Since no one here seems actually to have gone and looked at a map (or perhaps the Handbook of Texas, which has even more info), or has been to Falls County (I have, on multiple occasions), here is some info that might be germane to this discussion.
The line here is the old MoP line from Bellmead (Waco) through Valley Junction and on to Houston and the Rio Grande Valley. It was built in 1902. The old SP cuts across the far southeast corner of the county for a short distance in a rural area and was built in about 1870-1880. The county was settled in the early to mid-1800’s, like 1830-1835, with land grants and some squatters predating that. So, to address k-line’s question, it’s in fact entirely likely that the railroad built the tracks through their land.
Falls County is rural. The line parallels State HW 6 south until it gets to Marlin, and then cuts off across farmland, paralleling some rural roads. The private crossings do 2 things: (1) allow direct access from subdivided property to a road located directly across the tracks and, more importantly, (2) allow farmers to access both sides of their property where the railroad splits it in two.
Therefore, it’s also entirely feasible that eliminating those private crossings (that are there and have been there either through prescriptive easements or prior agreements with the railroad) will require cutting roads over some appreciable and likely cost-prohibitive distance, probably across others’ land (which requires even more agreements) to get to an outlet. I never saw the old MoP allow a new private crossing without a written agreement, but to research this properly, you need to go look up the original agreements and easements to see the conditions.
Would you want to move farm equipment 5-10 miles on public roads (where it poses a traffic hazard) just to get access to your pasture 100 feet away?
The elimination of access to farm property is exactly one of th
Since no one here seems actually to have gone and looked at a map (or perhaps the Handbook of Texas, which has even more info), or has been to Falls County (I have, on multiple occasions), here is some info that might be germane to this discussion.
The line here is the old MoP line from Bellmead (Waco) through Valley Junction and on to Houston and the Rio Grande Valley. It was built in 1902. The old SP cuts across the far southeast corner of the county for a short distance in a rural area and was built in about 1870-1880. The county was settled in the early to mid-1800’s, like 1830-1835, with land grants and some squatters predating that. So, to address k-line’s question, it’s in fact entirely likely that the railroad built the tracks through their land.
Falls County is rural. The line parallels State HW 6 south until it gets to Marlin, and then cuts off across farmland, paralleling some rural roads. The private crossings do 2 things: (1) allow direct access from subdivided property to a road located directly across the tracks and, more importantly, (2) allow farmers to access both sides of their property where the railroad splits it in two.
Therefore, it’s also entirely feasible that eliminating those private crossings (that are there and have been there either through prescriptive easements or prior agreements with the railroad) will require cutting roads over some appreciable and likely cost-prohibitive distance, probably across others’ land (which requires even more agreements) to get to an outlet. I never saw the old MoP allow a new private crossing without a written agreement, but to research this properly, you need to go look up the original agreements and easements to see the conditions.
Would you want to move farm equipment 5-10 miles on public roads (where it poses a traffic hazard) just to get access to your pasture 100 feet away?
I understand that safety is the number one thing for all RR’s but closing some private roads will save alot of people? Like how many cars a day would cross those roads? UP needs to look where there having the most accidents and start there first.
They and the other major railroads already have along with the smaller railroads. For the last 20 years, UP and it’s predecessors have looked at every crossing to see if it can be removed under pressure from FRA. (best risk scenario in no crossings at all - UP got rid of 70 private and public at-grade crossings in Wyoming last year)
As I stated earlier, private crossings that are undocumented are a pain. Folks that want the convenience without shouldering the responsibility are a bigger pain. And then there are the lowlife real estate people and sellers trying to obscure the facts to expedite a sale. Subdivision developer assumptions about crossings border on the absurd…(You ought to watch the title companies freak-out around railroads…amusing to read some of the title policy exceptions related to railroad boundaries & color of title.)
The whining and moaning from the county fathers has to do with railroads demanding the crossing users assume the liability for use and maintenance of the crossing. (There’s no such thing as a free lunch, BUT Falls County seems to think so. Would Falls County like to assume ALL liability for every auto accident at EVERY county road ?..and for every stupid move by every one of it’s citizens?)
Probably won’t save any lives, but might save the railroad a lot of unwarranted lawsuits by people who cross and are too careless to stop and make sure there’s no train coming. It’s liability issues that are driving this, not safety. Sign the waiver, accept personal responsibility for crossing at that point, and the issue goes away. Or do you really think that it’s the railroad’s fault if a train hits a car at one of these crossings?
There can be little accounting for the lack of brain power among home buyers who ought to know better. I am not talking about the person who can do little more than to own a home on the wrong side of the tracks. One would be amazed at the number of high 6 to 7 figure homes that have been built with backyards up to the fence of the Chicago area expressways. And I mean built long AFTER the expresways were built.
Then we taxpayers get to build walls to block the sound of the cars, trucks, motorcycles and 200 watt boom boxes. It sure is too bad those wall don’t work very well.
Just who do the railroads think they are-blocking the landowners right to build a short cut over their tracks or INSISTING that the landowner waive their right to sue the railroad if their precious SUV gets wacked by one of those mean trains.
Let’s compromise. House owner gets to cross over railroad property as a short cut. Railroad gets to run MOW equipment and other vehicles over house owners property to get to the tracks. Sounds fair to me.