Hunting on train tracks?
- Thread starter hawk-i
- Start date
not sure about the legalities, but I can let you in on a tip that you very likely did not know. Back in the day us punks used to ride the rails with our cars. I haven't done it for decades and can't say what vehicles of nowadays will fit and work, but I put many a mile on the rails with my '55 Chevy and '67 Chevelle and '68 Camaro. Another dude done the same with his '66 Charger and there were plenty more. You get on and off the rails at a cross road where the ties are on the road. The tires wrap around the rails and bite like a snake. You DO NOT touch the steering wheel, I repeat DO NOT TOUCH THE STEERING WHEEL, you just use the gas pedal and enjoy the ride and scenery. You can get going as fast as you dare, it ain't gonna jump off. We did 50 mph like nothing. Some guys went faster, but 50 or less was good enough for me. We never met a train, thank goodness! Oh, I guess I should mention "don't do this at home" kids
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you're not kidding! A car load of us punks and some hot chicks and a 24 of O.V. that some older dude bought for us! What a joyus Fri or Sat night that was! Oh the good old days!
Just an old memory that popped up in my mind, what a laugh we had one time on our first experience. We came to a side crossing rail, it was dark out, didn't know what might happen, didn't know which rail the tires would choose to take, didn't want the car to jump off and get hung up, so we send one guy out there to feel what was happening, when it was decided that all was well he came back in the car with totally black hands, black as coal they was, and it wouldn't wipe off!
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Ask anyone who has survived being hit by a train if they heard it coming..
The right of ways are considered private property and the CN Police will issue tickets if they see you.
Seriously though, those Iron Horses sneak up up on you pretty fast and they are surprisingly quiet too.
Rob
The right of ways are considered private property and the CN Police will issue tickets if they see you.
Seriously though, those Iron Horses sneak up up on you pretty fast and they are surprisingly quiet too.
Rob
The railroad right of way is private property. (31 years on the BC Northline). Not very many CN Police around in remote areas but you will find them around the yards. Lots of people use the right of way to hunt, hike, mushroom pick or whatever. It is all illegal. We do kill people on a regular basis on the right of way so be very careful while you are out there. Tunnels and bridges are the main issues. Trains on ribbon steel do not make much noise and when drifting along going downhill almost none at all. That is how people get caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. They are major wildlife corridors and will give you access to some pretty neat country. We rarely turned anyone in for being on the right of way unless they were acting stupid and then it was for their own good. Our radio systems are very good. Leaving Terrace going west the guys (never saw a woman doing this so that should tell you something) would set up their beach chairs between the rails and set up shop fishing the pools below the Kalum. We would be laying on the horn and the scramble would be on. Never got anyone there, plain dumb luck. The most dangerous is when people sled on the right of way and wear helmets, they cannot hear and their visibility is poor. Pretty helpless feeling laying on the horn and you know fuzzy nuts is not aware you are sneaking up up him.
Here is my advice on this subject and I suggest you listen very carefully. Any time is train time. Never assume anything.
Here is my advice on this subject and I suggest you listen very carefully. Any time is train time. Never assume anything.
In the early 60s my dad would take us on a Sunday drive and when crossing the Victoria Bridge in Montreal he would set the car on the tramway tracks...hands off till we were across...thrill for us kids. "53 Chevy Belair.
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When pheasant hunting was more popular in rural central BC, I did a lot of hunting on the tracks. Lots of land owners wouldn't allow pheasant hunting, but some of these properties abutted on a RR right of way, so there was a good hunting area on each side of the track, on the RR right of way, always a mixture of grass, weeds and small brush.
The way we operated there was no danger to me, but I was always concerned about the dogs safety. Once our springer was on the other side of the track when I heard a train coming. So I called him to me and made sure he couldn't make a jump onto the tracks. All the time the long train went by he sat, but his nose was constantly sniffing the air. As soon as the train went by I told him OK, he could go. He bounded across the tracks and within five seconds put a nice rooster up within good range of my 20 DB!
The way we operated there was no danger to me, but I was always concerned about the dogs safety. Once our springer was on the other side of the track when I heard a train coming. So I called him to me and made sure he couldn't make a jump onto the tracks. All the time the long train went by he sat, but his nose was constantly sniffing the air. As soon as the train went by I told him OK, he could go. He bounded across the tracks and within five seconds put a nice rooster up within good range of my 20 DB!
What do you do when you meet the train and need to touch the wheel lol. throw it reverse, floor it,match the speed best you can, thrower in neutral and cross your fingers?not sure about the legalities, but I can let you in on a tip that you very likely did not know. Back in the day us punks used to ride the rails with our cars. I haven't done it for decades and can't say what vehicles of nowadays will fit and work, but I put many a mile on the rails with my '55 Chevy and '67 Chevelle and '68 Camaro. Another dude done the same with his '66 Charger and there were plenty more. You get on and off the rails at a cross road where the ties are on the road. The tires wrap around the rails and bite like a snake. You DO NOT touch the steering wheel, I repeat DO NOT TOUCH THE STEERING WHEEL, you just use the gas pedal and enjoy the ride and scenery. You can get going as fast as you dare, it ain't gonna jump off. We did 50 mph like nothing. Some guys went faster, but 50 or less was good enough for me. We never met a train, thank goodness! Oh, I guess I should mention "don't do this at home" kids
We have near misses all the time. There are so many trains now days that it is pretty dangerous to be near the rail. I have almost hit people so many times it make me ill just thinking about it. My advice is to stay away from the tracks.
- Location
- Saskatchewan
One aspect of hunting rail or road corridors that many people don't consider is when they shoot something - if it is going to be a legal and safe shot, it must not be along or across the travelled portion of a public roadway. and if away from the roadway, it often will be trespassing to make the retrieve. Not a good idea. I have a road allowance alongside a quarter section of good elk habitat. Far too many "citiots" drive along the road allowance to hunt because they legally can, but any shot they take will be illegal.
I know a few conductors that live with nightmares because of this..... Great point.... You just can't stop that kind of weight on a dime no matter how much you try.....
My ex-sister in law did a u-turn in a goods yard in BC in a Suzuki Sprint. She travelled about 100 yards sideways with a bent steering wheel. She still is a bit twitchy about railroad crossings. Come to think of it, I tried to buy a car from her, but she wrote it off on the Pattullo bridge. She also swerved on the trans Canada highway because somebody scared her, and hit a tree.
