Grange Opposes Plans To Tear Up Railroad Tracks

The Kendrick Grange has called for a meeting with the new owner of the railroad line between Moscow and Arrow in hopes of stalling the company’s plans to tear up 38 miles of the tracks for salvage.

A&K Railroad Materials Inc. could tear up the tracks in as little as 20 to 25 days, said Robert J. Hassoldt, Grange master.

Grange officers voted unanimously Tuesday to schedule a meeting April 15 with A&K to find out whether the line ever has been legally abandoned by Burlington Northern, Hassoldt said.

He has a 1984 document in which the state Department of Transportation protests the application for abandonment, but he has no documentation that legal abandonment procedures ever were completed, Hassoldt said.

Loss of the rail line could be an economic problem for farmers if barge traffic down the Snake River is halted for some reason, such as river drawdowns, Hassoldt said.

Once the tracks are torn up, ownership of the land will revert to the adjacent landowner.

Although the line has not been used for years, farmers, the state of Idaho and the Port of Lewiston are interested in preserving the rail corridor.