Is it legal to go into a BNSF parking lot to talk to a guy to ask if you can take pictures. I wanted to do this today in Cicero becuase their was a BN GP10 in the yard. My dad said it is ileagl to go inot the yard. I strongly dis agree. Am I right to disagree, or wrong?
Does the parking lot belong to the BNSF ?? If so,it is private property.
Methinks you may have answered your own question.
The parking lot would technically be BNSF property, and if you don’t have legitamate business there it would technically be trespassing. However, I doubt anyone would make a stink over you going in to ask someone a question. If there aren’t any “No Trespassing” signs, then you need to be asked to leave by someone before it technically becomes trespassing. But if you’re asked to leave, then you’d be smart to do so.
No harm in just going in and asking, you might get lucky.
If the parking lot is posted “No Trespassing” or “Employees Only” then I wouldn’t recommend going in. If not, this may be a parking lot for the business end. Asking permission for this should be considered “railroad business” and if you park, then head right to the office, they should have no reason to believe that you’re there for anything other than business.
Yes. If you can get to it from a public road and you’re going to talk to a BNSF employee it should be legal.
Well, you said you wantd to go into the yard. That is illegal, even with permission, unless Matt Rose or the Head Foreman gives you permision.
Well if thats illegal, then how come so many people get in the yard?
Either there Railroad Emplyoees, Intermodal Ramp Truckers or they tresspass illeagley which is a big no-no.
Either there Railroad Emplyoees, Intermodal Ramp Truckers or they tresspass illeagley which is a big no-no.
Its usually far easier to beg for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission – especially if you have a camera.
On the other hand, its a good excuse to go into the yard office and meet people.
I almost got locked up in San Bernadino for taking pictures in the ATSF employee parking lot. They decided that keeping me there for two hours and taking my film was enough. Do so at your own risk.
Bit of a catch22. How do you get permission to enter if you can not enter to go in the office to request permission to enter private property? Me thinks a written request for perrmission would be safe but the said GP10 would be long gone. That is where long lens and public property come in handy. The answer is there is no good answer. Remember there is no requirement that property be posted to be considered private since 9-11. It is a brave new world.
There is a bunch of legal classifications person fall into when on railroad property.
Employee, contract employee (the guy fixing the A/C for the lunch room), sub contractor, (the guys working for the A/C guy) or casual visitor (the guy filling the vending machines) so forth and so on…if you just step into the parking lot to ask an employee a question, and he answers your question instead of telling you to leave, you become his guest…and he is responsible for you and your safety.
When or if he asked you to leave, you should.
Understand that we have to have people other than rr employees come on property, delivery drivers, the guy filling the coke machine, city inspectors, track laying companies, repair people…you get the point.
I have had a few of the forum members on the PTRA, and the first thing I do is take them to the trainmasters office, introduce them, and get permission for them to be there and watch.
They then become my guest; I am totally responsible for them.
I would suggest if you are within hearing distance, and the guy looks like he might answer, give him a holler and ask him if you can come ask him a question…he most likely will walk over to you, and tell you who you need to see, and how to get to them…if it involves driving into the parking lot and going into the buildings, no problem, if anyone stops you, tell them who you are looking for, they will probably take you to them…because it is a parking lot, accessible to the public, it constitutes a invitation to enter, but such invitation is restricted to the “public” area, the parking lot, the office building and lunch room. This does not include the tower or any of the “working” buildings.
The trespassers we are worried about are not the ones who walk into the building looking for someone, but the nuts that walk into the yard, cross live tracks, stand beside the main close enough to get hit…theses are the trespassers we worry about.
Also note that th
Well here is something I have laerned over the years. It’s not what you know it’s who you know. [:D]
On a more serious matter there is nothing wrong with asking a question. I personally wouldn’t have done that but, there is still nothing wrong with it. Who knows you might of gotten a great opprotunity to check something neat out. However, most times that won’t happen, and it’s just best to sort of stay “out of the way”. I’ve also come to find out that the only way a person who isn’t authorized to be on privite property, gets into places such as a yard is if the person actually knows someone who works there.
Andrew, is your profile here at Trains.com up to date? Please double-check to make sure your e-mail is up to date. When I contacted tried to contact you in October (when you posted our Web cam image on another Web site… see it here) the e-mail bounced.
As long as I’m coming down on other users, I want to make sure you’re not slipping through the cracks.
The e-mail in your profile is Scott@enteract.com. Funny, I thought your name was Andrew. Please update and acknowledge that you’ve done so.
Bergie
Glen Ellyn
Just as I guessed… I just tried to e-mail the address in your profile and it bounced (again).
Your account is locked until you e-mail me a new, current e-mail address to editor@trains.com.
I’ve also removed OUR Web cam images from your profile and your signature.
Bergie
Glen Ellyn, make this perfectly clear.
You do not have permission to use our Web cam images on other Web sites. I’ve now found them at both rrpicturearchives.net and Shutterfly.com. You’re violating copyright laws by doing so.
Bergie
I went into the local yard office one night a number of years ago, totally out of the blue. The employee there was kind enough to talk to me, and even gave me a timetable update. He did, however, say that if “so and so” had been there, he’d have thrown me out on my ear.
I know the local trainmaster now, so next time I want to visit there (and he’s invited me to do so), it’ll be totally on the up and up.
(Psst - Bergie - I took the picture in my sig…[:D])
Bergie is on a tear!
I just noticed that the profile has a setting to prevent images in signatures from displaying. I wish I had found that setting sooner. Those signature images make page loading slow for us narrow-band people.