Whenever public lands of the United States have been or may be granted to any railroad company for use as a right of way for its railroad or as sites for railroad structures of any kind, and use and occupancy of said lands for such purposes has ceased or shall hereafter cease, whether by forfeiture or by abandonment by said railroad company declared or decreed by a court of competent jurisdiction or by Act of Congress, then and thereupon all right, title, interest, and estate of the United States in said lands shall, except such part thereof as may be embraced in a public highway legally established within one year after the date of said decree or forfeiture or abandonment be transferred to and vested in any person, firm, or corporation, assigns, or successors in title and interest to whom or to which title of the United States may have been or may be granted, conveying or purporting to convey the whole of the legal subdivision or subdivisions traversed or occupied by such railroad or railroad structures of any kind as aforesaid, except lands within a municipality the title to which, upon forfeiture or abandonment, as herein provided, shall vest in such municipality, and this by virtue of the patent thereto and without the necessity of any other or further conveyance or assurance of any kind or nature whatsoever: Provided, That this section shall not affect conveyances made by any railroad company of portions of its right of way if such conveyance be among those which have been or may after March 8, 1922, and before such forfeiture or abandonment be validated and confirmed by any Act of Congress; nor shall this section affect any public highway on said right of way on March 8, 1922: Provided further, That the transfer of such lands shall be subject to and contain reservations in favor of the United States of all oil, gas, and other minerals in the land so transferred and conveyed, with the right to prospect for, mine, and remove same.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in
68
cases (
5 in the last 5 years), 1967–2026 · leading case:
Beres v. States, 64 Fed. Cl. 403 (Fed. Cl. 2005).
Beres v. States, 64 Fed. Cl. 403 (Fed. Cl. 2005).
· cites it 13× “§ 912 , titled “Disposition of abandoned or forfeited railroad grants,” provides that: Whenever public lands of the United States have been or may be granted to any railroad company for use as a right-of-way for its railroad or as sites for railroad structures of any kind, and…”
Marlow v. Malone, 734 N.E.2d 195 (Ill. App. Ct. 2000).
· cites it 20× “Plaintiffs appeal, claiming that the trial court erred when it misinterpreted section 912 of Title 43 of the United States Code (section 912) ( 43 U.S.C. § 912 (1994)) as not giving them title to an abandoned railroad right-of-way as adjacent landowners.”
Brown v. State, 924 P.2d 908 (Wash. 1996).
· cites it 9× “In addition, we hold the property Milwaukee obtained by charter did not revert to the property owners, based on the fact Congress authorized the sale before abandonment pursuant to 43 U.S.C.A. § 912 . We affirm the trial court’s decision in Kittitas County and reverse the trial…”
Brandt v. United States, 710 F.3d 1369 (Fed. Cir. 2013).
· cites it 3× “§ 1248 (c), any and all right, title, and interest in rights-of- way of the type described in the Abandoned Railroad Right-of-Way Act of 1922 ( 43 U.S.C. § 912 ) are retained by the United States upon a judicial decree of abandonment.”
Mauler v. Bayfield Cnty., 204 F. Supp. 2d 1168 (W.D. Wis. 2001).
· cites it 16× “Plaintiffs also seek a declaration that the Abandoned Railroad Right of Way Act of 1922, 43 U.S.C. § 912 , was repealed by the National Trails System Improvement Act of 1988, 16 U.”
Marvin M. Brandt Revocable Trust v. United States, 134 S. Ct. 1257 (2014).
· cites it 4× “43 U. S. C. §912 . Finally, as part of the National Trails System Im provements Act of 1988, Congress changed course and sought to retain title to abandoned or forfeited railroad rights of way, specifying that “any and all right, title, interest, and estate of the United…”
Brown v. N. Hills Reg'l R.R. Auth., 2007 SD 49 (S.D. 2007).
· cites it 13× “, applied the Abandoned Railroad Right of Way Act of 1922 (1922 Act) (codified at 43 U.S.C. § 912 ), and concluded that C & NW had not officially abandoned the ROW.”
SAMUEL C. JOHNSON 1988 v. Bayfield Cnty., Wis., 520 F.3d 822 (7th Cir. 2008).
· cites it 6× “43 U.S.C. § 912 ; 16 U.S.C. § 1248 (c). Local landowners (“Landowners”), who have been using these old railway lines as their own, took preemptive measures and filed a quiet title action seeking declaratory relief *824 against the County and the United States, claiming that the…”
Malone v. Smith, 823 N.E.2d 1158 (Ill. App. Ct. 2005).
· cites it 8× “These cases have addressed section 912 of Title 43 of the United States Code ( 43 U.S.C. § 912 (1988)), which provides when lands of the United States are used by a railroad as a right-of-way and the right-of-way is abandoned, title shall vest in the persons to whom title of the…”
Beres v. United States, 104 Fed. Cl. 408 (Fed. Cl. 2012).
· cites it 5× “In 1922, Congress enacted 43 U.S.C. § 912 , which precluded the transfer of rights-of-way on which public highways had previously been established or were established within a year after the railroad’s lawful abandonment.”
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