Questions about the Railroad Police

newpylong wrote: I can back this by the fact that I witnessed an automobile accident on Mass Ave in Boston nowhere near the T. The responding police car was an MBTA officer.

Except that the Transit Police officer would not have been dispatched to that location. He probably "on-sighted" the accident or was working a detail nearby and was told about it. After arriving, if he couldn't handle it by merely having the drivers exchange papers, he would have radio'd for Boston Police as they have primary jurisdiction on a city public way.

i really dont understand what the purpose of a rail cop would be, especially in a place like east deerfield. im sure they would have to stick to driving around on access roads and that couldnt be too effective.

EAST wrote:i really dont understand what the purpose of a rail cop would be, especially in a place like east deerfield.

Railroad police serve the purpose of protecting railroad property and employees. Most towns, inclduing Deerfield do not have the manpower nor the ability to patrol an entire railyard (which is private property anyhow). Railroad police fill that role. It's literally impossible to fence an entire rairoad in. So police patrols are a must. Town and state police do not have the training for how railroads operate nor are they required to learn about them. A railroad is private property. Local law enforcement is not required to patrol private property.

What makes you think Deerfield does not need police? Deerfield is a busy place and has a good deal of trespassers. Mainly the trespassers are clueless railfans who wander across tracks and stand on railroad property. But there is still the risk of theft and vandalism and it happens in Deerfield too.

EAST wrote:im sure they would have to stick to driving around on access roads and that couldnt be too effective.

As opposed to driving around where? on the tracks? Of course they drive on access roads.

EAST wrote:i really dont understand what the purpose of a rail cop would be, especially in a place like east deerfield. im sure they would have to stick to driving around on access roads and that couldnt be too effective.

I take it you've never been to East Portal?! Try a trip down there sometime, especially this time of year when all the part-time kayakers and other clueless yuppies are mingling along the Deerfield River between Charlemont and Rowe. They stand in the road, hike in huge groups down the tracks, you name it. Can't get enough cops out there along the ROW. Even Charlemont cops do what they can. Seen Environmental and States as well. Nothing like seeing ignorant rejects in the gauge looking for take-home items when a train's headlight is plainly visible in the tunnel. Like a moth to a flame, can't help themselves from saying, "This railroad has trains still?" Not even worth wasting bullets on.

As for access roads, um...yeah! That's why they have 4x4s!

EAST wrote:i really dont understand what the purpose of a rail cop would be, especially in a place like east deerfield. im sure they would have to stick to driving around on access roads and that couldnt be too effective.

Railroad police are there mainly to protect cargo that the railroad carries, especially intermodal. While not as high-profile as the NYC-Washington-Philedelphia areas, where there are gangs dedicated to stealing high-value freight from trains, PAR also deals with this problem .

I fear that there will be injuries (and worse) now that train speeds are finally coming back up after a decade of slow running. Areas like North Adams, the tunnel, etc will be the worst. Can't tell you how many times I've seen people drag baby carriages across the tracks in NA... there's going to be trouble when someone comes out of that tunnel on their way home at 30 or 35 mph and catches them like a deer in headlights. Same goes for the kayake groups who camp out at Zoar on the tracks or east portal. I know at least one UTU member is going to talk to the mayor of North Adams about it, but as the local Union chairman, not officially from the RR.

You're probably right. Just look at how it is up here... the Downeaster has been running for almost eight years, so there's no excuse for people to not be aware of it, but they still hang out on the tracks, go fishing from the bridges, etc. Every year, somebody gets whacked, and if they survive, they act surprised that it happened.

railroadManager wrote:How active are they? Do they have specialized units like K-9, a SWAT Team, etc.? Any info about their operations would be interesting.

http://www.capicinc.org/BAMRRPD/

They've got a web site.