Unexpected Railfanning Hazards?

[kilroy]

Even smaller than the bees but can really ruin your day just the same....ticks.

[litz]

A couple of times I have been trackside when a flatcar with loose metal strapping came flailing by. First time was a bulkhead with lumber (remember those?) and the second was last year at the east end of Waterville Yard with a flat of plate steel. I was on adjacent restaurant property so I was not in danger, but it would have been serious injury because that stuff is sharp.

Would it be appropriate to call the railroad's emergency phone number to report that?

I would say that this qualifies as something you would want to call them about. Loose metal strapping could mean an unsecured load. Not good.

That's what the emergency number is for, after all.

[Lincoln78]

Who said Massachusetts doesn't have dangerous reptiles?

https://www.boston.com/news/animals/201 ... -not-gator" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There are occasional bears in northern CT in the towns along the Canal Line. A few weeks ago a bear killed a goat in eastern Ellington, which is a few miles from NECR Stafford Springs-first I have heard east of the river. I would think bears are good possibility on CSX and PanAm west of the river.

Be careful out there..

[B&Mguy]

There are occasional bears in northern CT in the towns along the Canal Line. A few weeks ago a bear killed a goat in eastern Ellington, which is a few miles from NECR Stafford Springs-first I have heard east of the river. I would think bears are good possibility on CSX and PanAm west of the river.

Definitely true, and as I said above, bears are no longer a Western MA or Northern ME/NH/VT occurrence. There have been many more reports in recent years about bears in suburban areas outside of Boston, many towns closer to 128 than 495. It's at the point now that anyone hiking the wooded trails more than 20 miles outside of Boston should be aware of what to do should the encounter a black bear. I know I think about it more than I used to whether I'm rail fanning, hiking or exploring the rail trails in the area.

In regards to the bears along the Canal Line, this is also true not only in towns like Farmington/Avon and Simsbury, but also North in MA in Westfield and Northampton. I have heard numerous bear reports along that rail trail in Westfield, even though it is pretty heavily used and is hardly out in the boonies. In Farmington, CT some of the high end housing developments also have bears wandering through, even in broad daylight. I have family out in those areas, and I have heard numerous stories of bear sightings. Definitely enough to make you aware of them when you head out exploring the rail trails!

[SemperFidelis]

Shady folks who seem to be attracted to the unsupervised nature of much of railroad property are the hazard I am always on the lookout for. Most of them turn out to be nice, but I have run into more than a few who were not.

[Noel Weaver]

Another major nuisance at least in Northern New England although it might be over for this season is the presence of Black Flies. Black Flies don't stink but they gouge right in to the skin and they sometimes hurt and can be very painful. You will surely find them in much of Maine and in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and probably northern Vermont and New York as well. I remember on night a good number of years ago following the Mountain job from North Conway to Crawford Notch and I was literally trapped in my car the flies were so thick. There is more to this one, my car was low enough on gas that I did not follow beyond Crawford Notch but returned to my hotel in North Conway. I stopped at the old post office site off US-302 and there were some people camping or I should say raising hell. The car had a New York plate and sure enough they nailed the train on the mountain which resulted in an un-needed stop. They called for the police and when I saw the police I gave them the license plate of the car. I made it back to North Conway and got gas the next morning. I don't know whether the state police got the people but I suspect they did. There were black flies everywhere that night.
Noel Weaver

[SemperFidelis]

Yeah, those flies are all over northern NY and you're right, they don't sting but rather take a rather large gouge out of your skin that hurts like heck. You really have to try to kill the things, too. Sometimes you can hit them with more than enough force to kill any other small insect and they'll just roll with it and fly away.

Spiders on abandoned bridges are one that surprised the heck out of me, though they shouldn't. I think it was the old E&N Bridge between Easton and Bethlehem, PA, simply covered in the things. Thousands upon thousands of them.

[B&Mguy]

Shady folks who seem to be attracted to the unsupervised nature of much of railroad property are the hazard I am always on the lookout for. Most of them turn out to be nice, but I have run into more than a few who were not.

Agreed. Most people I've meet on my explorations have been very kind and pleasant, there have been a few instances that I've decided to move along or bypass a location if I see someone or a group there that seem to be out of place, or potentially not friendly.

Also, I might have mentioned this in my initial post, but often times when driving down rural roads, especially dead end ones leading to former RR sites, many houses will have unleashed dogs that can be very territorial and often present a hazard. I'm not talking about friendly yellow and black labs either...

[BandA]

Black bear a few years ago traveling along the Framingham/Worcester line in Newtonville near West Newton. Wasn't bothering anybody, but environmental police decided to shoot it dead out of a tree anyway.

Railroads are great corridors for animal migrations and much less dangerous to cross than roadways. Train frequencies are lower. And the rock ballast has nice spaces for critters to get out of the sun. And the culverts and drainage features must be great. Snakes need to get below the frost line in winter, so crevices and gaps are necessary.

[Ridgefielder]

Forget MBTA territory. Bears have been photographed within a mile of Main St. in Ridgefield, Conn., and about a year ago one knocked down a bird feeder at my mother's friend's house in Wilton. That's deep into Metro-North territory in southwestern Connecticut. I think these days you should more or less assume the presence of bears anywhere in mainland rural/suburban New England aside from Cape Cod. That said, Eastern black bears aren't grizzlies. Unless you get between a mother and her cubs, they're more afraid of you than you are of them. Don't bother them and they won't bother you.

Now greenhead flies, on the other hand...

[Plate C]

Kind of funny to see people listing bears. Unexpected? Yes, if it were to happen. Hazard? Not so likely. Can't recall ever seeing/hearing stories of the person chased or attacked by a bear while railfanning. As someone stated, they're too busy doing their thing to care about a railfan.

Ticks was a good response, nasty suckers that can still get you sick, infected,a rash, etc., even if they don't give you Lyme. Related to ticks and insects in general, all I can say is Permethrin. Have had 0 pests after treating the clothes I wear to the rails.

[ExCon90]

This has been very illuminating. Until now I thought that chiggers in Missouri were a nuisance, but they're not in the same league with those flies. Some years ago I stood in knee-deep weeds along the Frisco main line and didn't feel much of anything at the time, but for a week or two afterwards ...

[Ken W2KB]

Kind of funny to see people listing bears. Unexpected? Yes, if it were to happen. Hazard? Not so likely. Can't recall ever seeing/hearing stories of the person chased or attacked by a bear while railfanning. As someone stated, they're too busy doing their thing to care about a railfan.

Ticks was a good response, nasty suckers that can still get you sick, infected,a rash, etc., even if they don't give you Lyme. Related to ticks and insects in general, all I can say is Permethrin. Have had 0 pests after treating the clothes I wear to the rails.

There were several hikers in northern NJ that came upon a black bear last year and one was killed. Rare but can happen. I have a black bear this year in my neighborhood and my coonhounds alert me if the bear is in the general vicinity.

[Plate C]

Yes, a black bear killed a hiker who strayed from his group and followed the bear. But... I believe the original poster was looking for actual encounters/experiences. I still haven't heard of a bear attacking a railfan. It's kind of like saying the line could derail while you're tkaing a pic and a boxcar could fall on you. Could that happen? Yeah. Has it? Not that I've heard of.

I liked some of the other responses. Dogs & ticks seem the worst of it thus far.

[Dick H]

Many animals that would not usually be a threat will become one if they have young ones still in their care.

TV9 has had several recent stories about a bear making its rounds in Manchester. One of the pieces speculated
that Mama bear made it clear to the young one it was time to move on, so it has been checking out a city environment.