Abandoned railway

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An abandoned railroad is a railway line which is no longer used for that purpose. Such lines may be disused railways, closed railways, former railway lines, or derelict railway lines. Some have had all their track and sleepers removed, and others have material remaining from their former usage.

There are many hundreds of these throughout the world. Thousands of miles of railroads have been abandoned in the United States, much of it in the 40 years from 1965 to 2005.^[1] The right-of-way which has been established for such a line makes it useful for other transport, such as a rail trail.^[2] Other uses are possible. For example, in 1936, farmers in Aldrich, Missouri, found various uses for the land and materials of an abandoned railway.^[3] The abandoned railway stations on the line may be put to some other use too.