From an article in The American Spectator by Jack Park on Brandt Revocable Trust versus United States:

In 1875, Congress, hoping to spur railroad construction and encourage settlement and development in the western states, passed the General Railroad Right-of-Way Act, which gave railroads “right of way through the public lands of the United States.”  In 1908, the Laramie Hahn’s Peak and Pacific Railroad (“LHP&P”) took Congress up on its offer and acquired a 66-mile-long right of way in Wyoming.

In 1976, the United States granted an 83-acre parcel of land in Fox Park, Wyoming, to the Brandts, with an exception for the railroad right of way, as the LHP&P’s line ran through the Brandts’ parcel.  But nothing in the deed said that the right of way would revert to the United States if the railroad abandoned it.

In 1996, the LHP&P’s successor did just that: abandoned the line and tore up its tracks and ties.  Should the Brandts, who hold the underlying property, then take posession?  Or can the United States, which gave the right of way to the railroad in the first place, turn it into a recreational trail?  The answer was of interest not just to the Brandts but to all of the landowners who have railroad lines created by the 1875 Act running through their properties …

On this one, the Supreme Court handed a big win to the advocates of private property rights, so hooray!  And, to read the entire article, click HERE.