Brendan,

The other day you wrote and reiterated your feeling that the
sovereign rights to the depths below the Vennbahn right of way
belonged to Belgium, too.

Last night I read through the Versailles treaty to see what was given
back to Belgium with the transfer of Eupen and Malmedy, and coupled
that with two treaties that resulted (whose names and ID's I don't
have here in the office). Both treaties refer only to the rail bed
and one states that five exclaves of Germany were created as a
result. There are other limits to the Belgian sovereignty over the
rail line, such as rail fares that Belgians were to insure were to be
payable in German and Belgian currency, allowing Germans to cross the
tracks without border controls from the Belgians, that Belgian
customs regime on German goods would be encountered only at ends of
the line (and one other rail siding), that Belgium would
respect German laws and regulations with respect to the size and
layouts of station facilities, platforms and waiting rooms, and some
other things.

It's not hard to believe that the term "bahnkoerper" constantly
used in the treaties refer really only to the surface of the ground
on which the rail bed lies. What is the source of your feeling to
the contrary? I don't see any writings that allow me to make the
leap that the railway has any territory other than rocks, ties, rails
and the surface of adjacent lands on which the stations sit. I don't
see any provisions that say Germany would insure that roads between
Germany and it's exclaves that traverse the depths below the
Belgian tracks would be maintained by Germany even though those
portions are Belgian.

Regards
Len