Professional Surveyors frequently encounter railroad rights of way in their work as they retrace boundaries, deal with questions of seniority between public roads and railroads, address abandonments or reversionary rights, or guide clients in their needs for easements or licenses over railroad rights of way. In the process they often face confusion over the status of a railroad right of way: Is it a fee ownership or just an easement? Is it abandoned or just inactive? Is it active? How does one know? How does one find Railroad Valuation Maps and vesting deeds? What about "Rails to Trails?" This program will address all of that and, in addition, delve into the railroad abandonment process and a number of related and significant federal and state court decisions regarding railroad rights of way including Preseault v. Interstate Commerce Commission (U.S. Supreme Court, 1990), Clark v. CSX (2000), Howard v. U.S. (2012), and Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. US (U.S. Supreme Court, 2014). We will also examine the National Trails System Act of 1969 and its amendment in order to better understand "Rails to Trails" and how timing, and the standing of a railroad's right of way, are critical in attempting to establish trails.

2 PDH Credits