I went out to Covina, California this morning with a buddy to watch UP Big Boy 4014 being moved on its way from the Pomona Fairplex to the UP shops in Colton, Califronia where it will be restored to operational status. While the move was well organized and (Surprise!) right on time, I was rather disappointed in the behavior of many of my fellow railfans. There were quite a few local police, Sheriff’s deputies and railroad police on hand for crowd control and its a good thing, too! While most of the crowd was polite to each other and generally well behaved, I couldn’t believe how many people had to be shooed off of the tracks (several repeatedly) to keep the active tracks clear and even to allow the Big Boy train to move. Even worse were the people insisting on positioning themselves in harm’s way who acted as though the cops were the idiots. As the crowd thickened, people just swung further and further out into the active travel lanes of the four-lane roadway passing the station, all while looking at the train and not the traffic. While all of the police I observed at this event were very patient and understanding, it is no wonder that police sometimes lose their tempers when people refuse to cooperate. At one point just before the train started to leave the station, I observed one officer politely ask people to step back off the right-of-way and also warned people to watch out for the crossing signal gate that was about to drop (yes, they were standing in the middle of the street). While most people complied, several just stood there staring at the officer as though he were from Mars! When they finally did move, several people in the crowd had to warn them not to stand in the path of rising conterweights. Worst yet were the non-cooperative adults with kids in tow. Great behavior to teach your kids.
I had heard that Santa Fe 3751 isn’t run much anymore because the insurance premiums have become prohibitively expensive. Th
There`s a lot of stupid and ignorant people in the world.
4 years ago I shot a video of a snow plow in operation…some woman came up to me and started to talk in a loud voice and I tried to shoo her away…then she got louder and more ignorant with me…I told her off…then her husband got loud with me…so I told him off too…he threatened to get the cops after me…hehe…I said go ahead I`ve got it all on video…he backed off quick.
No common sense. And since it’s hard to tell the idiots from the regular people, railroads just chase off all railfans rather than risk it.
Part of the changing culture, no one wants to work ‘menial’ jobs any more when just starting out, they all want to be the manager. So no one is out there doing potentially dangerous jobs around heavy equipment and so they never learn. I worked around (and learned how to operate) heavy construction equipment when I was in high school. That taught be a healthy respect to always be aware of what’s going on around me because you can never be sure the other guy sees you - it’s YOUR responsibility to be aware of what’s move and in what direction. I see that lack of awareness in at least half the drivers on the road today, and even when they aren’t talking on the phone or texting. Just plain unaware that there’s any cars on the road besides themselves. And I see it in coworkers when we do work in manufactureing facilities - just want to take the shortest way through the plant and ignore the marked off areas around machinery, or just walk across warehouse space without checking to see if there are any forklifts moving around.
I never worked for the railroad so I can;t claim to know all the safety rules, but when you’re on the ground all it really takes is a little common sense to make sure you are not in the path of anything that is moving, or could move. It’s only a slight stretch to think about other things that could happen - like tow cables snapping, or support blocks giving way and shooting splinters all over - and stay clear of the danger zone.
It’s a shame a few spoil it for the rest of us. I’ve even been chased from PUBLIC property by railroad people - I was well clear of any publis street, and no where near railroad property, or the tracks. Guess they didn’t want anyone watching them.
A lot of hot shot railfans doesn’t fully understand the dangers that lurks on the rails.
Know and understand and remember these words to live by while railfaning:
Railroads does not suffer fools or carelessness…
Expect a train from either direction-including “blind” shoves at any time…
Switchmen doesn’t have time to look out for you…His attention is on the work at hand.
Stay back at least 100’-that’s 2 50’ boxcars.Use zoom for close ups.
Watch the train at 3/4 view so you can see any impending dangers like a leaning load,a flapping strap…A derailment in progress-you will see ballast dust.
Safety first, last and always.The life you save may be yours (from a Chessie safety poster).
Many railfans (and the general public, too) should be made aware of their safety when around the tracks. Expect a train at any time, on any track and from any direction.
Too often I see the kind of poor behaviour mentioned, but it’s especially prevalent when there’s a major public event, as with Norfolk Southern’s very well-run trips using the Ft. Wayne Society’s ex-NKP Berkshire.
