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95-579: By 1845, 31 textile companies—located in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and southern Maine—produced one-fifth of all cotton and wool textiles in the United States. With the capital earned through these mills, they invested in railroads, especially the Boston and Lowell . These railroads helped transport the cotton from warehouses to factories. These Boston-based investors established banks—such as

190-512: A broad swath of land, as do many government-owned conversation areas. Some public rights-of-way are negotiated with government as a part of property development. This can result in a public-use right of way, such as an urban waterfront walkway, the public right to use a lobby as a shortcut during business hours, or public access to recreational land such as an urban park (which may include activities not limited to simply passing through). In England and Wales under current law, public access to rivers

285-441: A certain number of years without obstruction by the property owner. Changes to circumstances (such as construction of a new road that connects to the dominant estate), disuse, and obstruction by the property owner may affect this type of right. In other geographic situations, several neighbors will agree to maintain (or inherit from the original developer) a private road that connects their properties, either as communally owned or as

380-414: A concession) are known as in gross and are typically created by arrangement. Right-of-way easements that benefit the general public are often created for foot, bridle, mountain bike, and ATV paths (often carrying a mix of users). These routes are all formally highways, but have legally restricted modes of use. Such rights-of-way might extend a recreational trail network from land owned by the government or

475-418: A contractual, appurtenant easement. Private ownership typically gives the owners more power, such as the right to restrict parking to owners and their guests. Traffic laws (such as obeying speed limits and stop signs) typically still apply to private roads if they are open to the general public. Transferrable easements (such as the right to use a specific boat ramp not used by the property owner or operate it as

570-423: A conversation non-profit, to connect trails to public roads, to make long-distance trails , or provide access to a beach or waterfront. Especially in common law jurisdictions, these can be created by longstanding use, also known as easement by prescription . They can also be purchased or by a government or conservation group or created by eminent domain. Property owners can also explicitly grant permission to use

665-451: A formal process of voluntary discontinuation or abandonment, often involving public comment. This allows the government to clarify which facilities it will and will not spend money to maintain, which can affect property owners and values. It also clearly distinguishes between transportation facilities which are temporarily not being used versus those which are permanently out of use, and provides for orderly transfer of rights. When an easement

760-418: A general easement to access certain areas when necessary to construct and maintain their networks. In many cases they must request permission from the owner to expand or perform construction activities on a government or private right-of-way. When a road, railroad, or canal is no longer needed, the effect on property rights depends on the jurisdiction and how the right of way was created. Many jurisdictions have

855-561: A gentle ten feet per mile at the maximum, and there were only three grade crossings over the entire 26-mile (42 km) distance. The path was close to the older Middlesex Canal path, but was straighter - as boats can turn more sharply than trains. To achieve this superior linearity, it needed small amounts of grade elevation in places. The route ignored Medford center entirely, going through West Medford instead, and totally bypassed Woburn and Billerica . This would have to be corrected later with various spurs (the one to Medford being built off

950-403: A minimum speed). Rights-of-way in the legal sense (the right to pass through or to operate a transportation facility) can be created in a number of different ways. In some cases, a government, transportation company, or conservation non-profit purchases the full ownership of real estate , including everything above and below the ground. Many rights-of-way are created instead by easement , which

1045-457: A permanent public easement. Some jurisdictions legally recognize the right to roam —to move through any undeveloped land unless otherwise posted or fenced. This allows wandering beyond established trails. Even without a general the right to roam, not all rights-of-way have a physical indication of boundaries, and some easements do not specify any particular path to be taken when crossing. Some easements permit certain recreational activities across

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1140-559: A popular destination for foreign tourists in the city. Traditional rights of way take the form of servitude de passage (right of passage) and droit de marche-pied (right to walk, along canals and canalised rivers). There is a system of about 120,000 kilometres of well-marked footpaths in France. Many were formerly the main routes between villages and are often "steeper and more direct than modern roads". There are also, in addition, sentier de grande randonnée , long distance trails . In

1235-420: A public way is over the private property of a single neighbor. In these cases, the owner of the "servient" estate (which is the one being crossed) may simply give permission, or the "dominant" estate (the one needing access) may purchase the easement, for example to construct a driveway. Such easements are attached to the dominant estate, or appurtenant . The dominant estate cannot sell the easement separately from

