Active Railroad Bechmark Hunting

[evenfall]

In this morning's News, was this Article.

 

This particular stretch of tracks does have survey markers along it. It is in a remote, difficult to access area bordered on one side by a Cliff, and the other by the Puget Sound. Though this is not a Benchmark Hunter, it is a train pedestrian accident, and in an area where this sort of thing happens all too frequently. Many are killed, It is not clear that this person is lucky. The basis for all of this was about being in a wrong place to do anything, Period.

 

I just wanted to revisit the issue, though we discuss it often, that railroad right of ways are not safe places to play, let alone be.

 

Thanks for listening.

 

Rob

[+Harry Dolphin]

Point well taken, Evenfall. Railroad rights of way are dangerous places to be. You'd be surprised how many people are killed by NJ Transit every year.

I have two finds and one DNF on these (mainline of the Morris and Essex), but do think about the ones on the Susquenanna and Western line...

[+GEO*Trailblazer 1]

Update on one of our own.

Cardinal from Fayettville Arkansas.

His back that he broke over a year ago from a fall off a bridge is doing better.

His leg that was completely broken on both bones is almost well.

He says he should be able to start using the limb fully again soon.

 

I am happy for him.And I thank the Local State Highway Patrol Officer that was observant to the fall.

This is not an active RR bridge but still the same all places can be dangerous.

 

Thanks again for the Heads up. SAFETY PAYS...........We need at least 1 a month safety meeting here .............don't you think?

[+marvin1226]

Has anyone contacted the railroads to ask for an escort to hunt along rail lines? If so, what was the response?

 

I am asking because there is a BM on the north end of a railroad bridge just north of a BNSF switch yard that I would like to hunt and won't do it illegally.

[holograph]

It's not just the active railroads that are unsafe. Would you want to cross this bridge? Take a close look at it (click the link for the full size 80K image) -- the "ties" are really branches that have been laid down to replace the missing ones!

 

Unbelievably, this is an informal trail that is driven by 4-wheeler enthusiasts. I wouldn't want to ride a machine across that, but clearly they do!

 

LY0833 was on the bridge abutment, but fortunately on the near end, not the far end.

 

Click for 80K image

[+marvin1226]

I'm too cautious to attempt that. I was just curious if anyone has tried contacting the railroads directly about escorts.

 

The mark I would like to search for is technically still in their yard so I am planning on contacting the Tresspasser Abatement Program for BNSF to inquier about an escorted trip to the bridge.

[evenfall]

Marvin,

 

Railroads can be Amenable to escorting those who have legitimate work to do on their right of way. It is a scheduling thing, and no one is going to put the railroad out. If a Licensed Surveying Firm needed access, or some form of construction access, I imagine they would provide an escort for that as it is a revenue job, but to escort someone for the purpose of playing a game is unlikely.

 

Keep in mind that they will have to pay someone union scale to tag along with you and those Man Hours can be billable to the person who needs their escort. Railroad personnel have been instructed not to be nice guy's and help or look the other way anymore. It used to be many would, but they could lose their jobs for doing that today.

 

Good Luck.

 

Rob

Edited January 26, 2005 by evenfall

[+marvin1226]

Good point. There be another way to hunt for this particular mark, but I haven't explored it yet. There is an elevated pedestrian trail in the vacinity of the tracks that I may be able to view it from.

 

The mark is GH0080

Edited January 26, 2005 by marvin1226

[mloser]

From aerial photographs it looks like it will be difficult to get to. I doubt you will have a view of the mark from anywhere but right on the bridge itself.

 

I don't see anything that looks like a walkway near the tracks, unless the walkway is actually ON the bridge, which seems unlikely, as this appears to be a major line for the BNSF at this location.

 

Your best bet, and one you will hear from others on this forum, is to skip this benchmark. It is bad enough to be on railroad property, but being on a BRIDGE on railroad property is about as dangerous as it can get.

[evenfall]

I suppose it is worth repeating. All Railroad Security Cops are Deputized as a Federal Marshalls. They are on the look with fresh eyes toward Homeland Security and Terrorist Activities.

 

It is of note that just today, A Freight and Passenger Train were intentionally derailed by a vehicle that was purposefully parked by a Supposedly Suicidal Man on the rails. 10 so far died, 180 were Injured.

 

The dead and missing are not completely known at the time of this writing. The rescue efforts are not yet complete. A suspect is in custody and preparations are being made to to charge him. He did not die in the collision, He apparently got out of the SUV just before the collision, stood nearby and watched.

 

You too could be one person in the wrong place.

 

Enough avoidable bad things happen on railroad property as it is.

 

The Railroads will not go easy. If you have not got permission and safety training to be where you are on their Property, then you are a trespasser which in this day is not just a trespasser. You could be a terrorist.

 

Please take pause, and try to imagine. What do you look like to a Railroad Security Cop? Keep in mind, you are not supposed to be where you are. If you were in their shoes, what would you do?

 

Does this person know that they are trespassing? Are they Suicidal? Are they a terrorist? Are they looking for something or hiding something? Is that a shovel? Are they tampering with the tracks? Do they have a Gun?

 

Do you really want to be in a place you are not supposed to be answering to someone with similar thoughts on their mind? Are they already having a bad day? Are you causing them to have one now?

 

They hate having train wrecks that evacuate towns, and kill passengers or nearby residents or First responders. They wonder what will happen when the Terrorists really do target their railroad.

