A while back my wife asked me a question about trains-- we had gone somewhere to photograph them and she noticed that I was mostly focused on the locomotives, and she asked something like-- “Is that the most interesting part”, and I said for me, it pretty much is. I like the rest of the train, it wouldn’t be the same without it. And the individual cars are interesting and everything, but for me, my main interest is in the locomotives. I think I also speculated that some people would probably also like cabooses-- assuming they still ran on the back of trains much anymore.
What do you think? What is it about the trains that you want to capture (or just watch) when you’re out rail-fanning? I’m just curious how other people would answer.
Your wife poses an interesting question there, why not just reply because “that’s where all the power is” and follow that up with a series of “Tim the Toolman” grunts??
It won’t answer her question but she’ll understand you better then!
John,Like the majority of the railfans I took pictures of locomotives and just watch the cars roll by.Today I am taking pictures of freight cars and track scenes as well…I wish I was wiser back in my youth and took more pictures of buildings,freight cars etc.
I’ll take the occasional photo of rolling stock - usually rare fallen flags, out-of-the-ordinary car types, older cars that would qualify for my layout, and some photos to act as guides for weathering.
Actually, I’m not too interested in the modern locomotives or freight cars. But I do love to wander around (and in, if it’s open to the public) old train stations as well as train museums, tourist railroads such as Strasburg, etc. I’m as much interested in the old cars and cabooses as the locomotives.
Derails on spurs and sidings usually had red targets although some roads (the B&O comes to mind) used purple targets and lamps on certain derails. Blue targets were used on derails protecting shop tracks. Shop track derails were locked with a special shop lock which could not be operated with a standard switch key and only shop craft employees were allowed to have a shop key.
Blue was the color that protected the shop forces from having equipment they were working on from being moved by Train and Engine employees.
Typing “blue flag” into the search box will bring up more about blue flag protection.
Violating blue flag rules was a good way to get in a lot of trouble real fast.
Like someone wrote, “that’s where the power is”, and of course you would expect more attention given to the locomotive. And, as evidenced by my large collection of railroad books (mostly ATSF & IC postwar oriented), photographers of the past tended to give their attention to the locos as well.
That is all fine and well, but it was at the expense of getting pictures published (key word) of the right of way, RR related structures, rolling stock, and the good folks that “ran the trains”. Yes, there are books dedicated to those areas, but they are certainly in the minority.
We have DM&E tracks less that 100 yards away from our townhouse. I usually hear them coming before they get here so I can look out for the locomotives. I mentioned to my wife that I had missed it and she gave me a puzzled look while pointing to the train going passed. I said oh, I mean I missed the locomotives, not the train. I like to watch the train, but it doesn’t have the same excitement as the locomotives.
When I’m out railfanning I always take pictures of the loco’s. We see a lot of mid train helpers and end of train DPU’s so I got a few chances for loco pics when a train goes by. I also take a lot of pictures of unique loads and cars that catch my eye.
A train is normally defined as “one (or more) locomotives, with or without cars, displaying a marker”.
So without railroad cars, it would still be a train
The locomotive certainly is necessary to move things. And trains most of the time move down the main line with one (or more) locomotives at the front, so it can be called “the business end” in that sense (analogous to “the business end” of a rifle - where the bullets come out).
Except for the fact that trains can move in both directions - both with engine(s) at the front and with engine(s) at the rear. So either end of a train can be the dangerous end - where you shouldn’t stand.
And the business of railroads is to move stuff - freight or passengers. The revenue normally comes from the stuff that is pulled behind the locomotive (or pushed ahead of the locomotive), not from the locomotive itself.
So the “business end” of a train can very well be the the end of the train furthest from the locomotive in more than one way
Yeah - I know - this is very much nitpicking. I totally understood what you meant - huge machines spewing out smoke and making loud sounds are fascinating to watch and listen to. I suspect that all of us feel that way.
But some of us are also fascinated by other aspects of trains and railroads, in addition to liking the look and sound of locomotives
Good Day
It has been 20 years since the wife and I have been to the beautiful Norway to see her cousins but we still chuckle about going to Hell (Trondheim) and back, we do have the passports stamped to prove it.
We did have plans to take the train from Oslo to Trondheim but because of a one day flight delay in Chicago we made up time by flying. Thanks to all the good people we met, we had a fantastic trip.
Sorry about the [#offtopic]
Well for me it’s always been about the power, but being as it’s not likely you or I are going to see an H* or a Y3 rumble down the tracks any time soon and I don’t model anything close to modern day railroading I find myself taking pictures of detail that “I think” in my best estimation from modern day railroading namely N/S CSX (local) that may apply to my late 1950’s era transition era railroading. Things like track details, such as ballast shoulders turnout details, all the junk found on the side of the tracks, rural crossing and structures along the tracks and how they access them. Although we do have a few abandoned railroads around that haven’t fallen to the developers bulldozer blade so I’m all over them like white on rice. An employee actually told where to find an abandoned facility that can no be reached by road any longer since they added a section to a highway so the only way in is either by off road vehicle or on foot. I checked it out only once and it was like entering a time capsule, I have to remember to bring my digital camera the next trip as the pics I took with my camera phone were junk.
I was always of the mind set that the engine or power was the most interesting part of a train but find myself more and more interested in what being pulled behind the locomotive as well.
Hell station north of Trondheim is a much photographed station. I’ve also been told that a very popular photo subject at that station used to be the old freight office at the station, where the sign “Gods expedition” (“freight handling” in archaic Norwegian spelling) never failed to amuse English speaking visitors
I like the trains, but the infrastructure captures my imagination. I like to “chase the ghosts” of old right of ways, shoot bridges and tunnel portals, and interesting hardware along the way.
Modern trains are fun to watch, but they offer very little variety. “Oh look, an NS Dash 9!” I suppose one day they too will disappear from the landscape, but it is in fact the landscape that will remain, and therefore carries the real history of the line.
I think it’s a power thing for guys. I really only watch the locos.
When you see a tractor/trailer going down the highway, do you pay attension to the dull grey trailer or the fancey painted chromed out tractor?
I wasn’t implying that other stuff wasn’t interesting too. I have a ton of RR-related photos of darn near everything you can point a camera at. But when I’m taking pictures of the trains-- and I’m really sorta thinking of moving (or “in-route” let’s say), though I didn’t actually say that-- my tendency is to focus on the locomotives and the rest of the train in afterthought… the locos are past so now the only thing left is the rest of it so I get a few snaps of that too.
But I have to also agree that lately I’ve been taking more pictures of “interesting” line-side structures and rail-related industries, or stuff that looks like it could be rail-related with a little rework. I got a pretty good set of a feed industry up in Pennsylvania the last time we were driving through. Usually when I’m traveling with my family they all roll their eyes and tap their feet anytime I even think about suggesting we stop and take some pictures… but on that trip somehow they went along with the idea and we pulled right up to it-- even drove right down their internal alley and snapped a bucket-load of photos. No award winners, but not bad for getting ideas about the details.
- I also find myself taking pictures of lineside structures, rights of way, signs etc.
