I took a lunch break today and grabbed a “Mickey D” and drove over to Eola yard for a while to see what was going on. The traffic was very brisk and the BNSF was working on the switches west of McClure near Farnsworth that tended to complicate things for dispatchers and crews alike. Well, there were two adult males and a very young boy (looked about six to seven tops) railfanning with cameras, etc. (did not recognize them so they are likely not regulars here) and the young boy was darting in and out in front of the lowered crossing gates and the adults were repeatedly darting out onto the main tracks to see if there was traffic coming. This was enough for one of the yard crew to yell at them from the yard office parking lot and later to come onto the crossing in his vehicle and scold them (understandably so).
Bottom line, if you are going to railfan at Eola (or at any other rail facility for that matter) PLEASE don’t make things bad for those of us who respect the inherent dangers of such places but still want to enjoy them by keeping a reasonable and respectful distance from tracks and equipment or we all will suffer when BNSF (or your home road) bans us altogether or we are subjected to increased scrutiny by the railroad and/or city/county police department personnel.
In situations like this it is obvious that some people are severely lacking common sense, and there probably is no cure for THEIR stupidity. [banghead]
We don’t need people running all over the tracks. I don’t feel like having Eola turn into another Pine Junction. CSX Police now aggresively patrols Pine because a few people were running all over the tracks, and it affected people who have been going to Pine for years more then it did the people who caused the problems. We don’t need this happening at Eola with BNSF.
People running into or near the tracks is always scary. You never know their intentions. About 3 weeks ago we had 2 kids around 10 or 12 decide to play chicken with our train in Caldwell ID. Luckily there was a 25 mph slow order in place there otherwise that is 70 mph track and I wonder if they could have got out in time.
It would be tragic if this excellent railfanning location was closed to us all because of some people’s foolishness but you could hardly blame the BNSF for taking this seriously. There would be no shortage of personal injury lawyers who’d be happy to sue the railroad even if the injured person’s own blunders were the sole cause of death or injury.
Maybe the worst aspect of this story is that a child is being trained by its parent or guardian to be reckless around a dangerous situation.
There is NO reason to wander onto the tracks at Eola to see if a train is coming. At Eola a train (or at least a switcher or Metra) is nearly ALWAYS coming! Plus there is a public gate-and-bell-protected crossing that you can walk across safely and without scaring the crews if it is really all that important to you to look down the tracks. When there are no trains there is a little creek nearby where sometimes you can see bullfrogs. And when there are no trains or bullfrogs there are usually other railfans to chat with. It is, in short, the total entertainment package.
Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea for some of us regulars to phone BNSF and report this kind of behavior. Don’t true railfans pride themselves in being the eyes and ears of the railroads? It would at least let the yardmaster know these morons aren’t part of our group, and it also might save a life someday.
I feel absolutely no alliance to or kinship with these people, the worst type of “I’ll go wherever I damn please” foame
Maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea for some of us regulars to phone BNSF and report this kind of behavior. Don’t true railfans pride themselves in being the eyes and ears of the railroads? It would at least let the yardmaster know these morons aren’t part of our group, and it also might save a life someday.
I feel absolutely no alliance to or kinship with these people, the worst type of "I’ll go wherever I
Oregon Department of Transportation owns quite a bit of former SPS (BNSF), UP and SP former branch line properties. They have a regulation that has a 6 foot cyclone fence installation requirement along the railroad right-of-way line — that must be paid for by the adjacent property owner. This leaves just a hole in the fence where the street or access road goes through. Rumer is that they may be going to require that non-public road access areas be gated and locked.
Reason, our Eola friends, and one very deep pockets law suite.
Well…I hated to do this but,I called the Police once on two 20 something out of town railfans.I will not permit others screw up my railfanning spot by acting stupid.Where I go is a public place with great picture taking locations to include two private but usable fields.However standing in the middle of the track is NOT one of them…
You are correct, standing in the middle of the train is not acceptible at all. That is the fastest way to get your self killed. The way our trains today are, they are quite, you will never know it is coming.
When I was a student engineer for the TPW in East peoria, I was coming down Washington hill and there is this guy walking down the track with his kid. I whistled off to let him know I was approaching him. He just turned around looked and saw the train and kept walking in the middle of the tracks. Not to sure what he was thinking. So I put the locomotive in neutral and pulled out the throttle, kept the bell going and kept blowing the horn. When we were about 100 feet or so he finally decided to wonder off the track.
