The Railroad and the Riparian Rights
Colman seeks injunction against railroad's Columbia Street track extension over contract and riparian claims.
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James M. Colman and his wife have filed a massive forty-six-page reply in superior court against the Columbia and Puget Sound Railway Company. Colman is seeking a permanent injunction to prevent the railroad from extending tracks north of Columbia Street on what he calls the 'ram’s horn' right-of-way. Colman claims the railroad forfeited its rights through contract violations, including charging predatory rates for transporting coal and failing to maintain the tracks in a safe, planked condition. Furthermore, Colman asserts that as the land in question is below the high-water line, the railroad’s claim to the right-of-way—granted by city ordinance—is invalid because the city had no legal authority to grant riparian access.
“Owing to the fact that the ram’s horn is below high water line, the city has no right to grant the right-of-way.”
This dispute illustrates the historic struggle for control over the industrial waterfront of Seattle, involving complex legal battles over tide lands and riparian rights that shaped how the city's commercial core developed between the land and the harbor.
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