Abandoned rail lines - Questions

Howdy

Last weekend I took a ride on the bike from Lismore over to Tenterfield, Glen Innes and down to Grafton and back home. I was mesmerised by the number of abandoned rail lines just off the road.

Which got me to pondering.

Who owns the land the rails are on now that they are not used?
Can I walk along them?
Could I ride along them?
Could I make a light weight trolley car with a pushbike or electric motor to power it and ride along them, portaging where the rails are out or blocked?
Some googling shows they do this in the USA, or did at least until Hitler 2.0 took over, but nothing here.

When I lived in Tassie I mountain biked the old highway through the midlands that had been closed for 20yrs. Heaps of fun.

Thoughts, experiences?

cheers

Daz

Possibly still government owner...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by crowie

Possibly still government owner...

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Woohoo - Crowie says its crown land.

Off to the shed to start building - LOL

Thanks

In Victoria quite a few of these old railways have been turned in to bike trails.

Here is one that is 56km long

https://www.railtrails.org.au/index....145&Itemid=213

There is another one from Bendigo to Axedale which I have done quite a few times

https://www.railtrails.org.au/index....100&Itemid=213

The following are official rail trails for recreation:
Wolgan Valley
- Hartley Vale
- Lapstone Zig Zag
- Toronto line
- Belmont line
- Bargo to Nepean Dam
- Colo Vale to Hill Top
- Welby to Box Vale
- Burrunjuck Tramway

There may be others.
Apparently it takes an act of parliament to close a rail line. Until that happens it is considered a rail corridor and it is an offence to enter a rail corridor without access permission. Access permission normally requires a mountain of requirements. You wouldn't believe the inefficient outdated mountain of red tape required. But I digress because this is obviously not enforced on closed lines.
A word of warning. The railways are generally anally retentive about this topic . If you go on these lines without following the regulations then you make it harder for other groups who are also trying to get recreational access.
I suggest you start by calling the ARTC to inquire who owns that particular corridor and who to talk to about access. If you follow the correct process you will probably be granted permission.
However I would be selective what you tell them you want to do on the old track. The chances of them agreeing to you using a home made trolley car are worse than me winning lotto. And I don't buy lotto tickets.
I hope I'm proved wrong but I work with active railway companies every day and safety is first, second and third priorities. Kinda hard to get them to move out of that mindset. However the good news is that plenty of like minded people also see the recreational opportunities so perhaps there is a lobby group you can join.

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Pulling up an abandoned railway line....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4l9sYz5EVGI

Expected this to be about getting on to some of that lovely railway sleeper.

As has been mentioned, different lines may have different owners.
Sometimes the land has been sold to adjoining properties.
I have read about people building vehicles to travel on disused lines. Some of the problems they have come across include wire fences placed across the line. And that is not to mention missing rails, bridges (or culverts) and undergrowth growing over the track (and this can include reasonable size trees and blackberry bushes).

Proceed with extreme caution.

You should be able to get an idea of any major blockages/missing bits as well as where the tracks go from the satellite layer on google maps

We have a few abandoned rail lines nearby. The land is not worth much except to the adjacent land owners. My UPS delivery guy owns a home that backs up to the abandoned tracks. I told him to get out there with his patio furniture and basically claim the land. In ten years or so he'll get the land almost for free but have to pay property taxes for the land. :) DUNNO, 10 years will tell.

When they were ripping out the rails nearby, I considered getting about 4M of one of the rails. I had a Ford F-250 at the time that needed weight in the bed or rear bumper. My thought was to make the rail as part of the rear bumper. The problem was that I could cut the rail, there was nobody nearby that could weld the rail. The weight inside the bumper with leverage would have been less than what would be needed in the bed of the truck.

Thanks all for the input.

I had a bit to do with enabling access to an old tram line when I was with council and yeah, gaining access was a huge task.

The main problem I see, and alluded to here, is gaining formal permission. I seriously doubt that would ever happen for a sole person wanting to go exploring - WHS and risk management would kill it.

So I suppose it would be down to how you would go about it in the most stealthy mode but that the most you will get is "get off my land ^*^*^*&^*^*&". Not overly worried about being prosecuted for trespass. Basically if there is no trespassing sign then I wouldnt use that bit. But no sign - game on.

That would rule out an engine for obvious reasons. A mountain bike that can somehow ride on the rail and stay on would be cool. Two connected would probably work. At least that way it seems like you are just a bike rider that got lost - LOL.

cheers

Will post if I do it. From here or prison. :D

Be a neat project.
A side car or just a wheel for the other track.
Turn up some wooden flanged wheels.
An electric bike would help but the gradients would be no probs if your fit.
H.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by clear out

Be a neat project.
A side car or just a wheel for the other track.
Turn up some wooden flanged wheels.
An electric bike would help but the gradients would be no probs if your fit.
H.

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I was picturing a motorbike with smaller steel wheels on bars that fold down like trainer wheels to keep the 2 rubber tyres on the track.

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Trains on the track - no worries.
https://youtu.be/d0G1FiyZRq8

Choo choo


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