1330-401: A route, either through a deed restriction or informal means such as posted signs, and may place restrictions on times or types of traffic allowed. Whether this permission can be revoked or expire from disuse depends considerably on the legal jurisdiction, how it was granted, and the circumstances of public use. Some of these " permissive paths " are closed once a year to prevent the creation of

1425-613: A thirty-year monopoly on the right to have a railroad there. The people along the road and in terminal-end cities bought large amounts of stock , financing half the company. The Board of Directors of the Boston and Lowell Railroad, armed with a charter, now had the task of surveying and building the line. They brought in James Fowle Baldwin , son of Col. Loammi Baldwin , who had engineered the Middlesex Canal, to do

1520-412: A user to claim a right of way after 12 years of use across private land owned by another, 30 years on state land and 60 years on the foreshore . The claimant must apply to the courts, and have their claim confirmed by a court order, and then have it duly registered on the title deeds, a lengthy process. The user must prove "enjoyment without force, without secrecy and without the oral or written consent of

1615-446: Is a legal maneuver that avoids full abandonment, preserving a railroad easement for future reactivation without reverting property rights to real estate owners. Rail trails are often constructed on rights-of-way that no longer host active railroads, putting the property to productive use while preventing obstructions like buildings or crossing infrastructure from being built. These may be used for recreation or for bicycle commuting, given

1710-403: Is a right to cross that does not include full ownership of the land. For example, the original owner may still retain mineral rights under the right-of-way easement, but not the right to exclude people from passing through certain parts of what would otherwise be private land. A government may build a right of way on land it already owns, for example a public park or "unowned" land leftover from

1805-461: Is defined as a right of way , and in addition there is a general presumption of access to the countryside. Private rights of way or easements also exist. Footpaths , bridleways and other rights of way in most of England and Wales are shown on definitive maps . A definitive map is a record of public rights of way in England and Wales. In law it is the definitive record of where a right of way

1900-703: Is generally provided on ocean waters under the law of the sea , subject to national laws. Public access to tidal shores depends on the jurisdiction. In the United States , railroad right-of-way easements carry with them, under applicable state laws, the right to control access by the public and even by the owner of the underlying land. Most U.S. railroads employ their own police forces, who can arrest and prosecute trespassers found on their rights-of-way. Some railroad rights-of-way (both active and disused) include recreational rail trails . In Canada railroad rights of way are regulated by federal law. In October 1880

1995-546: Is located. The highway authority (normally the county council , or unitary authority in areas with a one-tier system) has a statutory duty to maintain a definitive map, though in national parks the national park authority usually maintains the map. In Scotland , a right of way is a route over which the public has been able to pass unhindered for at least 20 years . The route must link two "public places", such as villages, churches or roads. Unlike in England and Wales there

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2090-539: Is more restricted than other parts of the UK, so that in many areas walkers can only enjoy the countryside because of the goodwill and tolerance of landowners. Permission has been obtained from all landowners across whose land the Waymarked Ways and Ulster Way traverse. Much of Northern Ireland's public land is accessible, e.g. Water Service and Forest Service land, as is land owned and managed by organisations such as

2185-399: Is no obligation on Scottish local authorities to signpost rights of way. However the charity Scotways , formed in 1845 to protect rights of way, records and signs the routes. The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 codified in law traditional, non-motorised, access practices on land and water. Under the 2003 act a plain language explanation of rights is published by Scottish Natural Heritage:

2280-659: Is restricted, and only 2% of all rivers have public access rights. The Rivers Access Campaign is being undertaken by the British Canoe Union (BCU) to open up the inland water-ways in England and Wales on behalf of members of the public. Canals are not, in general, public rights of way in England and Wales. Waterways in the care of the Canal & River Trust are accessible for use by boats, canoeists, paddleboarders and other watercraft upon payment of an appropriate licence fee. Walkers and cyclists can freely use

2375-450: Is terminated, full rights automatically revert to the owner of the real estate over which the right of way passed. Some jurisdictions have a separate formal process for terminating disused right-of-way easements involuntarily, such as adverse abandonment for railroads in the United States. This allows property owners to regain full use after a railroad stops running but does not initiate the legal abandonment process on its own. Railbanking

2470-425: Is up to the owner to sell it to abutters, a conservation non-profit, another transportation company, or some other buyer. Full land ownership generally cannot be lost due to disuse, but abandoned right-of-way land can be taken by the government due to non-payment of property tax , by escheat if no private owner can be found (due to death without heirs or disincorporation), or by eminent domain if it wishes to return

