Railroad blocks access to man’s land; threatens to prosecute if he crosses track
For more than 50 years, Ed Atkins crossed a railroad track that cut through his property on Black Creek Road to access 4.9 acres of his hunting and fishing land, just behind his house.
But in 2021, Genesee and Wyoming Railroad Services began parking its train from the east to west end of his property on the weekends, effectively cutting his land in half.
When he asked a company representative to unhook just one rail car so he could pass through, he was told not to cross the track or he could be charged with trespassing, whether the train was there or not.
“We had never heard a word from (Genesee and Wyoming Railroad Services) until then,” said Atkins, 85. “… I tried to call them, and they told me, ‘Sir, I’m recording your voice.’ I said, ‘I certainly am glad because I like to hear myself talk, so say something that’ll make me nervous.’ That’s when they told me they’d get me for trespassing across that land.”
https://cdispatch.com/news/railroad-blo ... ses-track/
For more than 50 years, Ed Atkins crossed a railroad track that cut through his property on Black Creek Road to access 4.9 acres of his hunting and fishing land, just behind his house.
But in 2021, Genesee and Wyoming Railroad Services began parking its train from the east to west end of his property on the weekends, effectively cutting his land in half.
When he asked a company representative to unhook just one rail car so he could pass through, he was told not to cross the track or he could be charged with trespassing, whether the train was there or not.
“We had never heard a word from (Genesee and Wyoming Railroad Services) until then,” said Atkins, 85. “… I tried to call them, and they told me, ‘Sir, I’m recording your voice.’ I said, ‘I certainly am glad because I like to hear myself talk, so say something that’ll make me nervous.’ That’s when they told me they’d get me for trespassing across that land.”
https://cdispatch.com/news/railroad-blo ... ses-track/
