I think that you will find that the NLV (net liquidation value) of the line will be quite high due to the current scrap market. OTM (spikes, plates, creepers and joint bars) and scrap rail that went for $150-$225 a ton a few years ago is up to over $400 a ton and climbing. In the past, an abandonment takeup was bid at pretty much a percentage of the market price for the steel; the ties were the profit or "icing on the cake" and could either make or break a deal profitwise if their quality was marginal...you expected to sell them at a profit, but you might have to pay to haul them to a landfill.

Recently, we have seen relay quality ties disappear from the market and those that are available bring premium prices (around $29-32 each vs $45-50 for new ties delivered in Portland). With a ready market for scrap and relay quality rail (relay went up to around $1,250 a ton) the scrappers can bid high and still make a killing.

A mile of track laid with 112# rail weighs around 200 tons and is worth around $80,000 not including the OTM and ties. This is what is going to make the Coos Bay line more valuable "dead" than as an operating railroad and make prospective purchasers look long and hard before getting into the railroad business right now.