Norfolk Southern Railway Company (NSR) has filed a notice of exemption under 49 CFR 1152 Subpart F Exempt Abandonments to abandon a 0.8-mile line of railroad between milepost 18.92 and milepost 19.72 at Downingtown, in Chester County, PA. The line traverses United States Postal Service Zip Codes 19335 and 19372. NSR has certified that: (1) no local traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 years; (2) no overhead traffic has moved over the line for at least 2 years and overhead traffic, if there were any, could be rerouted over other lines; (3) no formal complaint filed by a user of rail service on the line (or by a state or local government entity acting on behalf of such user) regarding cessation of service over the line either is pending with the Surface Transportation Board or with any U.S. District Court or has been decided in favor of complainant within the 2-year period; and (4) the requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7 (environmental reports), 49 CFR 1105.8 (historic reports), 49 CFR 1105.11 (transmittal letter), 49 CFR 1105.12 (newspaper publication), and 49 CFR 1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental agencies) have been met. As a condition to this exemption, any employee adversely affected by the abandonment shall be protected under Oregon Short Line R. Co. Abandonment Goshen, 360 I.C.C. 91 (1979). To address whether this condition adequately protects affected employees, a petition for partial revocation under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) must be filed. Provided no formal expression of intent to file an offer of financial assistance (OFA) has been received, this exemption will be effective on December 18, 2004, unless stayed pending reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do not involve environmental issues, formal expressions of intent to file an OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2), and trail use/ rail banking requests under 49 CFR 1152.29 must be filed by November 26, 2004. Petitions to reopen or requests for public use conditions under 49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by December 8, 2004, with: Surface Transportation Board, 1925 K Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20423-0001. A copy of any petition filed with the Board should be sent to NSR’s representative: James R. Paschall, General Attorney, Norfolk Southern Corporation, Three Commercial Place, Norfolk, VA 23510-2191. If the verified notice contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void ab initio. NSR has filed environmental and historic reports which address the effects, if any, of the abandonment on the environment and historic resources. SEA will issue an environmental assessment (EA) by November 23, 2004. Interested persons may obtain a copy of the EA by writing to SEA (Room 500, Surface Transportation Board, Washington, DC 20423-0001) or by calling SEA, at (202) 565-1539. [Assistance for the hearing impaired is available through the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.] Comments on environmental and historic preservation matters must be filed within 15 days after the EA becomes available to the public. Environmental, historic preservation, public use, or trail use/ rail banking conditions will be imposed, where appropriate, in a subsequent decision. Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 1152.29(e)(2), NSR shall file a notice of consummation with the Board to signify that it has exercised the authority granted and fully abandoned the line. If consummation has not been effected by NSR’s filing of a notice of consummation by November 18, 2005, and there are no legal or regulatory barriers to consummation, the authority to abandon will automatically expire. Decided: November 12, 2004. By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of Proceedings Vernon A. Williams, Secretary
I am not 100% sure Tom because I am not familiar with the milepost numbers. I do believe it to be part of the old Downingtown branch of the P.R.R. I am afraid that I must do a little research unless someone here knows for sure. Happy railroading! Russ
Russ I wonder if this the end of old PRR Trenton Cutoff from Thorndale to somewhere east of the high trestle over the Brandywine Creek and US 322 south of Downingtown. My understanding is that no trains have run over this portion of the old Cut-off for many years.
