A judge has sided with a landowner in a dispute over railroad right of way from Deadwood to Whitewood in western South Dakota.

Landowner Charles Brown argued that the right of way reverted to him when the rail line was abandoned in the 1970s.

The Northern Hills Regional Railroad Authority had wanted to revive easements on the former rights of way, but 4th Circuit Judge Warren Johnson ruled against the authority.

The dispute was part of efforts to start a tourist train in the Black Hills. The idea was part of actor Kevin Costner's planned Dunbar casino resort in the 1990s, but both projects have fallen through.