You’re right, the Great Northern I believe bought government land (indian land?) and sold it to settlers to finance the building of it.
I guess if highways, hospitals, etc. could do that, we wouldn’t need the use of eminent domain. Then we could just take a black pen and cross out that part of the constitution.
Oh please. There is a vast difference between takings for the benefit of a private party and a Constitutional taking under the limitations of Article I: "forts, dock yards, arsenals, magazines, and other needful buildings."