Property owners along the former Andrews to Murphy Branch rail line of the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad are running out of time to gain back 75 feet of right of way from the N.C. Division of Railroads.
The affected properties are those from about 400 feet west from the intersection of Whitaker Land (Railroad Milepost 100.1) in Andrews to the end of the rail line (Milepost T 114.2) in Murphy. Individuals who own property along that stretch must fill out an application to reduce the railroad’s right of way from 100 feet from centerline to 25 feet from centerline.
The process appears to require little more than sending the correct paperwork to the appropriate people. However, a June deadline is approaching, and official instructions have been difficult to come by.
“A local bill was run two years ago that expires on June 30 of this year, giving people along that corridor the opportunity to request via a quitclaim deed from the (N.C.) Department of Transportation, the property that would be outside of that reduced, 25-foot easement area,” Cherokee County Manager Randy Wiggins said.
Multiple calls and messages seeking comment from Andy Miller, facilities and properties manager for the DOT, had gone unreturned as of the Cherokee Scout’s press time Tuesday. Wiggins said he, too, has been unsuccessful in his attempts to get a response from Miller about “what steps, specifically, must people take to initiate this process.”
Local resident Brandon Brown said he purchased property along the rail line in November 2021. He believes he successfully completed the process with the help of a friend who works for the DOT and was knowledgeable about the situation.
“The surveys have already been done,” Brown said. “It’s just (a matter of) filling out a form and emailing it to the right people. Last I checked, I think only 15 people out of the (hundreds of) properties had filed for it.”
Brown said the instructions he was given stated that a property owner needs to fill out the application and get a copy of their deed. Brown said he attached both documents to an email and sent them to Eric Boyette (jeboyette@ncdot.gov), plus copied it to Miller (samiller@ncdot.gov), Jason Orthner (jorthner@ncdot.gov), Daniel Johnson (dhjohnson4@ncdot.gov), Leana McKay (ext-lgmckay@ncdot.gov) and Nisa Sloan (asloan@ncdot.gov).
The application can be found online through the Cherokee County government website or obtained at the county courthouse. Brown said he was told the subject line of the email should include the property owner’s name and a reference to “Section 35.18 of H1030 Railroad Application for Petition.”
Within the body of the email, Brown said he provided language such as, “Attached, please find my application for the petition to the Division of Railroads of North Carolina to have the reduction in the rail corridor conveyed to me. I presently own a tract of land as stated in the application that adjoins a portion of the corridor, and I understand this application to be the process in which this is requested.”
Brown added that he made sure to include his name, phone number and email address within the body of the email, plus asked that a representative contact him if anything else was needed.
Wiggins said it’s not clear what will happen if property owners do not claim the available right of way before the deadline.
“I don’t know what DOT would do,” he said. “If this expires and someone has not claimed it, I don’t know if that right of way goes back to the 100 feet or what.”
Gov. Roy Cooper signed House Bill 1168 on June 30, 2020, ending a years-long debate over the width of the rail line’s right of way by reducing it to 25 feet on each side of the track’s centerline.
The bill states that it “transfers the remaining portion to adjacent real property owners upon the owner’s release of all claims against the State and DOT with respect to that right of way. (It) requires the owner’s release of the State and DOT to be executed within two years of the act’s effective date and requires DOT to provide, at no expense to the State or DOT, a quitclaim deed or deed of release to be recorded within two years in the Office of the Cherokee County Register of Deeds.”
A 15-foot DOT easement will remain on each side of the retained portion of the tracts for maintenance and repair.
The Andrews-to-Murphy rail line was once an integral and active freight and passenger corridor. Passenger service discontinued in 1948, as Americans moved to using automobiles. Freight traffic discontinued in 1985. About three years later, North Carolina purchased the stretch of track between Dillsboro and Murphy to prevent its removal.
State and local leaders previously have indicated they believe the Andrews-to-Murphy rail line is an untapped resource that could provide an economic boost of $60 million and add nearly 1,900 jobs over 15 years.