You mean you don’t have “woo-woo’s” up in your neck of the woods? Woo-woos: volunteer firefighters/EMTs that outfit their POVs as miniature ambulances and fire trucks?
I met a couple once at Rochelle that told me they were train enthusiasts.
tina
Foamer is a derogatory term used mostly by people on the inside…rail workers…to descibe those of us on the outside…interested people who are not employed in the industry.
My understanding is that the term “buff” originated from the sartorially and fashionably correct young gentlemen fire buffs in England back in the 1800s, who were called that because of their customarily worn buff-colored coats.
Or something like that. I’ll let someone else research that further, if you want.
- PDN.
Oh, sure. Heck, I ran a full-width bar and a siren when I was chief.
The fire equivalent of a foamer, but on the “inside” is a wacker.
It’s a rule of thumb in the EMS world that you can tell the relative experience of an EMT by looking at his/her belt. The more they have hanging from it, the less time they’ve been in the business…
I first heard the term foamer applied to railfans back in the 70’s from a fan friend who is also an engineer. He explained it was a derogatory term railroad employees used for most of us but especially the most avid.
But, “fan” is actually short for “fanatic”. Thus baseball, football, hockey, afficianadoes are also called fanatic. As are so many who admire and follow people, activities, causes, etc. We often will say so and so is a real fanatic to emphasize how much a fan a person is. “Fan” is a term that has been so watered down from its roots it has become just a mild term. Thus “foamer” has become the replacement term in the popular nomanclature for those of us general or universal railfans while inside our kingdom refer to those of us who we feel are “over the top”. We have to have a name and reference for everyone and everything and when the old wears thin, we reinvent.
During college, the term we used for an “over the top” railfan was “fit” - short for misfit.
Both terms have always sounded goofy to me. Just like a earlier post stated, Fomers are the ones in the bunch which think they know all there is to know about the rr. But ask one of them what a basic day, HO code, eight deadly sins or perhaps a operating rule of delayed in a block means and all you will get from them is a confused look. I watched trains all my adult life until going to work in the industry a decade ago. When I hired and began condr training, I had hardly any knowledge of operating rules. I knew of the mechanical aspects of it due to loading railcars for many yrs in pre rr days. I knew nothing of restricted speed, dual control switch, CTC, trk warrant, 50 foot rule and othr items. I guess I was a dumb railfan. One does not need to take this stuff serious as a hobby and one would enjoy it more if they don’t let it go to their heads. Most fomers are only intersted in modern day mega merger rrs and know little if anything or have no interest of the tradition & history of the industry itself.
I think a railfan is just someone who takes an interest in trains & railroading. Whether it’s photography, history, travel, modeling, civil engeneering, transportation economics or simple romanticsim, like some people & sailing ships.
A foamer has no (or very few) friends. Has lost jobs, marriages and has bad health & hygene because of an some unhealthy fixation with trains. Probably gets some psychosexual thrill standing too close to the tracks as heavy tonnage speeds by. Like an alcoholic & his next drink, the foamer will forsake all to be near the next train that goes by.
When I see a man like the middle-aged gentleman I saw the other day, holding up for my approval a homemade poster of a CSX locomotive that I assume he had painted or drawn on there, I have to think that gentleman just might have some issues. He looked normal, but. . .and if, by chance, you’re on this board, drop me a note.
We cannot define foamer seperate from railfan until we define railfan. Anybody from age one to over a hundred who takes time to watch a train go by can be catagorized as a railfan. Or buff. Or afficianado. It is those who do more than just casually watch who start toward foamer. At one time one of the more respected photographers and writers in the pages of Trains and Classic Trains used ot had pinned on the inside of his jacket his post cards and photo’s which he had for sale…kind of a second flash if you will. Is he a foamer or a fan? Better or worse than another. If you or I were to pin our photos’ inside our jacket and spread it open to show what we have for sale, what would you think of me or of others who did the same? Is the continual posting of the same 3/4 wedge and head on zoom shots a sign of a foamer? Our googling at them mean we are foamers? I think the term foamer, therefore, is relative. I am normal, nobody else is.
Ah—good ol’ eccentricity-----[:-^][swg]
Ah, more members of the LAABPTPENA, otherwise known as the League of Abandoned Abutment, Bridge Pier and Tunnel Portal Enthusiasts of North America. Not my creation; a couple of friends found a good location and then had a very tedious wait before any trains showed up. But railroad archeology can be a wonderful diversion when trains are scarce.
John
My wife and I do a fair bit of driving the backroads and finding old townsites—believe it or not there are quite a few out in our neck of the woods—we also do find a lot of remnants of trainyards and such. I’ve taken to taking photos of these remnants and then went looking for the pix that display the yards in operation. North of Stratford ON—loads of old ROW’s. Lotsa good stuff for the history buff[:P]
I think you summed this up well. I have known people in the past who will say they are somewhat of a train buff, though they don’t go seeking them like us. They will take note when they see one though. When NKP 765 was coming through town years back, I told my boss i had to take a break to go see a steam train, he said he was a bit of a train buff too and to alert him. I did just in time.
There’s a fellow up north of me who has made a hobby of studying what might have been as well as what was, and is. His flikr site has hundreds of pictures of old ROW’s, bridges, etc.&nbs
Seeing what was, that is finding abandoned tunnels, bridges, etc…is a major part of the hobby for me. I think it is a great way to appreciate history too, even if it is only train related but it spreads to other things too. I know a lot more places than people would ever think I would because of my train hobby.
I have found artifacts, the biggest one, if you can call it an artifact, being the abandoned Paulinskill Viaduct buried in the woods in western New Jersey. And the feeling of seeing this beautiful structure for the first time is hard to describe, lets just say breathtaking is a way to begin.
I am a foaming railfan. I love trains and all known (and unknown, likely, when I discover them) aspects of railroading. Why worry about how someone else labels you? It is irrelevant. If you love trains a little or a lot, chances are you get a little foam going. So get out there and take some pictures or pace a train or listen to the scanner or look up mile posts on Google Earth and figure out which subdivision they belong in, subscribe to magazines, go to Folkston’s Railwatch next year or whatever. Just don’t get caught up in what someone else calls you while you follow your passion. More than likely whomever dreamed up the name Foamer has some passion he/she foams about too. So there.
I’m a Railfan, this guy is a Foamer:
PS. I actually think he’s faking it for comedic effect…
Well if that’s a foamer… sign me up… to foamers-not-so-anonymous that is.
I have been a railfan off and on for 10 years now. I have sorta re-emerged at the beginning of the year and have just gone nuts. I would have to say… if I saw a NS Heritage unit around these parts I believe I would act about like that. I couldn’t imagine if I saw one of THOSE units.
Thanks,
Proud Florida Foamer
If he is for real, the men in white coats should be around the corner.