> BTW, The beloved USMC also left Philly,
> never to return. We lost their presence at
> the Navy Yard, at the Marine Barracks at
> Broad and Washington, and anywhere else in
> the City except at the local recruiting sta.

Not true. The USMC still has a reserve unit in Philly. Yes, we left the Navy yard, part of the base closings that happended, not to mention that the Marine Detachments on the ships slowly declined and no longer exist. There is still a museum here also.

My beloved Corps' mighty 1st Marine Division that was formed here moved south and later to it's current resting place in southern California. Seeing as at the time we fought in warm climates, Philly did not provide ample weather for training to that effect. Practically every Marine base today is located on a coast in warm weather, I.E. Camp Pendleton, Ca, Okinawa, Japan, Cuba, 29 Palms, Ca.

Say what you will about Philly, but never a bad word will spoken about my Corps.

Jeff Lisowski
West Chester, Pa

Great music!
unfunkyufo76@hotmail.com

It should also be remembered that Eminent Domain is generally used for a stated specific purpose, such as gaining an easement for a right of way through private property. The right of a corporation to use eminent domain to gain such a right of way for a power transmission line, gas line or railway may not be universal, even in the same state.

As far as corporations are concerned, the charter should always be referenced. Here in Tennessee, all but a couple of railroads were granted the right of eminent domain but those roads gained that right after the passage of new legislation years ago.

The use of eminent domain by the government is pretty limited in scope and I can't see that the government would have any interest in the railroad for any reason. We should be thankful that the present owners have continued to allow the public to enjoy the railroad as it is and hope that something will be done to perpetuate the railroad's operation. On the topic of wills, while I would doubt that the owners would request that the railroad be parted out or destroyed, such a clause could be there. It should be remembered that a will, contrary to popular opinion, is not a legally binding document. Basically it is a letter that states how the deceased requests their final affairs to be handled, particularly the disposition of their belongings. Most wills are executed as requested but the court reserves the right to partially or entirely disregard the will if it sees reason to do so. That was probably why the examples mentioned in the other post came out as they did.

Tennessee Valley Railroad Museum
envlink@voyageronline.net

> They lease the
> Robertsdale depot from the EBT and have a
> Museum there...

A minor correction, FEBT leases the station from a third party who purchased it from the EBT as part of a larger land acquisition.

The East Broad Top Railroad Homepage

ebtrr@spikesys.com

The East Broad Top Railroad Homepage
ebtrr@spikesys.com

>It always scares the hell out of me when somebody who hasn't taken the time to investigate the spelling of something like eminent domain is willing to use at the drop of a hat. ED should only be applied when the propert will be converted, such as when a house becomes a road. Otherwise its government sanctioned theft.

If Mr. Pearle would post his email address (an oversight I'm sure) I would respond to this in private. But since he hasn't, I would like to point out that everyone understood my post misspelling and all; and that a careful reading of the correctly spelled words indicates that I neither proposed or opposed the process only that it is possibly an option open to the government.

we
> shouldn't automatically resort to what
> amounts to a seizure.

For the record, I would oppose such a landgrab in nearly all cases including this one.

> The logical extension of that is some car
> enthusiasts getting PO'd about your failure
> to upkeep your 57 chevy as they see fit and
> petitioning the court for a writ so they can
> seize the car without anting up what you
> want "quid pro quo"

> Remember, we have a constitution to protect
> us from the mob rule of popular whim. The
> 5th amendment provides for "just
> compensation"-what is just compensation
> for a unique property? I have an MBA and I
> can't think of how I could establish fair
> market value save anting up the price they
> want!

>...constitutional

I believe you meant constitution. Please don't throw stones.

wyld@sbcglobal.net