This case concerns a narrow parcel of land (the “Parcel”)— roughly 600 feet by 32 feet—that runs adjacent to Norfolk Southern Railway Company’s active rail line in Euclid, Ohio. No one disputes that Norfolk owns the Parcel. But Dille Road  No. 22-4037 Norfolk S. Ry, Co. v. Dille Rd. Recycling, LLC Page 2 Recycling, which owns the property on the other side of the Parcel, has occupied and used the Parcel for nearly two decades. A few years ago, the parties began an out-of-court dispute over the Parcel’s use. After negotiations stalled, the parties took the matter to federal court. Dille sought adverse possession of the Parcel or, alternatively, a prescriptive easement. Norfolk sought a declaration that Dille’s property claims were preempted by the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act (ICCTA). The district court held that Dille’s prescriptive- easement claim was not preempted, and then granted Dille its easement. We disagree with the district court’s threshold conclusion. Because federal law does preempt Dille’s state-law prescriptive-easement claim, we reverse.

I. BACKGROUND A. The Parcel The Parcel is a .43-acre strip that runs parallel to Norfolk’s active railway, which runs, roughly, from Cleveland, Ohio, to Erie, Pennsylvania. It is a thin rectangle measuring 614 feet long on its longest side and 32 feet wide.

Dille owns the property adjacent to the Parcel on the opposite side, where it conducts a scrap-metal recycling business (the “Property”). Dille has owned the Property since 2016. Before that, beginning in 2007, Dille leased the Property from G.R.K. Inc. G.R.K obtained the Property in 1991. It is undisputed that, since the early 90s, Dille and its predecessors have used the land (including the Parcel) exclusively.

A fence and gate have separated the Parcel from the rest of Norfolk’s rail corridor since at least 1994. In 2007, Dille spent around $10,000 to rebuild the fence. The fence is a solid, privacy-style wooden barrier. In 2018, Dille installed more fencing—1,100 feet of 8-foot-tall chain link fencing and additional gates. Dille says that the Parcel must be completely fenced off because it is “a requirement of the City of Euclid to operate a recycling facility [and] there are . . . safety and security reasons to enclose [the Parcel] with a fence.” Dille uses the Parcel primarily as a weighing station and scrap dump. Shortly after leasing its property from G.R.K, Dille installed a $50,000 truck scale on the Parcel. To access  No. 22-4037 Norfolk S. Ry, Co. v. Dille Rd. Recycling, LLC Page 3 the scale, trucks enter and exit via the southwest end of the Parcel. Dille says that this scale is essentially immovable, as “[t]here is no other practical or functional location on [the Property] to install [it].” The scale is buried in the ground at surface level. Moreover, Dille says there is nowhere else on the Property with a “long enough approach . . . for trucks to . . . maneuver on and off the scale.” Not surprisingly, Dille says that it requires the entire Parcel to operate its recycling business. Roughly two-thirds of the Parcel (the part with the scale and approach) are unsuitable for shared use. That portion of the Parcel “would have to be kept wide open unobstructed, no structures . . . to be of shared use with Norfolk . . . .” Despite this, Dille has averred that it is “willing and able to share” the Parcel with Norfolk. Dille suggests that the parties can achieve shared use of the Parcel because [Dille] would provide the railroad with access to [the Parcel] including a key to open the gate which currently secures [the Parcel]. [Dille] would also provide the railroad with the name and phone number of an employee to contact in the event of any emergency or urgent situation