Skinner—Appraisal of Railroad Property. 797 
from which it was taken, simply because it has been put to a 
different use. But when the appraisal is made to determine 
the cost of reproduction, the matter is quite different. It is true 
that the price paid by the railroad company building through 
an ordinarily well-settled region is very considerably in excess 
of the value of the land for other purposes—in some cases 
several times this value. Without assuming to settle the more 
difficult question, the term a right of way value’ 7 will in what 
follows be used as synonymous with the cost of reproduction. 
This being the case, the 'Wight of way value” will necessarily 
differ very materially from the ordinary value. 
Some of the reasons why the right of way value thus defined 
differs from the ordinary value are as follows: 
1. The shape of the right of way makes it impossible to pur¬ 
chase land for right of way at the same price for which the land 
could be purchased were it purchased simply as city lots or as 
quarter-sections of farm land. 
2. There are frequently consequential damages to farms 
and to other property across which the railroad runs. For ex¬ 
ample, the road may cut off a relatively small corner of a farm,, 
which cannot be reached except by crossing the track, or it may 
cut off a part of a city lot which is too small to build upon eco¬ 
nomically. In both cases, the railroad must pay not only full 
value for the land actually needed, but practically full value* 
for the portion whose value is decreased. It may be also that 
valuable improvements must be destroyed before the road can 
be built. The idea of taxing any corporation upon the value 
of improvements that were destroyed seems repugnant to our 
sense of justice. It must be remembered, however, that the 
appraisal was primarily for the purpose of finding the cost of’ 
reproduction of the road. Such being the case, every item en¬ 
tering into the first cost must be taken into account. 
3. It is usually known before the right of way is bought 
that the road will probably be built, and there is usually a 
marked tendency on the part of property owners to ask excess¬ 
ive prices, knowing that the railroad company must have the 
land. 