2565-524: The Boston and Maine Railroad ), but were always sources of annoyance to both riders and operators. The proposed route was accepted by the Board of Directors of the Boston and Lowell Railroad, and work began on the building phase. The road was begun from both ends at once, and some sources say that they both started on the right hand side of the right-of-way, missing in the middle and having to put in an embarrassing reverse curve to tide them over until they built

2660-592: The East Coast Trail , established by a group of hiking enthusiasts, makes use of traditional trails between local communities along the coast of the Avalon Peninsula . In the Philippines , right of way disputes often arise when landowners block access to paths or roads that have been used by the public or specific individuals for a considerable period. The issue typically centers on whether

2755-636: The Essex Railroad at Peabody , along which it used trackage rights to Salem . The line was opened in 1850 and operated by the Lowell and Lawrence until 1858, when the B&;L leased it along with the Lowell and Lawrence. The Wilmington Branch, now known as the Wildcat Branch , was built just west of the original Boston and Maine Railroad alignment to connect the main line at Wilmington to

2850-578: The Land War of the 1880s to the end of British rule in 1922. Rights of way can be asserted by adverse possession , but proving continuous use can be difficult. A case heard in 2010 concerning claims over the Lissadell House estate was based on the historical laws, since amended by the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act, 2009 . The 2009 act abolished the doctrine of lost modern grant, and allows

2945-745: The Manchester and Keene Railroad (Southern) and Peterborough and Hillsborough Railroad (Northern) met. In 1889 the BC&;M merged with the Concord Railroad to form the Concord and Montreal Railroad , taking it out of B&M control until 1895, when the B&M leased the C&;M. The White Mountains Railroad was chartered in 1848 and opened a line from Woodsville to Littleton, New Hampshire , in 1853. Along with extensions and branches, it

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3040-699: The Mystic River waterfront on the north side of Charlestown. The Woburn Branch Railroad (aka the Woburn Loop ) opened in 1844, connecting Woburn to the main line towards Boston. The Horn Pond Branch Railroad was a short freight-only branch off the Woburn Branch to ice houses on Horn Pond. The northern loop, built in 1885, continued the line back north to the main line at North Woburn Jct. in South Wilmington. The Horn Pond branch line

3135-532: The National Trust and the Woodland Trust . Northern Ireland has much the same legal system as England, including concepts about the ownership of land and public rights of way, but it has its own court structure, system of precedents and specific legislation concerning rights-of-way and right-to-roam. In Québec City , Canada, which was originally built on the riverside bluff Cap Diamant in

3230-748: The Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad in 1875 as their Vermont Division. The line was finished in 1877, and in 1880 it was reorganized as the St. Johnsbury and Lake Champlain Railroad , which was taken over by the B&L as their Vermont Division. The line did not stay in the B&M system, and the easternmost part was leased to the Maine Central Railroad in 1912. The White Mountains and Vermont Divisions were connected at Scott's Mills, New Hampshire . The Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad

3325-526: The Republic of Ireland , pedestrian rights of way to churches, known as mass paths , have existed for centuries. In other cases, the modern law is unclear; Victorian era laws on easements protect a property owner's rights, amplified by the 1937 constitution , which stipulate that a right of way has to be specifically dedicated to public use. Opposing these, those claiming general rights of way hark back to an anti- landed gentry position that lasted from

3420-481: The Scottish Outdoor Access Code . Certain categories of land are excluded from this presumption of open access, such as railway land, airfields and private gardens. Section 4 of the access code explains how land managers are permitted to request the public to avoid certain areas for a limited period in order to undertake management tasks, however longer term restrictions must be approved by

3515-499: The Stony Brook Branch and the old main line north of Lowell. At Lowell, it shifts to the B&M's original Lowell Branch to get to the B&M main line towards Maine. Right-of-way (transportation) A right of way (also right-of-way ) is a transportation corridor along which people, animals, vehicles, watercraft, or utility lines travel, or the legal status that gives them the right to do so. Rights-of-way in

