And your point is?

That property rights trump everything else?

In most cases the landowners whose property is bisected for railroad ROWs have no choice (short of protracted litigation with a well-heeled adversary) but to accept the railroad's offer when their property has been taken in condemnation. And they had no choice at all but to watch the RR take their land. In Alaska large tracts of public land are inaccessible due to the Alaska Railroad's prosecution of "trespassers" who just want to cross the tracks to access public fishing and hunting lands.

Government gave the RRs power to take a strip of land from previous owners. Government could make the RRs allow reasonable access to the public, and could protect the RRs from liability, if government decides it's appropriate.

But with the governor being a Republican, there's not much chance he'd side with the people against a big corporation.

Jim

Railroads have been heavily subsidized, they have routinely seized private land, they are allowed unusual ownership plots to accommodate their tracks and now that they are blocking others from simply crossing their tracks they are screaming "private property rights" and the libertarians are eating it up. You guys that think someone is a good person with your best interest in mind because they have a R in front of their name on a ballot are a lost cause.

We will trade Walker Governors. Don't cry Jim!

...that number is in the millions paid in property taxes and leases!

So, they pay for the land and pay taxes on all the land the tracks occupy? If so, that's good. If the tracks lock the public out of land we own, the company should pay all property taxes for the land we cannot use. But there is a simple solution to allow the owners(all of us) to get to the land we own that is blocked by the tracks, but it all depends upon who in politics is beholding to the railroad. .

My bordering neighbor owns just over two hundred acres. His land is split almost down the middle by railroads tracks. If the railroad can stop him from crosing those tracks, more than eighty of his acres would have no right of way for him to use to get to that land. What about his property rights?

Interesting. If he wants to trespass across the tracks to access his own property, then by Dirty D's definition he must be a Communist. But wait, no, he already owns property, so can't be a Communist. But he wants to trespass across private property. So that makes him a Communist.

Help us out here Dirty D. Is he a Communist or not?

I have a question.
When Railroad tracks cross a public road are cars, trucks, people who cross these guilty of trespassing or does the Railroad own the roadway and give the state or county a variance to put a road across their railroad tracks?

It's only because Litigation has taken the place of Common sense. Or litigation results have gone against common sense.

You have given a perfect explanation for so many of the problems that crop up so often.

......if he owned (or if that land has always been 1 owner parcel) the land before the railroad went threw they have to furnished a crossing and maintain it...furthermore the railroad is responisable for ALL the fences to!!!is the railroad trying to block him now? or you just whining?

.....no it is a PUBLIC crossing....normally the railroad owns and maintains the crossing 4 feet from the nearest rail.

They are not blocking him. I said "IF they could." But the way some are responding it sounds as if they COULD. If they cannot block his crossing be cause he is the current land owner, the same should be true for those of us who own the PUBLIC lands that any track passes through.

you need to distinguish the difference between private land and PUBLIC land......there is a difference! and so are the laws! if someone buys ground on both sides of the railroad tracks and there is no previous right of way easement over the tracks you will have to pay for a crossing to be put in and maintaned .....but there is no guarantee that they will. and there not obligated by law to do so. do you homework before you buy.

how do you gain access to other public land surrounded by private property other than railroad???????? ...you don't without landowners permission!

I trespass.

why didn't I think of that!

I'm agreeing with Dirty D on this one if it's PRIVATE property, you have no right to trespass for any reason what so ever. If you want to then you have to go through the easement process that's the way it is, and you must protect the rights of the landowner because once you start to loose them it's very hard to get them back. Good example my folks have a river flowing through our property, when they bought the farm the seller said the river was public property. We used to get only a few canoers through every summer and that was fine, but now it has gotten to the point that I'm kicking off of our property a dozen plus people every weekend damaging our property so I did some looking and found out the river is not public property it is private and we own and pay taxes on it! I took this info to my local LEOS and was told there is nothing they can due about the trespassing because so many people just don't know or understand the law and it's been going on for so long that it will be almost imposable to stop it. I'm all for making more public access to public lands but you have to do it thought working with the land owners and easements not by disregarding private property rights. ok rant over.

Dirt's a Communist?

Only when I'm in Wisconsin. I try to blend in.

P.S. For all the lawyers, you don't allow trespassing. Trespassing is entering property without permission. You can't give someone permission to trespass. Carry on!