Dale Henderson owns 6,800 acres in Hancock, and this map shows how the rails-to-trails would traverse his property. Henderson has since purchased additional land, which is not reflected in this map.—STAFF GRAPHIC BY CATHERINE MCKINNEY

HANCOCK — A property owner who tried but failed to get a court order halting work on the 85-mile Ellsworth to Calais rails-to-trails project now claims the state does not own the right of way to the corridor.

Dale Henderson stands on a portion of abandoned rail, part of the proposed rails-to-trails project. He’s heading to court to prevent hunters and four-wheeler drivers from entering his property in Hancock.—STAFF PHOTO BY JACQUELINE WEAVER

His attorney, Tim Pease of Rudman & Winchell in Bangor, said he will file an amended complaint in Hancock County Superior Court within days.

The complaint will state that Maine Central Railroad in 1985 requested an abandonment order from the U.S. Interstate Commerce Commission for its railroad operations from Calais to Brewer.

Pease said the ICC granted the order in 1985.

In 1987, he said, Maine Central gave the state of Maine its right of way — access Pease maintains the railroad had already abandoned and no longer owned.

“Maine Central owned only a right of way, not the land, so when the railroad operations were abandoned the right of way automatically ended and reverted back to the prior owners of the land,” Pease said.

“If we are right about Mr. Henderson’s property, then the state wouldn’t be able to tear up that track and would not have the right to improve it or change it in any way,” he said.

The Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) contends that it owns the right of way.

“MDOT is confident that the state possesses title to this entire railroad corridor,” said state Project Manager Dan Stewart. “The department is disappointed that this project, which enjoys broad public support, has been greeted with this litigation.”

Pease also claims that the rails on the four-and-a-half-mile section on Henderson’s property — which are being graded and sold to help pay for the project — belong to his client.

A rough estimate of the salvaged value of the rails per mile is about $77,500, according to Stewart of the MDOT.

Pease also plans to also ask the court for a temporary restraining order halting work on the rails-to-trails corridor.

Henderson said he spent “millions of dollars” to purchase his property in Hancock and hundreds of thousands of dollars more on roads and wildlife habitats. It is not unusual to see black bears, bobcats, moose, deer and wild turkey on the property.

“I bought this land in 1993 the hard way,” he said. “It was the most amount of debt I ever had. Why should I have to put up with the general public on my land?”

Pease had originally asked the court to halt work on the project and to require that the state build a fence along the rails-to-trails portion of his property.

The court declined to stop the project and the fence issue is still pending.

In the meantime, the rails-to-trails project is progressing.

Crews are removing the iron rails and wood ties, repairing washouts, placing decking over bridges and rehabilitating the rail bed from Whitneyville to Ayers Junction in Pembroke.

If all goes according to schedule, 45 miles of the trail ending at Columbia Falls should be cleared and rehabilitated by winter, said Janis Piper, general superintendent for Vaughn Thibodeau & Sons in Bangor, which is handling the project.

Planners say the trail, officially known as the Calais Branch Corridor Rehabilitation and Downeast Sunrise Trail Project, will draw tourists to the area as well as provide recreational benefits for residents who live near it.

The scenic rail corridor runs along the entire Downeast coastal area, connects multiple scenic conservation areas, intersects Downeast salmon rivers and is very near two state designated scenic highways.

The MDOT envisions that the corridor will be popular with hikers, bicyclists, cross-country skiers and people riding horses, snowmobiles and all-terrain vehicles.

Piper, the contractor’s field superintendent, said crews are replacing the culverts, which are large pipes that carry water from one side of the rail bed to another.

She said many of the culverts are in “horrible condition” and have collapsed.

In addition the crews are putting a six-inch surface on the rail bed to make it stable for years to come, Piper said.

“The hope is that the state will preserve something that can potentially be used for rail purposes,” she said.

Piper said that even if the current 85-pound rail was in perfect condition, it is not suitable for passenger rails, which require 100-pound gauge.

The cost of the $4 million project is expected to be largely covered by recycling the iron, which is being sorted, graded and sold by Vossloh Track Material Inc. of Reading, Pa.

However, Stewart of the MDOT said the cost of the initial work did not include deteriorating conditions from washouts due to heavy rainfall; additional bridge work; trailhead parking lots, and a building in Ellsworth where the trail would end.

“We may need to find additional funding to complete the project or we may not,” Stewart said.

Daryl Wilson, supervisor of Vossloh’s crew, said the iron is sorted on site and shipped to different locations depending on the grade.

The highest grade, “relay,” can be reused as freight rail material. “Reroll” grade iron can be heated and used for other items, such as sign posts.

The lowest grade, scrap, is melted down.

Wilson said he hadn’t yet decided what to do with the tall stacks of pine, oak and elm railroad ties now piled by the rail station in Machias.

“Some of them will be salvageable and sold to landscapers out of state,” he said. “What is not marketable will go to a designated landfill or it might be sold to someone who sells fuel to hydro plants.”