9outof10mms
Enginerding, good coffee, and factual opinions.
2A Bourbon Hound 2024
Supporting Member
Multi-Factor Enabled
I've heard the "legends" of the fabled, if not feared, railroad police. While out surveying years ago on the tracks near downtown Charlotte, other guys were absolutely freaked out that I was on railroad right-of-way without the railroad's permission--this, mind you, was in the homeless district just north of the 277 loop where 1,000's of homeless folks use the edge of the tracks as a homeless highway. I'm sure the railroad po-po wasn't too concerned with me.
Nonetheless, my coworkers told me stories of how the RR police would arrest me if they caught me on the tracks, even doing something as mundane as taking some grade shots. I remember thinking "them and what army are going to pull up in unmarked vehicles and try to throw me in the backseat?!?!"
Fast-forward to today and I'm at a gas station filling up. A police-looking Ford explorer pulls up to the other side of the pump and a guy gets out in OD green cargo pants, tac belt, and open carrying a pistol, badge on the belt. I casually sneak a peek at the badge and it says "police officer special agent" with "Norfolk Southern Railroad" underneath.
There he was...saw one in the wild: a railroad cop. I decided to strike up conversation with him and come to find out, they're not the big bad wolf that people make them sound like. He says first off, there are only six of them in the whole state, including the supervisor. They're far from proactive in patrolling the tracks; they're mainly reactive to reports from drivers/engineers or other incidents (apparently someone firebombed an old N-S building in Asheboro this week, so they're assisting the fire marshal in the investigation).
I asked him about getting busted on the tracks and he laughed--said that was just a rumor that they keep alive to make people think twice about doing anything in the railroad right-of-way. He says you have to be doing something pretty bad/dumb on the tracks to catch their attention.
I know--kind of a let-down of a story, but I thought I'd share my meeting of the "boogey man" today. Pretty cool guy that I could have talked to all day if it hadn't been for our tanks topping off and needing to go about our ways. The moral of the story is putting coins on the tracks to be squashed is not as bad as his actions as a kid where they'd hop on the back of the caboose and ride it in/out of town in rural Texas! I don't think I'll be too concerned with the dreaded railroad police any more.
Nonetheless, my coworkers told me stories of how the RR police would arrest me if they caught me on the tracks, even doing something as mundane as taking some grade shots. I remember thinking "them and what army are going to pull up in unmarked vehicles and try to throw me in the backseat?!?!"
Fast-forward to today and I'm at a gas station filling up. A police-looking Ford explorer pulls up to the other side of the pump and a guy gets out in OD green cargo pants, tac belt, and open carrying a pistol, badge on the belt. I casually sneak a peek at the badge and it says "police officer special agent" with "Norfolk Southern Railroad" underneath.
There he was...saw one in the wild: a railroad cop. I decided to strike up conversation with him and come to find out, they're not the big bad wolf that people make them sound like. He says first off, there are only six of them in the whole state, including the supervisor. They're far from proactive in patrolling the tracks; they're mainly reactive to reports from drivers/engineers or other incidents (apparently someone firebombed an old N-S building in Asheboro this week, so they're assisting the fire marshal in the investigation).
I asked him about getting busted on the tracks and he laughed--said that was just a rumor that they keep alive to make people think twice about doing anything in the railroad right-of-way. He says you have to be doing something pretty bad/dumb on the tracks to catch their attention.
I know--kind of a let-down of a story, but I thought I'd share my meeting of the "boogey man" today. Pretty cool guy that I could have talked to all day if it hadn't been for our tanks topping off and needing to go about our ways. The moral of the story is putting coins on the tracks to be squashed is not as bad as his actions as a kid where they'd hop on the back of the caboose and ride it in/out of town in rural Texas! I don't think I'll be too concerned with the dreaded railroad police any more.