Track missing from route...no, really!
- Thread starter Euphod
- Start date
Retro00064
New member
Interesting. 
Really, stealing railway tracks for scrap is ridiculous. At least they did not go for the Union pacific tracks, for as that story said, they would have to face the fed's. 
Too bad that people had to fill the comments section for that online news story with a senseless and absurd political/racial debate, plus name calling.
Regards.
Really, stealing railway tracks for scrap is ridiculous. At least they did not go for the Union pacific tracks, for as that story said, they would have to face the fed's. Too bad that people had to fill the comments section for that online news story with a senseless and absurd political/racial debate, plus name calling.
Regards.
wow...don't know what to say. I know up in Portland, the old Portland Terminal, now privately owned, had about 100 feet of its track ripped up by a condominium group that said the railway was "going away" to its potential homeowners. similar story, similar stupidity.
magickmaker
New member
Back when I was in college, this one city ended up getting in a whole HOST of trouble over a supposed abandoned line.
To make a long story short, the city decided to widen their main road through town, and proceded to tear down this plate girder bridge (ballasted type) that crossed over the road. They even went so far as to tear out the old concrete pilings and rip out all the track back through the city, probably all told a good two or three miles of trackage.
What makes the story so funny, is how things came together. In the spring of 95, an old iron bridge and trestle had suffered damage during a flood. So NS started working to rebuild it. They diverted their traffic to Atlanta through another route while this was going on, causing this particular line to fall into apparent abandonment. All told, it was expected to take close to a year to rebuild, but various problems and setbacks pushed that timeline up to almost eighteen months.
In the fall of 95, about 8 months after the last train had come through, the small city I was living in decided that it was time to widen the main drag through town. The main road was a battered old two lane, and it ducked under an aging plate girder bridge built back in the Southern days. As part of the widening project, the city announced that they were going to remove the old bridge, and open that part of the highway to four lane traffic. Their reasoning being that since the railroad was obviously abandoned now...
NS got wind of this and sent lawyers to warn the city to stop, but the city flat ignored them. Claming "imminent domain" allowed them to sieze the land anyway. (It doesn't but that's beside the point.) Long story short the whole thing went to court. The kicker is that the same day that the judge hands down an order to stop any and all work on that section, was the same day that the city's contractors tore down the old bridge.
In the end, they had to pay about fifteen million dollars to NS for the destruction of the bridge and trackgage through town, and allow the railroad to rebuild the bridge. NS put it back pretty much as it was, even forcing the city into having a short two lane section through the underpass. They claimed (NS that is) that property lines on either side of the bridge area prevented them from widening it, though most people (myself included) felt they did it out of spite.
To make a long story short, the city decided to widen their main road through town, and proceded to tear down this plate girder bridge (ballasted type) that crossed over the road. They even went so far as to tear out the old concrete pilings and rip out all the track back through the city, probably all told a good two or three miles of trackage.
What makes the story so funny, is how things came together. In the spring of 95, an old iron bridge and trestle had suffered damage during a flood. So NS started working to rebuild it. They diverted their traffic to Atlanta through another route while this was going on, causing this particular line to fall into apparent abandonment. All told, it was expected to take close to a year to rebuild, but various problems and setbacks pushed that timeline up to almost eighteen months.
In the fall of 95, about 8 months after the last train had come through, the small city I was living in decided that it was time to widen the main drag through town. The main road was a battered old two lane, and it ducked under an aging plate girder bridge built back in the Southern days. As part of the widening project, the city announced that they were going to remove the old bridge, and open that part of the highway to four lane traffic. Their reasoning being that since the railroad was obviously abandoned now...
NS got wind of this and sent lawyers to warn the city to stop, but the city flat ignored them. Claming "imminent domain" allowed them to sieze the land anyway. (It doesn't but that's beside the point.) Long story short the whole thing went to court. The kicker is that the same day that the judge hands down an order to stop any and all work on that section, was the same day that the city's contractors tore down the old bridge.
In the end, they had to pay about fifteen million dollars to NS for the destruction of the bridge and trackgage through town, and allow the railroad to rebuild the bridge. NS put it back pretty much as it was, even forcing the city into having a short two lane section through the underpass. They claimed (NS that is) that property lines on either side of the bridge area prevented them from widening it, though most people (myself included) felt they did it out of spite.
PereMarquette1225fan
Active member
Simply shocking to see two idiots (not to be confused with my meaning for 'idiot') stealing pieces from railroad tracks. They must have been bored and thought, 'Hey, we'll take the tracks, have them scrapped and then spend the money on anything.' They're lucky they didn't get hit or worse, create a derailment.Retro00064
New member
Now that is one time where the city/DOT really did epically fail, eh?
Thanks for the story!
Regards.
lol nice try, but thats not where he is. Now two idiots that do this. The people who owned the track where most saying somthing like this in their heads ".............%#$@ ARE YOU DOING ON THE TRACKS AND ....... WHAT......NOW.......OH COME ON WE WHERE GOING TO GET NEW TRACKS NEXT MONTH AND NOW........^&*%#......*^#^.....THE &^&$$^#^&.....TRACKS..:'( !!!"
cascaderailroad
New member
What ?
.............%#$@........^&*%#......*^#^.....THE &^&$$^#^&.....TRACKS ?
2 many expletitives to understand what you are trying to describe & point out.
.............%#$@........^&*%#......*^#^.....THE &^&$$^#^&.....TRACKS ?
2 many expletitives to understand what you are trying to describe & point out.
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I cannot verify this "incident" from a periodical but a long time back the rural branch pasenger line to Aberfoyle village in the Trossachs (here in Scotland) was closed and in due time the rail people sent a train up to do the dismantling and clearing of platforms, etc. As they got to Aberfoyle the track had crossed a small burn to the terminal station. But there was a zilch as the small bridge over the water was gone although there was track beyond into the station. The story was that another department or whoever had come up from the then BR and lifted the bridge!
One supposes they then had to use road tranpsort to do the shifting on the other side of the burn?!
One supposes they then had to use road tranpsort to do the shifting on the other side of the burn?!
When I worked in the pits they used to steal the fish plates for Lobster Pot weights.Could always tell when they had been taken by the extra bumpy bumps as you drover over them.They used to wire the ends of the rails together through the bolt holes with thick wire to hold the track ends together so they wouldn't be missed straight away.
Dave
Dave
This isn't a new phenomenom, certainly in Scotland. Where there is now a shiny new freight line between Alloa and Kincardine, there was once a dilapidated track which had never been lifted 'just in case'. A couple of years prior to redevelopment of the route, several hundred metres of track were lifted adjacent to the village of Kennet.
I saw where this had happened but thought that a decision had been made to finally lift the track. It turned out that a squad of blaggards had decided to steal the steel for its scrap value.
There were also numerous other places where the same thing happened and in one area, the thieves were also taking manhole covers, leaving gaping holes in roads.
I saw where this had happened but thought that a decision had been made to finally lift the track. It turned out that a squad of blaggards had decided to steal the steel for its scrap value.
There were also numerous other places where the same thing happened and in one area, the thieves were also taking manhole covers, leaving gaping holes in roads.