OC on railroad tracks/railroad beds?

[RoyHobbs]

heres one i looked for info on and couldnt relly come up with anything solid.i often walk/hike and mountain bike on railroad beds or along railroad tracks.i was wondering if oc would be legal here.some of the railroads in my area have been shut down and have had the tracks and ties removed.i would think this is private property(owned by railroad companies).just looking for any thoughts,opinions or if possible a straight up answer to the legalities of oc on railroad tracks/beds.on a side note,i love this site.great info and resource.thank you pafoa

[streaker69]

heres one i looked for info on and couldnt relly come up with anything solid.i often walk/hike and mountain bike on railroad beds or along railroad tracks.i was wondering if oc would be legal here.some of the railroads in my area have been shut down and have had the tracks and ties removed.i would think this is private property(owned by railroad companies).just looking for any thoughts,opinions or if possible a straight up answer to the legalities of oc on railroad tracks/beds.on a side note,i love this site.great info and resource.thank you pafoa

Private property is private property, if the landowner doesn't want you there with a firearm, OC or CC you shouldn't be there. If they have no trespassing signs up, as many rail lines have, you shouldn't be there at all. If there's no sign there at all, use your own discretion.

If you are confronted by someone that's legally allowed to represent the landowner, you should be polite and if they ask you to leave, you should do so immediately so as to avoid any further complications with a trespassing charge.

[Xpertz]

Most of the time when rails are pulled , the land ownership reverts back to any landowner who's property it crosses. I know this because we are having some problems here getting use of the property for Rails To Trails. Sooo, you will very likely be on private property. As for the bike trails, I carry on all of them, but , concealed.

[Statkowski]

Most of the time when rails are pulled , the land ownership reverts back to any landowner who's [sic] property it crosses.

Correction to the preceding (not counting the mis-used word), sometimes when the rails are pulled, etc., etc., etc. Prior to the Rails-to-Trails Act or whatever it's called, and its subsequent court challenge, when railroad right-of-way was abandoned, ownership of the land reverted back to the original landowners or their heirs. Nowadays the rails-to-trails people get first dibs when a line is abandoned.

However, and here's the rub, just because the rails (and crossties) are pulled up doesn't mean the line is abandoned - the railroad company owning (or leasing) the right-of-way could have placed the line in inactive status. This lowers the tax burden on the railroad, and the line can be reactivated at a later time without any governmental hoops to jump through (environmental impact statements, etc., etc.), as would be the case with a new railroad line.

Also, the railroad company may not have owned the right-of-way outright, but may merely have leased it from the original property owners (and now their heirs) under a long-term (i.e., 999-year) lease. Once the tracks are pulled, it would automatically revert to the original property owners (or their heirs).

In any event, OCing on tracks or right-of-way is not illegal, but the possibility of trespassing is.

[reverserboy]

My take....
Unless it's a trail open to the public.....you're likely tresspassing.
I've done this myself both on foot & with a dual sport motorcycle and ATV. When I tresspass I usually CC....so if I'm confronted there's no visible gun.
If you are confronted...just say "Ok...I'm leaving" & leave and probably nothing will come of it.

As for railroad property....if you're not an employee,a contractor/employee,cop or firefighter.....you're a tresspasser.

[rmodel65]

its really not a good idea to walk rail.....with todays modern trains which are nothing more than diesel generators they are a lot more quiet...you can easily be hit by a train because other than a light engine one loaded down with car will take forever to stop and not to mention youre a lot smaller than say a car and might not even be noticed at all.....

[rmodel65]

Private property is private property, if the landowner doesn't want you there with a firearm, OC or CC you shouldn't be there. If they have no trespassing signs up, as many rail lines have, you shouldn't be there at all. If there's no sign there at all, use your own discretion.

If you are confronted by someone that's legally allowed to represent the landowner, you should be polite and if they ask you to leave, you should do so immediately so as to avoid any further complications with a trespassing charge.

yep the railroad has its own police force that can and will arrest you.....

[Gun]

Once the tracks are pulled, it would automatically revert to the original property owners (or their heirs).

Not if the railroad owns the land. Landscape Co., I work for, maintains several areas owned by Norfolk, where tracks have been pulled. But this is inner city property.

[Cruiser]

yep the railroad has its own police force that can and will arrest you.....

Yes they do,, and in some areas are out on 4wheelers and dual sport motorcycles. They are going after the mtn bikers, dirt bikers and quad riders mainly.. They have funded these with grants from homeland security.
I have been approached by some of these "officers" not sure as some seam more like security than LEO,, but I should have asked them where to apply.. would love to ride a dirt bike for a job..

[rmodel65]

Yes they do,, and in some areas are out on 4wheelers and dual sport motorcycles. They are going after the mtn bikers, dirt bikers and quad riders mainly.. They have funded these with grants from homeland security.
I have been approached by some of these "officers" not sure as some seam more like security than LEO,, but I should have asked them where to apply.. would love to ride a dirt bike for a job..

well more than that they ride on trains carrying high dollar loads like alky,ciggs, military stuff(military ride too to safe guard) you just apply with any railroad....just like regular railroad employees the cops are on a senority system so you will have to start in some inner city yard running off hobos and the like till you can move to some other yard etc