Railroad rights of way

beach004

beach004

Member
We are coming out from sunny, 56 degree North Carolina later this week to hunt; looks like we drew the cold card this year...A question: I have my eye on an abandoned RR right of way, which looks good on the topo, and also to a friend who was out there last year but did not hunt it. Are such ROW's free to hunt, like ditches along a state-maintained road? I have no idea.
Beach004
 
Many of the railroad right-of-ways are not legal to hunt. See page 46 of the 2013 Hunting & Trapping Handbook. If it's an abandoned RR right of way I would say that land has probably transferred back to the adjacent landowner. I'm not 100% on that but I would ask someone like a conservation officer or call the GFP to make sure.

I know you cannot hunt legally vacated section lines without the permission of the landowner. Of course knowing what has been "legally vacated" may be an issue.
 
Under the National Security Act, railroads are private property, and banned from hunting, due to "national security", you will get a serious fine, the railroad will press charges, the constabulary will not hesitate to get you. In some states, there is a provision that you need the adjoining landowners permission, sometimes both the railroad AND the adjoining landowners, the railroad will not give permission, liability, although we all hunted on railroads with success as kids, and didn't wreck a train! Those days are gone into the dim past. I used to have permission on two rail roads, my uncles were Chief Engineers! Abandoned railroad right of ways are still owed by the railroad, or be sent back to the landowners who adjoin. In Missouri, and Nebraska, the state does have right-aways which are deeded, some you can hunt, some a reserved for bikes, hikers, bird watchers, etc. Kansas for example publishes advisories that Railroad lines cannot be hunted, I have even heard it on the radio!
 
Read the SD hunting reg book carefully as DakotaZeb says on page 46--looks to me that there are several possibilities but they require some work to find out what may be open--maybe Reliance to Kadoka--there are birds in that area--good luck :D
 
My line is definitely abandoned, the tracks are clearly gone. I will ask around when I get there, and will not hunt it without assurance, or permission from the adjacent landowners. I do not like being yelled at by justifiably irate landowners, and certainly will avoid it if possible. Zero degrees is enough of a threat!
Beach004
 
beach004 said:
My line is definitely abandoned, the tracks are clearly gone. I will ask around when I get there, and will not hunt it without assurance, or permission from the adjacent landowners. I do not like being yelled at by justifiably irate landowners, and certainly will avoid it if possible. Zero degrees is enough of a threat!
Beach004
Click to expand...

if the tracks have been removed it is very likely the land belongs to the adjacent landowner...find him and ask.
 
I have contacted bnsf and another railroad company about getting permission to hunt tracks in SD and let me tell you after all the emails and phone calls, you have a better chance of winning the lottery than finding someone that will give you a straight answer or give you permission to hunt the tracks. From what I can remember they are very good about posting every crossing saying its private property. Wish you the best of luck!!
 
rr right of ways

the dakota southern was open to small game back when I first came to sd and was a great place for someone without a dog to work. I haven't hunted them since, but like someone said, from Reliance to Kadoka on the dakota southern is open to small game hunting depending on how far west the construction has gone. If you could get permission from the dakota southern to hunt thier track from just west of white lake to west of Pukawana is super hunting and great cover in places, or at least was in 2008-09. To narrow it down more, from hwy 45 where it crosses thier tracks east of kimball back west about 2 miles or so, and east of where 45 crosses thier tracks abouthalf mile or so. But since it was great hunting the permission is probably very hard to get. I work for the bnsf and that is impossible to get permission. I haven't been that way in 4 years but it shouldn't have changed much. you didn't say where your abandoned rr right of way was.
 
MT for instance has/had 4 transcontinental RR's and thousands of miles of spurs. Almost all go through some excellent Pheasant country.

Talk about end less bird hunting opportunities.

9-11 Changed a lot of things including hunting RR ROW's.
You do not want to get caught on a RR ROW these days.

Abandoned RR grades went back to counties as tax forfeited in most cases. Some States took over ROW's for trails. The tax forfeited lines are released by the counties to adjacent land owners.
 
Platte area

I should have specified where I was looking; but I didn't realize how many complications there are to such a notion as hunting a ROW! The area I was looking at, just from the satellite view, is running from Platte to the SE for several miles; I suppose it also runs to the NW, but I can't see it from the photo.
Overall, this sounds like more trouble than I can go to, especially on short notice. It's really too bad that 911 has caused this loss; I have a photo, back a decade or so ago, of me on the ROW in Nebraska, with the train actually coming along over my shoulder. Maybe I should delete it...
Thanks for the very helpful advice. Too bad...
Beach004
 
There was this stretch where the Chicago, Milwaukee, St Paul and Pacific main line parralleled the Northern Pacific main line in the Yellowstone River Valley.
About 1/2 mile apart. Just grass, brush and cattails between the tracks. Irrigated farming, corn, wheat and hay on the outside.

Wish I could explain how good the pheasant hunting was.
Now the C,M, SP, and P is gone, drained and farmed. NP is Burlington Northern Coal trains going by 60 mph. No hunting or trespassing.
 
That line from Platte to the SE has reverted to the adj. landowners and is NOT open for public hunting--sorry.
 
Thanks for settling that. We are currently stranded in Dallas: snow canceled our Sioux Falls connection. :(
Not that we could hunt today anyway...
 
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