Railway land

[Ploughman]

We were contracted to relay a section of the single line North of Filey station, a number of years back.
A local resident had fenced off an area of redundant formation up to the edge of the running line.
At the handover meeting we complained to the NWR rep as it may have had an effect on relay methods and safety.
This was about 2 weeks before the relay started, about 2 days later a letter was delivered to the resident giving him about 2 days to clear the site or a dozer would be sent through the area concerned.
The site was cleared on time and our relay went to plan.

 

[Sanatogen]

It's possible to get a license from Network Rail to utilise unused land, NR even cleared quite a bit of the overgrown wasteland for us and also supplied us with hi vis and heavy duty gloves.

Quite a few hoops to jump through but can be done.

 

[CockneySparrow]

I just wondered how they could get away with this as I would assume that the land belongs to Network rail?

Not in all cases, depends on when the land become out of use, if its from the Beeching era its more than like transferred to the local council, from the 1980s and early 1990s it will more than likely be owned by British Rail Property Board, since privatisation it will be NR
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Whilst the coalition was in power there was talk of dissolving the BRPB not sure if this happened or not

 

[D Foster]

There are some fantastic plums to be had on the Tytherington Branch, accessible on the foot crossing near Latteridge!

One thing to be very wary of is whether the line has been weed killer sprayed. I have no idea at all what they spray with now - but - back in the 70s Chiphams/Shiphams or whoever were reckoned to be using 245T/Agent Orange.
As said - I have no knowledge of what might be used now - but worth looking into before "scrumping".
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As long as we are both talking about the situation in England and Wales. God knows for Scotland!

Some say that Scotland is "God's Country"... So, surely, it all belongs to God anyway?

(Oops! Mustn't upset the Yorkshire men... )
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I have heard of length gangs registering their displeasure by rolling old concrete sleepers down embankments and through such patches.

It doesn't do a "garden" much good if a ballast cleaner (or similar) works through and sprays a couple of tonnes of spent ballast all over it. This has been know to upset one or two gangers and signalmen who had established their own plots.

One thing that I've not seen mentioned is that any use of land can alter the water situation. If/when this causes problems any claim for damage caused might run into thousands. Years ago I knew a case in which a station approach shop extended its car parking back toward the line, caused problems, and ended up with a monster bill. Alteration of drainage from or onto the track is a hidden risk of any activity. Even drying out the ground can result in problems in some situations.

Another thing that increasingly needs to be looked out for is "buried services". There's an increasing amount of buried cable services using the sides of railway lines for a route.

 

[furnessvale]

One thing to be very wary of is whether the line has been weed killer sprayed. I have no idea at all what they spray with now - but - back in the 70s Chiphams/Shiphams or whoever were reckoned to be using 245T/Agent Orange.

Chipman Chemical Company from Horsham, Sussex.

I sincerely hope is wasn't agent orange. As a lad I used to work on the train splitting bags of chemical and feeding it into the hopper (amongst other jobs). I have survived 50 years since doing that.

Actually it was sodium chlorate which is now banned anyway.

 

[Trog]

Chipman Chemical Company from Horsham, Sussex.

I sincerely hope is wasn't agent orange. As a lad I used to work on the train splitting bags of chemical and feeding it into the hopper (amongst other jobs). I have survived 50 years since doing that.

Actually it was sodium chlorate which is now banned anyway.

I think 245T was used in the 1970's and 80's, but hopefully without the dioxins that gave Agent Orange something of a bad name. Along with a couple of other weed killers Garlon and Atrazine were I think two of them. Different chemicals were sprayed in different directions something to kill everything green down onto the track, and a woody plants only killer up the embankments. BR was the only UK user of one of the chemicals which was embarrassing when water companies detected it. Sodium Chlorate was I think used earlier more between the wars and after, as I am sure some of our more wrinkly members will remember .

 

[furnessvale]

I think 245T was used in the 1970's and 80's, but hopefully without the dioxins that gave Agent Orange something of a bad name. Along with a couple of other weed killers Garlon and Atrazine were I think two of them. Different chemicals were sprayed in different directions something to kill everything green down onto the track, and a woody plants only killer up the embankments. BR was the only UK user of one of the chemicals which was embarrassing when water companies detected it. Sodium Chlorate was I think used earlier more between the wars.

Cheeky! I am not that old! We were still using sodium chlorate in the early 1960s.

 

[Argosy]

I was in Bristol last week and travelled on the line to Severn Beach. I noticed at the side of the line further up the embankment near Redland station, that someone had taken over some of the land at the top and turned it into a vegetable patch/allotment. I presume that they lived in a house backing onto the railway line and had decided to cultivate a piece of overgrown land for their own use.
I just wondered how they could get away with this as I would assume that the land belongs to Network rail?

How do you know the occupation is not legal?

There is legal mechanism for this you know? Or maybe you don't.

NR are more than happy to support this. It has been part of Community Rail for years. One just has to go through the right channels that's all.

 

[Greenback]

How do you know the occupation is not legal?

There is legal mechanism for this you know? Or maybe you don't.

NR are more than happy to support this. It has been part of Community Rail for years. One just has to go through the right channels that's all.

That's a very good question, and if the OP was not aware of the legal mechanism, I hope this thread has enlightened them.