We’re concerned for your safety
I really get a kick out of walking on railroad tracks — heck I’ve been doing it since I was eight years old. The tracks in SE Portland, about a block from Water Ave., are great for this because they’re conveniently located between where I work and where I park. It’s kind of nice to zone out a bit while walking to and from my car. And therein lies the problem.
Today I parked as usual on Water Ave. and began the short walk to work. It was a nice day, so I thought “why not walk on the tracks for a block or so?” Like most people, my concentration was largely focused on walking-without-falling-off-the-track, so I was quite taken aback when two uniformed men leapt out of their SUV and ordered me to halt with my hands in plain sight. What?
They began hitting me with questions: “did you happen to see the no trespassing sign?” and “do you walk on the tracks often?” and “are you aware that this is dangerous?” No. Yes. Yes. I guess I should have been paying a bit more attention. The encounter continued, taking on a more personal bent: a mild pat-down to see if I had any weapons (they temporarily confiscated my knife), more questions regarding whether I watched the news and knew that more than a dozen people had been killed in Washington at some point. Sadly, I do not watch much TV and did not know that. They shook their heads in mild disbelief that someone would walk on the tracks in this day and age.
If you like to walk on the railroad tracks, especially in SE Portland, please don’t zone out as much as me. Keep an eye out for moving trains and stationary railroad cops. One or the other is bound to get you.
At one of the neighborhood meetings this topic came up. I understand a lot of people wander on the side of the track in “the Cut” in North Portland up by St. Johns. This is a length of a deep crevice where there are multiple north/south tracks. Honesty, a great place to go for a walk….but
There had been numerous injuries do to things hanging off trains. Most open cargo is held down by cable and sometimes that cable breaks and swings around. According to the police, there had been incidents where people walking alongside the track almost 10 feet from the rail were hit and injured by items hanging of the train.
I do think they were a little too aggressive though.
Ah, the railroad police. As someone who has done quite a bit of railroad photography, I’ve had my share of encounters with them. I’ve found that as a group, most of them are reasonable folks that won’t hassle someone too much. Never got a patdown over a trespass before though. Just like any position of authority, I’ve also run into a few who let the badge go to their head. Ran into a particularly nasty one in SE Portland a couple months ago who decided that despite the fact I was on public property a block away from the scene, I shouldn’t be taking photographs of an incident.
Important note about RR police: they’re not rent-a-cops. They’re not private security. Railroad police officers are full-blown sworn officers of the law with all of the powers that come along including the ability to cite and arrest.
Heh, when I worked in SE, my walking commute only had three blocks of streets on it, the rest was on the tracks. Took the train to work a few times.
There used to be a lot of ways to get on the SE tracks, but many of them been fenced off over the years. Every once in a while, the railroad cops will stake them out. I’ve been let off with a warning, but they were threatening one guy with the full penalty a few years ago, which includes prison time.
One thing I’ve learned from poking around the tracks is that there’s fewer skinheads in town than in 1990.