He sure was setting a good example for his kid. His kid was the smart one. When I first whistled off he jumped and ran off the track. Maybe the kid can teach his father about railroads.
railroadjj and all…I didn’t mean to come off sounding so strong but,here in Bucyrus,Oh that is the best railfaning area…I would hate to see the NS and local Police come down hard on this area.However such wanton acts by a few mindless people can cause great harm to the local fans as you know.
I fully agree with todays trains being silent…I been taken by surprise by Eastbound NS trains while sitting in my car reading MR,Classic Trains,Trains or Railfan many times.All I heard was the crossing gate being activated and then the the lead unit hitting the Spore industrial diamond.
I totally agree with you. If the person is not a railroad employee then they have no reason to be on the tracks at all. If they should loose something while lets say riding a bike, or walking across, I would not suggest just bending down to try and find it. Give the railroad a call, explain the situation. So how soon the next train will be in the area. You never know when a train will show up.
Just to give another example:
I was watchin a video on youtube.com the other day. There is a cop chasing a guy on a motor cycle. The motor cycle leaves the cop in a cloud of dust. There is a diamond and the cop did not know the tracks where that high so he says. He jumpes the tracks, and then high centers his car on the tracks. As he starts to get on the radio a UP train comes around the corner. He tells his dispatch to get on the radio to stop the train. He is lucky is was heading to the yard which did not cross the tracks. Then another train comes up from the other side. But it took another switch to head for the yard. He was scared. You could hear it and see it. Once I get home I will post the link if anyone wants to see it.
Yes, the video you speak of was from an old edition of the “COPS” television show in Fox Network and it has been posted bere before but I am sure others would like to see it who did not the first time.
A teenager gets off a Commuter Train, (there is an underpass connecting the north and south station platforms) he walks to the end of the fence dividing the north and south bound tracks and crosses IN FRONT OF AN ACELA BULLET TRAIN! He didn’t make it.
A adult is walking along the tracks in East Haven, didn’t hear the Acela until it was too late. He didn’t make it eather.
Two teenagers walking next to the Springfield Line outside of Hartford, northbound Amtrak, one dead one injured.
And that’s just this year. People do not understand (this includes the Press) that freight trains now run at speeds that passenger trains ran at 20 years ago, and Passenger Trains, 80 to 150 mph. Acela, 2 1/2 miles a minute! That headlight that’s a half mile away will go by you in 12 seconds. A whole new meaning of " TRESPASSING ON RAILROAD PROPERTY".
I hear what you’re saying about Pine Junction. I used to live a couple of blocks from Porter Junction and used to watch trains there when it was “legal”. Some train watchers, I believe they were locals, started doing some very foolish things there and it was posted for no tresspassing. This was back in the nineties. Not long ago, I ran into the NS track foreman while photographing out on Otis Hill. He told me the story of what happened at Porter Junction and how he was the one that posted the “No Tresspassing” signs there. All I could say to him was I didn’t blame him for doing that.
This afternoon, I went out with my youngest son to scout railroad photo locations. I normally stay away from Pine Junction, because I heard about the issues there. Since I was in the area, I decided to stop by anyway. Within fifteen minutes, a CSXT Police K9 Unit was there taking down information from my license. The officer said that crews reported someone driving back and forth across the tracks. During the short time I was there, I didn’t witness this. I was parked at least fifty feet south of the tracks. I respectfully apologized for being there and left.
I try to be very careful about tresspassing and safety. Though I used to work post-9/11 armed nuclear security, I don’t enjoy encounters with law enforcement. Railroad photography is an escape for me, like hunting, or fishing. The encounters I’ve had with municipal police, transit police, and the FBI tend to ruin it for me.
Society is crazy enough. We need to make sure WE do the right thing while we’re out enjoying a legitimate, fascinating hobby.
eola,great place. 5 different trains facing west all at the signal bridge,all in one pix!! all diff engines…at nite ive heard guns poping off to the west,aurora…now ill 2nd largest city, so careful if there late…
Shots fired!!! Yikes and stuff. Try Western ave yard where the BNSF cops wont get out of their vehicles ( this is why I carry the AB wrench and a few fussee’s)Joliet we have been shot at on the trains.But hey where else can you have so much fun.