3610-631: The Suffolk Bank —and invested in others. In time, they controlled 40% of banking capital in Boston, 40% of all insurance capital in Massachusetts, and 30% of Massachusetts' railroads. Tens of thousands of New Englanders received employment from these investors, working in any one of the hundreds of their mills. Mill locations established or improved by the Boston Associates: Despite being "shrewd, far-sighted entrepreneurs who were quick to embrace...new investment opportunities",

3705-416: The centerline presumption (formerly strip and gore doctrine ). This doctrine may also be used to assert mineral rights under neighboring government-maintained roads in some jurisdictions, a question which has become more relevant since the invention of horizontal drilling . In other jurisdictions or circumstances, the right-of-way is simply a normal parcel which happens to have an unusual shape, and it

3800-533: The local authority . The ability to temporarily restrict public access is commonly exercised without notice by shooting, forestry or wind farm operators, but does not extend to public rights of way. In Scotland the public have a higher degree of freedom on rights of way than on open land. Blocking a right of way in Scotland is a criminal obstruction under the Highways Act, just as in England and Wales, but

3895-697: The 17th century, there are strategically placed public stairways that link the bluff to the lower parts of the city. The Upper City is the site of Old Québec's most significant historical sites, including 17th- and 18th-century chapels, the Citadel and the city ramparts. The Breakneck Stairs or Breakneck Steps (French: Escalier casse-cou ), Quebec City's oldest stairway, were built in 1635. Originally called escalier Champlain "Champlain Stairs", escalier du Quêteux "Beggars' Stairs", or escalier de la Basse-Ville "Lower Town Stairs", they were given their current name in

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3990-471: The B&L Northern Division in 1884, when the B&L leased the BC&M. The Northern Railroad was also chartered in 1844, opening in 1847 from Concord to Lebanon, New Hampshire , and later extending to White River Junction, Vermont . The B&L leased it in 1884 as another part of its Northern Division. The only connection between the Southern and Northern divisions was at Hancock Junction , where

4085-643: The B&L and N&L agreed to operate as one company from 1860, and in 1880 the B&L leased the N&;L. The Stony Brook Railroad was chartered in 1845 and opened in 1848, connecting the Nashua and Lowell at North Chelmsford with Ayer . The N&L leased the Stony Brook in 1848. The Wilton Railroad was chartered in 1844. It opened a line from Nashua west to Danforth's Corner in 1848, to Milford in 1850 and to East Wilton in 1851. Since completion it

4180-407: The B&L were copies of the successful Planet class 2-2-0 built locally in Lowell. Another railroad was chartered in the early 1840s whose fortunes would be closely tied to those of the Boston and Lowell. This was the Boston and Maine Railroad . This railroad ran down from Portland, Maine , through a bit of southern New Hampshire , to Haverhill in northeastern Massachusetts, connected to

4275-557: The B&L's Lexington and Arlington Branch at North Cambridge Junction , and the company was reorganized as the Central Massachusetts Railroad in 1883. The B&L leased the line in 1886, a year before the B&M leased the B&L. The Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad was chartered in 1844, and opened in stages from 1848 to 1853, eventually running from Concord to Woodsville, New Hampshire . That railroad, along with its branches, became part of

4370-604: The B&L. An extension west to the Nashua, Acton and Boston Railroad at Middlesex Junction was built in 1879. The Billerica and Bedford Railroad was built in 1877 as a narrow gauge line between the Middlesex Central at Bedford and the B&L at North Billerica . It was sold and abandoned in 1878, and the rails were taken to Maine for the Sandy River Railroad . A new standard gauge branch

4465-416: The B&M before it lost the opportunity. The B&M tried to deal with this in court, and got the judge to forbid the B&L from raising rates until the case was done, but by the time they were close to an agreement, the bypass was complete. With B&M business gone, the B&L realized how much they had been relying upon their renters. Additionally, the Lowell mills began to decline somewhat and there

4560-418: The B&M in court but failed because the monopoly granted in its charter was only good for traffic between Boston and Lowell. The shortcut, part of today's Haverhill/Reading Line , was started in 1844 and was in use by 1848. While the B&M was building it, they were still running their trains to Boston on the B&L. This made for a lot of conflict, with the B&L trying to squeeze every last penny out of

4655-722: The Boston Associates were also "committed to the ideals of the original Protestant ethic and Republican simplicity ". Indeed, the members established more than 30 "benevolent societies and institutions" between 1810 and 1840. Their investment in the Boston Manufacturing Company 's Lowell Mills project, which Henry Clay called a test for "whether the manufacturing system is compatible with social virtues", epitomized their worldview. Though not authoritative or necessarily complete, Robert Dalzell's 1987 book, Enterprising elite: The Boston Associates and

