she said.
In that vein, there is a group of property owners working to put together a corporation to buy the right-of-way.
Saying he was not speaking for the group, Bob Martin, Adrian resident and businessman, said, “it is our intention to purchase (the right-of-way) as a block and dispense it back to the adjoining property owners.”
Howells, though, noted that railroad officials will likely be interested in selling to the highest bidder, so a third party might become the owner. While county officials have expressed interest in maintaining some of the line for future economic development, Bill Lawrence, assistant county planner who led the formal rail study, said an assessment of the line determined there appeared to be little potential or interest in keeping the rail line much beyond where the abandonment begins, except possibly for another mile or two. Whether the county should try to hang onto that property was an issue for the court to decide, he said. Another issue is whether any of the right-of-way should be projected for public use, which Howells said is a possibility. One location is a portion of Beaumont Road, north of Adrian, which is in the Union Pacific right-of-way because of a realignment, and Shawn Snyder, Adrian city recorder, said the Adrian Fire Department was interested in part of the right-of-way.
Howells will issue a recommendation to the court at a later date about the county’s response.
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