Why?

In April of 2023 I received a letter from the North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR). As I opened the letter I remember thinking, “I have never heard anything nice about my railroad neighbors.” My suspicions were confirmed as I read the letter. The NCRR was demanding I pay them $4,000 per year, buy insurance indemnifying them, and sign a lop-sided agreement that granted them a 100’ easement into my property. I retained the services of an attorney.

Red Sharpie line indicates the NCRR’s claim of a 100’ easement from rail centerline while all previous surveys show a 50’ easement, missing the buildings and houses.

In subsequent meetings with the NCRR and their attorneys, I raised the question; why? Why do you need 200’ easement (100’ either side of centerline) when two blocks away along Hancock Street it is a 60’ easement, 30’ each side of centerline with parking and vehicle traffic? Silence…

Locomotive on Hancock Street

“Why,” became a parlor game at Shop Class. Are they planning to expand the adjacent railyard? Are they planning on moving larger items by rail through New Bern? Are we going to have highspeed rail down Hancock Street? Are they planning on moving the track to reduce the bend? Or do they simply want $4,000 per year from small businesses along this portion of the corridor? Nothing made sense. Later correspondence from the NCRR’s attorneys made it apparent the 200’ easement was their primary goal, but “why?”

To justify their claim of a 200’ easement, the NCRR produced a 2017 survey depicting the expanded easement. According to the NCRR their survey was the only correct one and all previous surveys, even those done by the NCRR, were wrong. A 1909 court case, A&NCRR vs The City of New Bern concerning taxation was the justification for the 200’ easement. For more than 100 years the correct information was “apparently overlooked by the draftsmen of several future plats covering this part of New Bern.,” according to their new survey.  

2017 Survey claiming a 200’ easement.

The other burning question: “What gives the NCRR the right to charge me $4,000 per year to use my own property?” By deed I own to the centerline of the track.

In 2000 the North Carolina Legislature gave the NCRR the power to lease its easements.

Section 124-12 - Powers of a State-owned railroad company

A State-owned railroad company shall have, in addition to the powers of any railroad corporation, the power to:

(1)   Lease, license, or improve property. - A State-owned railroad company may lease, license, or improve its right-of-way and property, whether held by easement, presumptive grant, express grant, or otherwise, for the purpose of preserving and protecting its railroad corridor and franchise.

How the NCRR uses their added powers and what the state legislature intended may not be one in the same (see: https://businessnc.com/is-this-any-way-to-run-a-railroadcategory/). Using satellite technology to spot “easement encroachments” such as chicken coops and fencing is easy and probably profitable. The real money, however probably comes from holding cities hostage for utility easements (see: https://newbernnow.com/2024/06/new-bern-board-of-aldermen-authorizes-execution-of-agreement-with-railroad.html).  

I qualify the above speculation with “probably” because the amount of money these expanded powers added to the NCRR’s coffers is not disclosed. Very little about the NCRR’s financials such as board and executive compensation, lobbying expenses, various revenue streams, and future planning are disclosed. In 2019, the Southern Environmental Law Center sued unsuccessfully to get information about the NCRR’s investment in a $13 million land deal and other investments (see: https://www.ncrrdissolution.com/post/selc-seeks-transparency-from-the-north-carolina-railroad-company).

Wendy Card, editor and founder of New Bern Now, pointed me towards the East Coast Greenway (see: https://greenway.org/stories/historic-55-million-investment-in-north-carolina-trails-will-continue-east-coast-greenway-development), and reminded me to “follow the money.”   

The East Coast Greenway Plan is an ambitious project to establish a bicycle/hiking trail from Maine to Florida. Many of the route segments are existing street/highways connected to established trails. Many segments need further development which brings us to New Bern.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) plan (see: https://publicinput.com/y6642) delineates several route options with a preferred plan to incorporate “Rails with Trails” from Queen/Pasteur Streets to Glenburnie Street.

Rails with Trails

Several issues with their proposed plan. 1) The proposed right-of-way does not belong to Norfolk Southern, but rather the North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR). 2) The right-of-way is not 125’to 200’, but rather 100’ from Queen to Dunn Street.

For many people the East Coast Greenway plan is an opportunity to support a good cause. However, if you are real-estate holding company masquerading as a railroad company like the NCRR, you see yet another revenue stream. If the NCRR can get $435,934 to permit a pipe crossing under the tracks for flood drainage in a disadvantaged neighborhood, how much could they get to lease a recently acquired right-of-way for a bicycle trail?

The Why

Prove Me Wrong

Dissolution is the Solution