Whats the situation with a gas line passing under the rail bed?

Question

This must come up a lot.

Answer 1

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Answer 2

There's quite a bit of it, actually.

Railroads began diversifying decades ago, including the Southern Pacific who owned half of Greyhound Bus Lines, developed PMT (Pacific Motor Trucking), SP Pipelines, coal slurry pipelines,forrest lands and communications.  You've heard of Sprint?  SP launched the sattelite.  Killed the railroad, but we got 'er up there.

Pipelines of any kind are much more profitable when you already own the right of way, miles and miles of it, such as railroads do.  As a matter of fact, railroads can change hands because of the right of way and the opportunities that control of that right of way affords.

How's this for an example;

After SP upper management ran it into the ground with the afrementioned diversification, the company and it's employees were fed to Mr. Phillip "Fingers In Many Pies and Pockets" Anschutz, via the purchase of the SP by the DRGW.

"We're in it for the long haul!" was the mantra spewing out of Denver.  "If the employees will make lots of give backs, concessions, etc., we'll turn this around!"  So, we bought into the line of c**p.

The railroad was foundering further.  "We'll fix it!" said Denver.  "We need a new Top Dog.  Let's see now, who could we get....... Hmmmm..  I know!!  Since he's probably getting tired of that chair at the head of the table in the Union Pacific Coporate Boardroom, let's hire Jerry Davis!  That'll turn things around!!"

"But, in the meantime guys, we got another round of give backs and concessions coming up.  Oh, we know what you gave up so far, what with working outside of collective bargaining contracts, giving back the raises and rolling back pay rates for 4 years, and we appreciate it. But we gotta get some more, or the SP will disappear entirely!"

In the meantime, another major round of diversification was under way, for a company owned by, gee, what a coincidence! Phillip Anschutz!  For hundreds of miles along the DRGW (SP) right of way, four, four inch in diameter conduits were laid.  And do you know what was inside?

Fibre optics.  Say hello to the Communications Company "Qwest," brought to you in part by the sweat of the employees of the "sold down the river" SP.

Then a funny thing happened.  By coincidence, when the cables and Qwest were up and running, it was learned that, "Gee whiz, I guess we couldn't do it guys.  But, thanks for the try."

"But, don't worry.  Since good ol' Jerry already has ya UP-ized, it won't really matter if we sell off the railroad to them. Here's a tin watch fob for your trouble!"

Yup.  There's all kinds of stuff buried along railroad rights of way.  And, it catches up from time to time.  

I invite you to visit my 360 from my profile page, get into the blogs and read the post of 03-30-07.  It tells of a runaway train that piled up in the backyards of homes in San Bernadino.  Demolished the neighborhood.  

Initially, three or four deaths, as most had gone to work, school, etc.  Three days later, while cleaning up the original derailment, a bulldozer cut into the aforementioned pipeline, resulting in explosion and fire, killing one or two more and burning what was left to the ground.

Yup.  All kinds of stuff buried out there...

How 'bout bombs?  Yup, they're out there, too.

You see, on the morning of April 28, 1973, several carloads of 750 lbs. bombs filled with the explosive tritenol," US Navy bombs from Hawethorn Naval base in Nevada, en route to Port Chicago (Pacific coast) for delivery to Ho Chi Mihn, exploded in Roseville Yard, a short way north of Sacramento.  Blew the h**l out of everything.  There is a post regarding that as well,  for 01-16-07.  Actually erased the town of Antelope.

But, when the UP decided to rebuild Roseville Yard (Now "Jerry Davis Yard"...  Hang on... I think I'm gonna woof my cookies...  OK), when they got around to doing the southern end of the yard, guess what they kept finding?  Unexploded bombs, buried for 20 years.

When that place blew apart, bombs went everywhere.  Of course, a lot of the railroad land was sold off during the DRGW years (odd.. none of the profits went back into the railroad "we"and Uncle Phil were trying to save), including new housing developements, are ya ready for this, right next to where everything blew apart.  Antelope was rebuilt as well, but during yard reconstruction, nobody was doing any digging on that side of the yard, so there's no telling what's laying around under there as well.

I wonder how many are going to sleep tonight, with the very real possibility that there is live munitions under their bedroom?

Oh.  That's right.  No one knows about it.  Nah.. I'm sure ol' Uncle Phil disclosed all of that when the land was sold, right?

Yup.  ALLLL kinds of stuff buried 'round the railroad...

Answer 3

Yeah...I was just saying this morning "Gosh, I wish that everyone would just STOP posting questions about gas lines and rail beds.  That subject is just so 200 years ago!"