UNDATED (WSAU) – Railroad officials are warning hunters to be aware of trains while out hunting this deer season.
Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis says it can be very surprising how quiet a train actually is when you're out in the woods, and that deer like to congregate in the fields around train tracks. “There's plenty of tended grass and other feed for them to get,” and Davis notes that it's easy for hunters to stray across tracks they might not realize are there.
Davis says it takes a train over a mile to stop when loaded, and that's after it sees you. He says the best way to keep yourself safe is to just keep away from railroad property, which extends 50 feet from either side of a train track. If you do have to track a deer across tracks, be safe, and cross at a graded crossing.
Davis also warns snowmobiliers not to use the tracks or right of ways as a shortcut either, as it's very hard to hear a train coming with a motor running and your head in a helmet.
