I read a story a few years ago where a guy chains a large chunk of rail to the back of his car and dragged it to the scrap yard thinking nobody would notice the 3” deep gouge in the asphalt.
The penalties for screwing with railroad tracks are very severe.
Few years ago had rash of thefts by crack heads of highway
guard rails
Would unbolt them an drag to scrap yards
State police caught one druggie dragging one down shoulder
of interstate highway
When someone drags railroad scrap into the local yard, the clerk will generally say something to the effect of: “gee, that’s pretty valuable stuff; let me call and get the top price”. Of course, he actually calls the railroad police and keeps the perp busy until they arrive.