Missing in the explanation of "abandonment" is also that not only is the property being abandoned for that use by the railroad but also it's charter, a legal document, is being abandoned which why the legal proceedings for abandonment in the first place. Unless the right of way is used for another commercial purpose, i.e. power or phone lines, pipe lines, etc. then the railroad would try to find a "buyer" to lessen its loss knowing that unless otherwise provided for in purchases or leases, the only thing a 20 or 40 or 100 foot wide right of way was useless to them.
kwf wrote:Also, who owned the ex-NH ROW?The MBTA owns it. It was one of the ex-NH lines purchased by the state from Penn Central in 1973, along with the currently active ex-NH commuter routes and the similarly abandoned West Roxbury-Dedham right-of-way that connected with the Needham branch.