Trust-deed

(1) A species of mortgage given to a trustee for the purpose of securing a numerous class of creditors, as the bondholders of a railroad corporation, with power to foreclose and sell on fnilure of the payment of their bonds, notes, or other claims. (2) In some of the states, and in the District of Columbia, a trust-deed is a security resembling a mortgage, being a conveyance of lands to trustees to secure the payment of a debt, with a power of sale upon default, and upon a trust to apply the net proceeds to paying the debt and to turn over the surplus to the grantor.