Hopefully there will be an ID# with your ID badge so when you become a problem they can revoke your ID privaleges and then it’s goodbye" GIRLS ". Where do I get one? [?]
I’m in if they let a teen join
PS Headed to Operation Lifesaver training the 19th!!![:D][:D][:D][:D][8D][:)][yeah][wow]
Ok, I’ll play the devils advocate… but given the business relationship I’ve had w/ BNSF for the last several years, I don’t exactly have unconditional trust for them.
Let say that BNSF wanted to get the names, addresses and phone numbers of people (we’ll call them railfans) who tend to hang out around RR facilities, as possible suspects the next time something went wrong. How could they do that? Hmmm, maybe they could trump up a program that would get the fans excited enough to voluntarily “register” with the RR as a person who hangs out around the RR. Gee, and they didn’t even have to violate anybody’s civil rights to collect the information. Wow, seems like genius to me.
Well, yeah, but to play the Devil’s Advocate back atcha – you could probably give them a phony name and address for this effort – but couldn’t they for years have done a more thorough job of rounding up such information simply by having someone record all of our license plate numbers?
… which is exactly why I keep a set of stolen license plates in my truck and why I replace the regular plates with the stolen plates every time I go railfanning.
But seriously - you make a good point - though, who knows, maybe they have been doing that.
note license plates ? this is history…
do you have a cell phone ? ok, so the phone company knows exactly where you are. they analyse your way resulting in a behaviour pattern which allows to assume your intentions.
do you have a car with that satellite based emergency transmitter ? good, so they also know exactly where you are. analysis of your rout as above.
did someone say ‘big brother is watching you’ ??
“Big Brother Loves You” Just because you’re parenoid doesn’t mean he’s not watching you. Don’t forget Santa Claus. [2c]
i think its a way for BNSF to track employees who are railfans and than go after them, just another paranoid thought.
This all sounds very similar to what Santa Fe was doing in the early '80s. It was called the “Railfan Patrol”. A special agent came out from Winslow to talk with a bunch of us railfans around Flagstaff. He got our names, addresses, phone numbers, lecense, etc and told us how we could help the railroad be its extra set of eyes. The railroad was experiencing trouble with some of its wire being taken in remote areas. We were not to do anything other than observe and report. The Special Agent who talked with us was named Dominic. I can’t remember his last name, but he had worked in the Chicago area and had some stories to tell.
I just signed up on-line.
If you are worried about your privacy being invaded, then you will be glad to know the VA is on the job! No more worries. Now it is reality.
We park where we aren’t tresspassing; the police go by us regularly - (to and from work)
and no one has hassled us except the bugs! But we did find a broken rail and reported it, and I know Joe has reported several problems on his watched railroads.
It will be what we make out of it.
Mook
Good eyes Jen.
Mookie is absolutely on it – this is a great program, and a real gesture of trust from BNSF (which, in spite of some of the remarks, has always had a pretty good relationship with the fans, relatively speaking). But it will be what we make of it. If we want to be taken seriously, we need to be responsible and reliable.
I hate to be negative, but I think you can almost guarantee there will be people that try and ruin it for everybody. Lets face it, there’s some real nuts in the hobby… When you’ve got guys that openly admit to doing things like wearing hard hats and safety vests to scam their way into yards and other stuff like that, you just know some guys are going to abuse this. We will have to be diligent in policing ourselves, and hopefully stop anyone from ruining it for all of us.
Dave
http://www.dpdproductions.com
- Featuring the TrainTenna Railroad Scanner Antennas -
You’re right, there are some real nuts in this hobby, and I think I’ve run into most of them at one time or another. And a few “squirrels” looking for those nuts. [:D]
Seriously, I say let’s give BNSF the benefit of the doubt here and assume they are fully aware of what the negatives might be and decided to go ahead with the program because the benefits should outweigh any negatives. After all, aren’t they on the point of dealing with “the nuts?”
I see several references to “rights being violated”. How is your rights being violated when it is voluntary? The problem some have had with the government is that they just do it and you have no input.
Who needs to sign up? It’s pointless. Just take your Cell phone with you when you go out Railfanning. And if there is something that doesn’t look right,then call the BNSF.
You gotta sign up to get a card so it’ll give you a feeling of importance.
I sure hope this works out but I do have a concern that if a non-member calls in trouble they might discredit it.
I’m just glad they did not designate a space to put a railfan’s picture on the card. [(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D][(-D]