Colfax title suit lists old RR line

A suit to clear title on property in the Riverside addition has been filed in superior court by Scott and Lori Ackerman of S & L Rentals. The clear title action was filed against the Burlington Northern Railroad and the State of Washington.

The suit said during a survey of recently purchased land they discovered a parcel of property which was not in the property description. The suit said they believe the property parcel was unintentionally omitted when the land parcels were sold to a previous owner and should have been included in the legal description at the time of that sale. It contends the mix up could have dated back to construction of the flood control project in Colfax in the 1960s.

Lawyers with the natural resources division of the state attorney general’s office and Spokane law firm representing Burlington Northern have filed notices of appearance in the suit.

The Burlington Northern link to the property evolved from the former Great Northern Railroad line which ran across that area of the north part of Colfax. The line at one time was the Inland Electric line which operated passenger car service into Colfax in the early part of the last century.

The Inland depot, later the Great Northern depot, was located across from the courthouse. Part of the former railroad line is now the Colfax Trail which runs northwest along the Palouse River as far as the former Manning Bridge and tunnel.