Right so this has been nagging at me for a while actually. I keep cross-referencing reported Dogman encounters on the BFRO adjacent databases (yeah I know, different creature, but the mapping tools are useful) and there does seem to be a clustering effect around disused rail corridors specifically, not active lines so much.
My theory, and its probably not original, is that old rail lines created these long cleared corridors through dense woodland that basically became wildlife highways. Whatever Dogman is - if it exists - it would use the same logic any large predator would. Easy movement, less exposure.
What I find more interesting is the underground angle. A lot of these old lines have associated tunnels, cuttings, culverts. Plenty of case reports mention witnesses near exactly those kinds of structures. Whitby has a few decommissioned rail tunnels locally and I've done some night photography out there. Nothing conclusive but the atmosphere in those cuttings is genuinely unsettling in a way that's hard to explain without sounding like a complete melt.
Anyone done proper geographical mapping on this? Would love to see the data rather than just anecdote stacking.