4750-410: The Boston and Lowell Railroad was large from the start (as was expected) with Lowell's textile companies bringing in raw materials and sending out finished goods. The high level of passenger traffic, however, was not anticipated. Trains traveled on unwelded rails which were laid on a granite roadbed, which made for an extremely bumpy ride. The railroad switched to wooden ties. The Boston and Lowell

4845-416: The Boston and Lowell Railroad, especially with the line still over granite, provided the extra impetus to double track and upgrade. In 1838, the B&L began two years of extensive track improvements, first laying a second track on wood, and with that one built, going back and re-laying the old track on the more forgiving wood as well. Boston and Lowell traffic continued to increase, and even with double tracks

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4940-523: The Boston and Lowell in Wilmington , and then used Boston and Lowell track to Boston. This route was conceptualized in 1834, but took a long time to be built, mostly because, unlike the Boston and Lowell, it did not have a secure base of funding like the Lowell textile companies. It took two years to get to Andover , another year to get to Haverhill, three more to get to Exeter, New Hampshire , and did not get to Portland until 1852. This extra traffic on

5035-524: The Fitchburg from 1847 to 1859. The line was reorganized as the Lexington and Arlington Railroad in 1868, following the renaming of Arlington. The B&L bought the line in 1870 and built a new connection to their main line at Somerville Junction . The Middlesex Central Railroad was chartered in 1872 and opened in 1873, extending the line from Lexington to Concord . It was leased from completion to

5130-685: The Lowell line, along with the Haverhill and all other commuter operations in the Greater Boston area. Along with the sale, the B&M contracted to run the passenger service on the Lowell line for the MBTA. After bankruptcy, the B&M continued to run and fulfill its commuter rail contract under the protection of the Federal Bankruptcy Court , in the hopes that a reorganization could make it profitable again. It emerged from

5225-529: The Salem and Lowell at Wilmington Junction, providing a shorter route between Boston and Lawrence. The Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad was chartered in 1845 and opened in 1846, connecting the Fitchburg Railroad at West Cambridge to Lexington , although the "West Cambridge" in the name referred to what is now the town of Arlington . It was operated by the Fitchburg from opening, and leased to

5320-770: The Vermont Division, and the Passumpsic Division. Additionally, it leased the Central Massachusetts Railroad in 1886. The main part of the Southern Division was the mainline between Boston and Lowell . The Charlestown Branch Railroad was not itself taken over by the B&L, but as originally built in 1840 it was a short spur from the B&L to wharves in Charlestown . In 1845 the Fitchburg Railroad leased it and incorporated it into their main line. The Mystic River Branch served

5415-640: The Western United States, the transcontinental railroad was funded by government land grants that gave railroads both the physical right-of-way and surrounding land that could be sold after becoming valuable parcels connected to the long-distance transportation network. In new developments, the government may create the road network in cooperation with the land-owning developer or parcel owners—easement boundaries are defined in writing, and public roads formally "dedicated" as government-maintained. In some jurisdictions, utility companies may by law have

5510-758: The […] owner", a restatement of the centuries-old principle of Nec vi, nec clam, nec precario . A court order granting a right of way is personal to the applicant for their lifetime, and cannot be inherited or assigned. In England and Wales , other than in the 12 Inner London boroughs and the City of London , public rights of way are paths on which the public have a legally protected right to pass and re-pass. The law in England and Wales differs from that in Scotland in that rights of way only exist where they are so designated (or are able to be designated if not already) whereas in Scotland any route that meets certain conditions

5605-569: The building of Canada's first transcontinental rail line, the Canadian Pacific Railway , started. It was built by a consortium contracted by the government, and financed by CA$ 25 million in credit and required 25 million acres (100,000 km ) of land. In addition, the government defrayed surveying costs and exempted the railway from property taxes for 20 years. In the United Kingdom , railway companies received

5700-487: The company went bankrupt, and it was operated by the Connecticut River Railroad until 1882, when it was bought half-and-half by the B&L and the Concord Railroad . The Massachusetts Central Railroad was chartered in 1869 to build a line east–west across the middle of the state, between the Boston and Albany Railroad and the Fitchburg Railroad . The first section opened in 1881, splitting from

