Trolls Live Under Bridges

Western Rifle Shooters

[Recently], She-who-must-be-obeyed and I took an excursion train from Spencer, NC to Asheville, NC. It went from Spencer, down through Salisbury, and then through every small to mid-sized town on the way to Asheville. It was a nice ride that I would recommend to anybody. I did, however, make a few more interesting observations along the way.

I’ve heard people talking about using railroad right-of-ways as a means of low profile transit post SHTF. It is true that they are further out of the public eye than interstates and major highways. However, unlike interstates and major highways, they do not have a way of bypassing any town or major city. Also, they inevitably lead into the worst sections of town. I expected crap areas when we went through Salisbury, Spencer, Statesville, etc., but I saw extensive vandalism and signs of lawlessness even in towns in which I would not expect it. Virtually every bridge and tunnel had graffiti and vandalism. This included remote areas where the only access was by significant hiking into the area. Now, most of this in the remote areas was probably due to wayward yutes rather than the hard core inner city thugs, but post SHTF I expect a high number of these people to go feral with the additional problem that these people know the terrain and, obviously, are already in at least somewhat decent shape judging by the locations where I saw the damages.

The next problem is the railroad police. These guys are tough because their jurisdiction is tough. Unlike most police, these guys actually do have a very significant risk to life and limb in their jobs and behave accordingly. The lines are well monitored contrary to popular belief and there is a strong signal network available for the authorities. Also, due to the equipment and locations involved, I would expect the government to try to keep the rail lines open well after they write off the main roads. By extension, the rail lines will be under effective government control long after they’ve lost control in most areas. This means that trying to get through without detection will be difficult along these paths.

By far the biggest, most dangerous, and, even now, most immediate problem is the troll community. By troll, I mean the hard core homeless that seem to live all the way up and down the rail lines, even in remote locations. I saw several squatters camps along the rail lines, seemingly well away from any major or minor urban areas, some of which are even away from roads. These people aren’t panhandling and have no visible means of support. In addition, every bridge I saw except two seemed to show signs of at least temporary habitation recently. The security implications here are obvious. Any move along the rail line, even after traffic ceases, will bring one into contact with bands of feral people who have the means to scavenge and live off of the land in hostile conditions. I highly suspect that many of the people that I saw in these camps are people who do not want/can’t afford to be found by anyone, thus making them even more dangerous.

Tunnels are another problem. They are completely unlit with no light so passive night vision won’t work, and have no available cover. In other words, they are a perfect operating base if you occupy it first but a horrible risk if you have to go through one.

Also, most rail lines are easily observed in many key points and can be brought under effective small arms fire to prevent passage by foot or other means. To make matters worse, there are many areas, such as trestles and cuts, where there is no opportunity for return fire, escape, or evasion.

Post SHTF, I expect that anyone living near an active rail line will have to deal with roving bands traveling along these lines and leaving them to plunder along the way. As such, any avenue of approach that leads from a rail line, including seeming harsh terrain will need to be watched. I would also move along the rail lines only after I have exhausted many other options. The first option would be local roads. The second option would be cross country away from any known paths, roads, trails, etc. Third choice would be secondary highways, followed by long abandoned rail lines. Only in gravest extreme post SHTF would I use a recently active rail line and/or major highway. One other issue with using the rail lines is navigation. There aren’t convenient road signs. A person has to have good maps of the system and knowledge of the territory or run the very high risk of getting lost going off of a spur to nowhere.

In conclusion, I would do the following based on what I saw on this trip:

– First, do not become a refugee if at all possible. Becoming a refugee will bring a person into contact with trolls who are much more experienced in badness than the newly minted refugees and thus more dangerous.
– Second, plot out all active rail lines in the area in question. If possible, locate squatters’ camps and bridges. Assume that most bridges have one or two trolls absent confirmed information to the contrary.
– Locate any areas along the line that can be placed under observation to keep people from moving freely along those lines into you area.

https://westernrifleshooters.wordpress.com/2015/11/02/trolls-live-under-bridges/