Talk about being railroaded.

Raymond Baker lives near the railroad tracks in Rumford. Baker’s the kind of neighbor everyone might want to have, at least in one regard. Seeing what looked to him to be unusual wear on the tracks that run through his community, Baker started asking questions. He called the Sun Journal and showed a reporter tracks, which appeared well past their prime.

For his efforts, for blowing the whistle on what could be a dangerous deterioration of the railroad tracks that carry potentially hazardous chemicals to the MeadWestvaco paper mill, Baker is being prosecuted.

The charge? While showing a photographer the frayed and mangled steel of the tracks, Baker broke the law. It is illegal to walk on railroad tracks, and a photograph showed him doing just that.

After causing the track’s owner, Guilford Rail System of North Billerica, Mass., some public relations heartburn, the company called the Rumford Police Department and requested that Baker be cited. He was summoned for trespassing and is to appear in court July 5.

Baker says that the summons is an attempt to intimidate him. That’s too kind. It’s an absolute abuse of power.

Rumford police Sgt. Tracey Higley told the Sun Journal that in the 11 years he’s worked at the department, he could remember only a couple of times that people had been charged with walking on railroad tracks.

Guilford Rail System says the tracks are safe. But their appearance suggests otherwise. They are cracked, frayed and brittle. Instead of answering Baker’s questions, the company sent the law after him.

It’s this type of malicious and petty prosecution that earns the justice system scorn and promotes the stereotypes of mindless corporate behemoths interested only in a good image and the bottom line, public concern be damned.

Are the tracks safe? Guilford’s experts say they are. Baker acknowledges he’s no expert on rail safety, and maybe the tracks are hunky-dory. But the eyes see what they see.

Here’s a little free advice to the railroad: Drop the trespassing charge against Baker, bring your safety experts to town and explain why the tracks are safe and say thank-you to a member of the community who cares enough about his neighbors to point out what looks like a problem.

The railroad is jumping the track by pushing these charges. No good can come from it.