5795-402: The contract expired, they let the job go to Amtrak . From 1986 until 2003, Amtrak managed the entirety of Boston's commuter rail. It did decently, though at times had strained relations with the MBTA. Quibbles centered on equipment failures, numbers of conductors per train, and who took responsibility when trains are late. Because of these bad relations and Amtrak's repeated announcements that

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5890-668: The contract was unreasonable, few people were surprised at Amtrak's decision not to bid again for the commuter rail contract when it came up for renewal in 2003. When the MBTA asked for new bids on the commuter rail operation contract, Amtrak did not bid, but Guilford and the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company did. The MBCR ended up getting the contract and began operating the commuter rail in July 2004. Guilford's main line between Mattawamkeag, Maine , and Mechanicville, New York , now uses

5985-438: The court's protection when newly formed Guilford Transportation Industries (GTI) bought it in 1983. When GTI bought the B&M, commuter rail service was in jeopardy. The MBTA had owned the trains and the tracks since 1973, but it had outsourced the operation to the B&M. When GTI bought the B&M in 1983, it had to honor the B&M contract, but GTI management was very much against passenger rail, and, in 1986, as soon as

6080-412: The creation of the country), or seize land or an easement by eminent domain (compulsory purchase). Private companies can purchase land or easements, and in some cases (such as private toll roads (turnpikes), canals, and railroads in the 18th and 19th centuries) have been given the power of eminent domain for the limited purpose of providing a certain type of transportation between specified locations. In

6175-419: The extensive network of towpaths that run alongside the canals in England and Wales. See Towpath#Britain for information on the legal status of towpaths. In Canada rivers are crown land and there is a legal "right to navigate over navigable waters. However, the difficult legal question is what constitutes navigable waters. There is no federal or provincial law defining this, nor is there any list of waters

6270-452: The fixed routes of the railroads. The decline in both passenger and freight traffic occurred at a point when the B&M, like most other railroads, had just switched over to diesel locomotives , meaning that they had large debts. The pressure from the debts and the large infrastructure costs associated with operating a disparate passenger and freight network amongst declining traffic forced the B&M to cut costs. The most noticeable effect to

6365-457: The general public was the reductions in passenger operation. In the late 1950s, the B&M began to eliminate routes and substituted Multi-Unit diesel-powered passenger cars on many of its routes. The effort did not succeed, as the B&M was bankrupt by 1976. As its fortunes declined, the B&M shed its passenger operation in 1973 by selling the assets to the MBTA . The new state agency bought

6460-419: The ground if the rails did not have strong support. The first track was completed in 1835, and freight service began immediately. On May 27, 1835, it made its maiden trip to Boston, with Patrick Tracy Jackson , George Washington Whistler , and James Baldwin aboard. The solid granite roadbed proved to be much too rigid, jolting the engine and cars nearly to pieces. Repairs on the locomotives (there were two at

6555-667: The lack of publicly accessible rights of way maps in Scotland makes it very difficult to enforce. The unofficial National Catalogue of Rights of Way (CROW), compiled by the Scottish Rights of Way and Access Society (Scotways), in partnership with Scottish Natural Heritage, and the help of local authorities. There are three categories of rights of way in CROW: Northern Ireland has very few public rights of way and access to land in Northern Ireland

6650-403: The legislature that the canal was inherently incapable of providing what they needed: reliable, year-round freight transport. Investors in the Boston and Lowell Railroad received a charter on June 5, 1830, with no provision for reparations to the Middlesex Canal's investors. It was a favorable charter because in addition to the right to build and operate a railroad between Lowell and Boston, it gave

6745-471: The line on January 1, 1887, three months before the B&M acquired the B&L. Over the next 70 years or so, things were reasonably stable and constant for the Lowell Line as a part of the B&M's Southern Division. Passenger train round trips per day hovered in the low 20s, and while freight from Lowell itself did not last too long, the Lowell line got some traffic from railroads that connected from

6840-842: The mid-19th century, because of their steepness. The stairs have been restored several times, including an 1889 renovation by Charles Baillargé . Rights of way have been created in the US, both by historic use ( prescription ) and by grants made by the national and state governments, local authorities and private landowners. Trails that had been established by indigenous peoples were used by Europeans settling North America. Some became highways, while others have been incorporated recently into hiking trails. Examples include: Natchez Trace ; Santa Fe Trail ; Bozeman Trail . In Seattle , there are over 500 public stairways. Some rights of way in North America are hundreds of years old. In Newfoundland

