What offense is committed when a person throws a beer bottle at a passing train?

Throwing a beer bottle at a passing train constitutes interference with railroad property. This offense is rooted in the legal principles that protect railway systems and their operations from acts that could obstruct or harm them. When a person throws an object at a train, it poses a clear threat to the safety and integrity of the train's operation, which can result in derailment, injury to passengers, or damage to the train itself.

The nature of the act directly targets the railroad infrastructure, thus falling under laws designed to maintain safe and unobstructed passage for trains. The potential for serious harm to individuals and property further underscores the severity of the offense committed in this situation.

The other options, while they touch on related concepts, do not fully encompass the specific legal ramifications of the act of throwing an object at a train. Vandalism generally refers to the deliberate destruction or damage to property but may not necessarily involve moving vehicles like trains. Assault relates to the intentional infliction of bodily harm or the threat thereof, which may not apply unless someone was actually endangered by the act. Endangering public safety addresses a broader range of misconduct but does not specifically target the interference with railroad operations as a primary concern.