Critters near or on the ROW

[Jock Ellis]

Seeing woodchucks living on a kudzu vine-covered embankment beside the road I live on made me wonder if there are any critters that riders can see as they take the train trip there. That brings forth a second question, is there anything natural, or maybe unnatural, that would make good field trips for school kids?

[Mike Fox]

I can say we have a variety of "critters" along the ROW. During the spring and summer, a turtle can be seen in the little pond on Davis Grade. Turkeys are seen quite often. Some goats have been seen near Sheepscot Mills. A pair of moose (wouldn't that be meese?) was seen a few weeks ago. Mother and a young one. I saw a nice buck one year between Albee's and Rosewood Crossing. Other things can be seen if you are lucky enough to catch them before the train scares them away.

[Steve Smith]

I've seen hawks fairly often along the ROW in times past, most likely redtailed, but usually they flew off too quickly for a good sighting. I presume they find the ROW a pretty good place to catch small rodents.

[Gordon Cook]

My favorite critter story, besides the turkeys trying to outrun the train by running in the gauge...

A few years ago in the spring when there seemed to be a lot of them around, there was a biiiig snapping turtle who was trying to cross the track just north of Hummason Brook from east to west. I was engineer on the southbound train, and I spied the 'big rock' from up the grade about a hundred yards south of Trask. After a second or two I then realized it was moving! I shut off the throttle, pulled back the Johnson bar and applied engine brakes and thought about calling for train brakes. By the time I'd done all that, it was too late to do much besides worry about the mess. As we got closer she (no I didn't look) got up on the west rail and balanced there with feet dangling, and the last thing I saw was the tail still on the rail.
We passed over the spot and I looked back and saw no pieces, so I guess she made it.

Porcupines are around, too, and one day we passed over a small porcupine in the gauge on the way northbound. It also was unscathed.

Hard to predict, though, if you'll see any unusual native creatures besides us members

[Dwight Winkley]

May 31.  # 51 made a white tail deer head for the woods.

dwight

[Jock Ellis]

I wondered if the animals became used to the train and would stick around when it came. The woodchucks down here seem to go about their business on the side of the road without being bothered by people stopping to look. I'm surprised they are there because we have coyotes in the neighborhood. One trotted through our yard at dinnertime several years ago. Can't say that I care much for coyotes.

[Ken Fleming]

Many a day of sitting at Alna Center station, I have seen the turkeys crossing the tracks.  They always seem to stay North of the North Yard Limit sign.  Perhaps these birds can read and follow the rule book.

[Bill Reidy]

Regarding Jock's comments about woodchucks, my family visited Roger Williams Zoo last Sunday.  While there, we noticed a number of woodchucks around the bison exhibit.  Rounding the corner on a path past the bison exhibit, we found a woodchuck burrow and a young woodchuck out, enjoying the low foliage for lunch.  He was no more than three feet from the path where we were standing.  Apparently people don't spook them much at the zoo.

Back on topic:  I've lost count how many times I've seen turkeys or deer at the museum.  Recently we chased some turkeys along the right-of-way north of Brook Crossing.  They ran for a while on the right of the cleared ROW, parallel to the tracks, trying to keep ahead of the train. 

- Bill

[Stewart "Start" Rhine]

I saw a critter on the ROW today ... it was marked Brookville.   

[James Patten]

Stewart, hopefully you didn't lose TRACK of it 

[Wayne Laepple]

Don't get between a woodchuck (we call 'em groundhogs in Pennsylvania) and his burrow. They become very aggressive and will charge you, and they have surprisingly large front teeth. I once had one attack a hy-rail truck I was driving while doing a track inspection. I had stopped and was about to get out to look at something or other when I heard a snarl. Mr. Groundhog charged the truck, teeth bared, and took a thumb-sized bite right out of one of the rubber tires on the rail wheels!

[Joe Fox]

I can't remember the year this happened, but some time ago in August of a year or so ago, I was firing for Bob Longo and when we got to Cockeyed Curve I pointed out two deer just inside the tree line that were just watching us go by. Now with that said, earlier that same year, in July, we had been seeing deer at Cockeyed curve, just north of Sutters every weekend. Near the end of the month, we chased them up the tracks, one was inside the gauge, and the other outside the gauge. I believe after we chased them, they realized we are just following the rails, and that may have been the reason they watched us that day in August so carefully.

There is plenty of wild life near the railroad. More so at the WW&F, than at Conway Scenic. Why may you ask, is because the WW&F is in the woods, where the animals dont have to worry about lots of people, where as at Conway Scenic, we go on the outskirts of down town North Conway for a while, as well as through a lot of small and well populated areas, where animals will only come out during the early and late hours of the day. However, at Conway we have nice views of nearby mountains, fields, and going to Conway in the summer months we see horses in a field, and after many years of the train going by, the horses are at the fence everyday to greet our passing.

Joe

[Phil Christopher]

The first time I came up to the railway, I saw 2 moose, mother and calf, cross the old right of way. Then the dog wess decided to go after the mother and it ended up in pitched combat between a dog and a moose. Wess was alright, but he kinda ticked off the mom and started charging towards cross rd once wess had returned. Mom had probably decided to stick with her calf instead of tracking down a dog in a strange looking place.

Thus, that marks the day after living for 8 years in New england that my dad finally saw a moose for the first time

[Jock Ellis]

So you've got a mother and child moose and a father and son Fox running loose out there?

[James Patten]

We had the whole Fox family there this weekend