6935-438: The neighboring property, and if the property is sold it would convey to the new owners. Courts may declare this type of easement exists as a matter of equity to resolve a dispute, if the easement was apparently left out of property deeds despite obvious necessity, if there was an apparent intent to create an easement but this was never formalized, or in some jurisdictions if an undocumented right of way has been in continuous use for

7030-470: The other side. Yankee and Irish laborers were hired to construct the railroad, which was made especially difficult and because the Directors wanted to make the road using the best techniques then known. This, for them, meant laying imported British iron rails with a 4-foot-deep (1.2 m) wall of granite under each rail. They did this because it was commonly believed that the train would sink into

7125-563: The physical sense include controlled-access highways , railroads, canals, hiking paths, bridle paths for horses, bicycle paths, the routes taken by high-voltage lines (also known as wayleave ), utility tunnels, or simply the paved or unpaved local roads used by different types of traffic. The term highway is often used in legal contexts in the sense of "main way" to mean any public-use road or any public-use road or path. Some are restricted as to mode of use (for example, pedestrians only, pedestrians, horse and cycle riders , vehicles capable of

7220-439: The property to some productive use. Property outside of linear corridors, especially if improved with buildings (such as railroad stations and large highway interchanges) is more likely to be fully owned and sold off as real estate. Legal discontinuation or abandonment may trigger public auction or negotiated sale of government-owned land. Some right-of-way easements are created because the only way to access certain parcels from

7315-488: The public can use". Under federal law, all natural inland waterways of the United States are classifiable as "navigable" or "non-navigable". Navigable rivers, lakes, ponds, and streams are treated as "public highways", open to surface passage by anyone. The doctrine of navigable servitude gives the federal government primary regulatory power over navigable waters, but users are also subject to state police power . Ownership of non-tidal non-navigable waters goes along with

7410-651: The right to "resume" land for a right of way, by means of private Acts of Parliament . Resumption means compulsory acquisition of land. The various designations of railroad right of way are as follows: Construction of houses/buildings beside railway right-of-way presents a significant safety risk. For example, the Hanoi Department of Tourism in Vietnam ordered the permanent closure of cafes and shops along Hanoi Train Street for safety reasons despite its being

7505-476: The schedule became tight enough that the Boston and Maine trains, as renters, began to be pushed around to annoying hours, often having to wait over an hour in Wilmington before being allowed to proceed on to Boston. The B&M soon tired of what they perceived as selfishness and decided to build its own track to Boston from Haverhill so that it would not have to rely on the B&L. The B&L tried to fight

7600-404: The submerged land, and issues of public access and trespass are treated similarly to private property on land. This may be determined by explicit deed, or implicitly as an extension of ownership of adjacent land, depending on the local ownership history and state law. The right to roam in northern European countries, including Scotland, usually includes rivers and lakes. Freedom of navigation

7695-500: The surveying, and charged him with finding a gently sloped path from Lowell to Boston, with few grade crossings and well away from town centers. This latter point ended up being quite inconvenient later on. No one had any idea of the future possibility of railroads acting as public transportation, or if they did they were not paid any attention by the builders or financiers of the road. The right-of-way that Baldwin surveyed did well in each of these characteristics. The path sloped up at

7790-419: The time) would sometimes take most of the night, trying to get them ready for the next day's service. The much poorer Boston and Worcester Railroad could not afford a granite bed and so was built with modern wooden ties . This turned out to be far superior, so the owners of the Boston and Lowell decided they would upgrade their entire roadbed to wood when they added a second track. The original Boston terminal

7885-401: The typical gentle slopes and connectivity of railroad rights-of-way. Some courts will extend the real property boundaries of abutters to the middle of the abandoned right-of-way, even if the right-of-way is outside the boundaries defined in the property deed. Treating the property as if it were an undocumented easement in this way avoids long, narrow strips of unproductive land. This is known as

7980-587: The west. In the early 20th century, the economics of railroading began to change. With the advent of the internal combustion engine , trains slowly began to lose their advantage as a transportation option. Automobiles and trucks began to increase in popularity as highways improved, siphoning ridership and freight traffic off railroads. The advent of the Interstate Highway System tipped the economic balance by increasing mobility as factories and offices were now able to be located further away from