 

Some time Back, I was working on a road redesign with a Paving company. They had to pave up to the edge of the tracks for the crossing overlays. Permission from the Railroad was needed to do so, as in the railroad had to be there watching with a radio to keep the paving and train crews safe... All had been warned not to be in the right of way without a Railroad Representative handy. The schedule did not go as planned so the Paving Foreman decided not to wait and paved next to the tracks early. Early as in before the appointed time for the Railroad track inspector to arrive. The inspector turned the air a very deep shade of Blue when he arrived, and that involved the job getting shut down by the Municipality. The railroad wanted to file charges with the City for trespassing, and reckless endangerment to their crews which could have potentially found a paving crew in the way. That didn't happen, fortunately. It took several days afterwards to get the job done and a different crew had to finish it. That particular Paving Foreman had to take some unplanned time off, and the Paving Company Had to kiss up to both the City and the Railroad because the Railroad was not quick to want to allow it again, and the City was also not happy as they needed the job done days before. This was a rather ruinous adventure even though nothing happened...

 

I really hate to big deal this simple hunting of a Benchmark, but I assure you that the Railroad folks can and likely will. The station may be easy pickings, but please, Just skip all these. This game is not worth Jail or worse.

 

Rob

Edited January 27, 2005 by evenfall

[ArtMan]

Amen to evenfall's comments.

 

This from a guy who has collected a few benchmarks in hazardous rights-of-way where I look back and wonder, what could I have been thinking. One slip and I could have been killed. Or worse, embarrassed!

 

If a mark is along an active railroad line, I just move on to the next one. I don't want to be killed. I don't want to be maimed. I don't want to get in trouble with the law.

 

I take benchmark hunting fairly seriously but, let's face it, for us non-professionals it is just a game. And it's not like those RR benchmarks are the last ones left unfound. As of today there are a mere 679,220 still unrecovered. And quite a few of those are not on RR property.

 

-ArtMan-

[Cape Cod Cacher]

Do a search for 'railfan, rail fan, or rail-fan' , then narrow it down to your area. National Railroad Historical Association will help too. They will help with quesions regarding access and could probably take you right to a benchmark or two. They hang around railroads alot to photograph trains. There are chapters all over the place. I met a nice man at a model RR show that helped me get permission to poke around the local short-line around here and found a volunteer to show me the yard. Granted, it just takes trash off Cape once a day and runs @ 30 mph, but it's nice to have a letter (especially behind the county jail!). Rail to bike trails are pretty cool too. Ill keep away from mainlines and big yards though...

Right now I'm going to try to find my mail / paper boxes under the snow, and I know where they are / were !

Edited January 27, 2005 by Cape Cod Cacher

[evenfall]

You make a great point Artman. There are a lot yet to find and safer ones than these.

 

All Railroad Property is pretty much Posted, so Just Pass on it. I said that already but there just seems to be another who comes along who says Heheheh I am going to look for a work around. Do yourself a Favor, Just skip the work around... Pass on these Stations. Casey from NGS even told us that NGS Personnel Have difficulty gaining access to some stations, and my being a surveyor does not make it magic either.

 

Stay Safe!

 

Rob

[+marvin1226]

I don't see anything that looks like a walkway near the tracks, unless the walkway is actually ON the bridge, which seems unlikely, as this appears to be a major line for the BNSF at this location.

 

The bike trail/pedestrian walkway are fairly new, less than a year old. They are a series of switchbacks that lead to a trail running under the north end of the highways shown. At one point this is about 15 feet above and 25-30 feet east of the RR bridge. I know that I won't be able to get close enough to officially record the visit or photograph it, but I would like to see if it's still there.

 

As far as injuries, I have great respect for the dangers posed by trains. I have seen some of these first hand in my 8 years as a paramedic. I have no intention of becoming an injury statistic nor the next poster boy for the success of the tresspasser abatement programs.

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

I don't see anything that looks like a walkway near the tracks, unless the walkway is actually ON the bridge, which seems unlikely, as this appears to be a major line for the BNSF at this location.

 

The bike trail/pedestrian walkway are fairly new, less than a year old. They are a series of switchbacks that lead to a trail running under the north end of the highways shown. At one point this is about 15 feet above and 25-30 feet east of the RR bridge. I know that I won't be able to get close enough to officially record the visit or photograph it, but I would like to see if it's still there.

 

As far as injuries, I have great respect for the dangers posed by trains. I have seen some of these first hand in my 8 years as a paramedic. I have no intention of becoming an injury statistic nor the next poster boy for the success of the tresspasser abatement programs.

 

Marvin, just take along a pair of binoculars. If you can then read the disk, it is a find. Perhaps a telephoto lens would help with the picture, but it is not needed if you can read the disk.

 

John

[+mblitch]

In this morning's News, was this Article.

 

it is a train pedestrian accident

Didn't seem to be a pedestrian accident. It seems the person jumped off the train.

[rescue557]

Rail to bike trails are pretty cool too.

These are awesome! Look all you want; no trains!

[+nfa]

The train tracks in my part of the Adirondacks are not used for more than 1/2 of the year, which can be a mixed blessing...you have lots more time during the year to safely use the tracks to look for bms or get back into wild places, but people can also take it for granted that there are never trains on the tracks.

 

nfa-jamie