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The North Branch, the Patapsco, and a number of other places are defined by the train tracks that run alongside the river. Chances are those tracks are active.
In addition to being careful and recognizing the distant sound of an approaching train, you need to be aware of a key hazard that is normal for the track.
If you are like me, you take advantage of the tracks as a high speed avenue of approach; a quick way to put some distance between you and the parking lot with its perception of localized pressure. If there is not a beaten path alongside the railbed, I'll walk down the center, cursing the engineer who set the standard distance between adjacent ties to be just beyond my normal walking pace.
If you walk the center, you need to beware! Trains need grease. They get their grease from grease boxes that pump the nasty stuff onto the track. When the train runs through, it gets a load of grease on each wheel directly from the track - quick and easy.
This same grease will absolutely destroy felt soles. Once it's in there, they will lose the limited traction they have. When walking on the rail bed, it's easy to become distracted; especially when you can see the water down below. To keep from accidentally sloshing through the grease, be alert for the large maintenance box on the side of the bed. It will have lines running from it to the track.
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Sometimes, the grease on the tracks will be obvious as shown below, other times it will be more subtle - and just be a black greasy mark on the bed.
In either case, when you see the box on the side, get off the bed and give it wide berth. Trains run both ways on the track, so you need to avoid them at least 30 feet above and below the box as the grease will be flung far and wide as the train bullets away.
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