8075-530: The world they made , enumerated the following businessmen as members of the Boston Associates social strata: Boston and Lowell Railroad The Boston and Lowell Railroad was a railroad that operated in Massachusetts in the United States. It was one of the first railroads in North America and the first major one in the state. The line later operated as part of the Boston and Maine Railroad 's Southern Division. The Boston and Lowell Railroad

8170-446: Was abandoned in 1911, the northern loop in 1961, and the original line in 1982. The Stoneham Branch Railroad was built in 1862 to connect to Stoneham . The Lowell and Lawrence Railroad was chartered in 1846 to build a line between Lowell and Lawrence , which opened in 1848. In 1858 the B&L leased the line. The Salem and Lowell Railroad was chartered in 1848 as a branch from the Lowell and Lawrence at Tewksbury Junction to

8265-472: Was at the north corner of Causeway Street and Andover Street (halfway between Portland and Friend streets), at the westernmost edge of the current North Station . The bridge over the Charles River to access it was the first movable railroad bridge in the United States. [1] The original Lowell terminal was at the south corner of Merrimack Street and Dutton Street. The quantity of freight traffic on

8360-558: Was built by the B&L in 1885, mostly on the same right-of-way. The Lowell and Nashua Railroad was chartered in 1836 as an extension of the B&L from Lowell north to the New Hampshire state line. The Nashua and Lowell Railroad, chartered in 1835, would continue the line in New Hampshire to Nashua . The two companies merged in 1838 to form a new Nashua and Lowell Railroad , and the road opened later that year. In 1857

8455-436: Was faced with a new problem; it had a reputation for speed which made it very popular and highly competitive with stagecoaches. Many people wanted to go not only from Lowell to Boston but to places in between. The Boston and Lowell ordered another locomotive and cars for local passenger rail in 1842, and had them make six stops along the route. Passenger rail proved to be almost as profitable as freight. The first locomotives on

8550-515: Was leased to the Boston, Concord and Montreal Railroad in 1859 and consolidated into it in 1872, becoming its White Mountains Division. In 1884 the B&L leased the BC&M and the old White Mountains Railroad became the B&L's White Mountains Division. The Northern and White Mountains Divisions were connected at Woodsville. The Essex County Railroad (chartered 1864), Montpelier and St. Johnsbury Railroad (chartered 1866) and Lamoille Valley Railroad (chartered 1867) were consolidated into

8645-568: Was less freight traffic for the line to move. Over the next four decades, the B&L declined until the more successful B&M leased it on April 1, 1887. The B&L built or leased many branches to serve areas not on its original line. Immediately before its lease by the B&M in 1887, it had five divisions—the Southern Division (including the original line), the Northern Division, the White Mountains Division,

8740-441: Was no provision in Massachusetts state law for chartering railroads, all had to be chartered by special acts of legislature. This made it slow and inefficient to charter a railroad because the politicians had to agree; the issue would become partisan. This also meant that the legislature would not let the investors build the line unless they could show it was completely necessary. The investors were successful because they convinced

8835-672: Was operated by the N&L. The Peterborough Railroad was chartered in 1866 to continue the Wilton Railroad northwest to Greenfield, New Hampshire . In 1873 the N&L leased it; the road opened in 1874. The Manchester and Keene Railroad was chartered in 1864 and opened in 1878, continuing the Peterborough Railroad west from Greenfield to the Connecticut River Railroad in Keene . In 1880

8930-615: Was organized in 1846 and opened a line from White River Junction on the Northern Railroad to the border with Quebec , Canada , in 1867, junctioning the Northern and White Mountains Divisions at Wells River and the Vermont Division at St. Johnsbury . The Massawippi Valley Railway , leased in 1870, continued to Sherbrooke , Quebec, where it junctioned the Grand Trunk Railway among others. The B&L leased

9025-516: Was preceded by the Middlesex Canal . Converting the canal to a railroad would eliminate the issue of transportation being unavailable during the winter, when the canal froze. Patrick Tracy Jackson led the task of convincing the state legislature to fund the project. This proved difficult, as the investors of the Middlesex Canal were against building a new form of transportation designed to replace their canal. Because, prior to 1872, there

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