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schilling207 t1_jbkl8s4 wrote

Per Maine law: A person may not, without right, stand or walk on a railroad track or railroad bridge or pass over a railroad bridge except by railroad conveyance

https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/23/title23sec7007.html

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ThumperZero t1_jbkvsat wrote

I didn't realize I was such a rebel as a child

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fatalrugburn t1_jbl8k2e wrote

I lived near tracks and this was, without exaggeration, 30% of my childhood and teen years growing up in Maine. What else was I going to do??

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Starbuksman t1_jbl16zg wrote

I know right!! I loved finding the old railroad spikes!

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kintokae t1_jbldig0 wrote

How else were we supposed to get to the rope swing under the bridge if we didn’t cross said bridge?

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liabit t1_jbn4ep2 wrote

I never knew this was a law. What about decommissioned tracks? Trains stopped going on our tracks when I was like 6 or so.

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amccune t1_jbllab3 wrote

That Stephen King was full of shit, man!

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JustAGreenDreamer OP t1_jbklcf4 wrote

Boo. Thanks though!

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timothypjr t1_jbkydi0 wrote

Not sure about the downvotes—I understand the allure. However, the reason for it is about liability and danger. It's surprisingly easy for a train to sneak up on you when you're on the tracks (not kidding—I've been air horn blasted off the tracks by a train that I didn't hear coming). The railroads hate cleaning the mess, dealing with the therapy for the engineer, and fighting lawsuits in court as the result of person vs. train. The train usually wins in a spectacular way.

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JustAGreenDreamer OP t1_jbkzxrh wrote

I get it. I just happen to live by a rarely-used spur, and it is the absolute shortest way from my house to the school. I would love it if the kids could walk to school that way. Shorter and safer that the road routes.

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Shilo788 t1_jblztll wrote

Oops. I birdwatch a bog off of the tracks. I had no clue and grew up with trains running thru my town. We always hung out by the old train stations.

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Katnipz t1_jc76q49 wrote

If they're decommissioned you're fine

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Nastydon t1_jbmz6bp wrote

Well damn, I used to walk home from school as I didn't have a ride. There was a set of train tracks that cut a little over 2 miles off of my trip each day, so I was always walking the tracks to save time.

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KotzubueSailingClub t1_jbnw90w wrote

A lot of people say this is trespassing on railroad land, but these state and federal laws are in place for safety and to ensure the movement of interstate commerce.

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