Hello, any photographers on here from the St.Louis area? I'm looking for an area to shoot with abandoned railroad tracks... I been researching this and see it's illegal to shoot on tracks otherwise so wasn't sure if anyone in the area has some ideas? Thanks for your time.

It is not only illegal and can get you fines in the thousands of dollars, it is also very dangerous. Every so often the news reports tales of photographers or others being killed by trains. So it is good that you know this and don't attempt it.

I am not from the St. Louis area, so can't help you directly, but you might look into city/county/state parks that contain tracks, as well as rails-to-trails sites that also sometimes might have a couple rails left over.

Consider also transportation museums. They sometimes have some rails.

Finally, and best of all, IMHO, is to eschew entirely the trite and overused train tracks genre. It is as cliche as the "caution tape" photos or hand-bra shots.

But if you simply must, you might consider doing green-screen compositing, which will expose neither you nor your models to the risk of actually being on the tracks. One quick shot down the line as you traverse a railroad crossing can form the background, and you and your model then get to shoot in air-conditioned comfort and the safety of your studio.

There's a really great place down near 141 called Zombie Road (just search for it) and there are some tracks down there for the mini train that runs through it as part of Katie Trail. Not to mention that it's just a beautiful place to shoot at in general. They may not be full size tracks but they would do nicely. I would check with the local authorities about shooting at train tracks, however, I had a friend that passed away that was a train junkie and was always doing photoshoots and photography at different train tracks and he never got in trouble for it. Whether he was just lucky or what I'm not sure but I don't think they are going to come out there with guns blazing if you explain to them you didn't know and willingly leave when they ask you to it's probably not that big of a deal.

http://thoughtcatalog.com/m-j-pack/2015 … -go-there/

There's some info on it. Not nearly the amount but it can help you get a feel.