A friend and I travelled down to Pennsylvania to railfan several of those trips, accompanied by another good friend from that area who is an experienced railroader. We saw plenty of that sort of disrespect for safety, but there was one incident which stuck with all of us. It was at New Brighton, with the train running up a grade on its way back to Conway, I think. We were listening-in on the radio chatter, and the engineer was advised of the crowd very close to, and in some instances, right on the tracks as they awaited the approach of the train. In the first photo, below, the crowd has drawn back, but when the locomotive started making smoke (common on such trips for the benefit of photographers), all three of us realised almost at once that this was not for the benefit of the camera toters, especially given the wind direction at the time.
Now, I wouldn’t want to accuse the engineer of anything nefarious, but his timing and sense of the role which the wind would play were impeccable:
Almost immediately on passing the offenders, the stack cleared (still lots of steam, but nowhere near as much smoke and cinders, even though the loco and train were still on the grade. They rolled by us (a respectful dista
It’s amazing what cracking the petcocks a little short of the crowd can do! Especially useful when in a place like the LA basin where a smoke screen would fetch the air pollution police, citation books in hand.
If you think that typical railfans are bad, try getting through an area where the paparazzi have staked out some celebrity.
When observing crowd behavior it’s easy to see that common sense is a most uncommon virtue.
Chuck (Modeling Central Japan in September, 1964 - avoiding ‘events’)
I guess, the most basic one I have utilized on the rare occasion I do railfan. Give the train the same amount of space I give cars and trucks when I’m on foot, a lot of space.
another thing I utilize is the rule a friend from the military told me: stay alert, stay alive.
People today amaze me. Honestly, you have to be an idot to walk on live tracks, or stand on a highway. What happened to common sense? Big train or small car, either way you lose everytime. What is even worse is how the legal system is so messed up. You can sue and get millions of dollars because of your stupidity. These idots take great things and ruin them. Unfortantally we protect them, and they seem to multiply. We need to let Darwinism do its thing.
Poor cops, they have to babysit these idots. The idots are probably worse than small children.
Why do we call common sense common sense if it isn’t common anymore? We should call it uncommon sense!
that would make sense, but making sense is also something that doesn’t happen much anymore Hence why I live by “If it makes sense it’s too good to be true,if it doesn’t make sense this is normal.”
I think that there are two classes of railfans, those that don’t know what they are doing or don’t care or both, and those that know what they are doing and are careful and respectful.
I have a slide show on DVD that I purchased from a fellow who photographed trains in and out of Dearborn Station in Chicago and up and down the mailine to Alton Junction and beyond. This fellow and his railfanning buddies were all over the tracks, shooting photos and hitching rides on trains. The railroad folks knew them well and tolerated their railfanning and photo shooting in the extreme.
I rode an excursion from Steamtown this summer, and ad the end they did a photo runby. It took a while to get some of the idiots back far enough to make it happen, they insisted on standing on the second of the two tracks. I think it actually was the thread of not bringing the train back until everyone was fully clear that finally got them back. Me, I staked out a spot well up on the hill so I could see further. Just wish I had a better video camera than my phone, but it worked ok.
At least half the people weren’t even taking pictrures or anything, they just wanted to be where the crowd was - you could have stayed on the train, or over by the station, they didn;t make everyone go to the other side. Oh, and the people who just insist on stepping up on the rail, makes me cringe every time, sooner or later someone will slip and take a header, and head meeting rail is NOT going to make for a happy day.
And then their family sues the railroad…Happen here in Bucyrus…A drunken track walking trespasser was hit and killed by a CR train…CR settle out of court for a ridiculous sum…
Considering all the stupid behavior I see everyday, it’s no surprise that it happens at a railfan event. In South Florida, I used to see joggers with mp3 players plugged in their ears, cutting across the FEC’s mainline without even looking. And I regularly see cars stop on the tracks for a red light. Etc., etc., etc,…
In my humble experience observing people, getting away with/developing bad habits only leads to the development/progression of worse habits. If you haven’t already, watch at an intersection where there is a stop sign. Count the drivers that don’t stop…they slow down, do a slow roll and then go. The wheels never come to a complete stop. Now, where I live, there is a 4-way stop just two doors down. In the last few months I have noticed the same few cars progress from a slow roll through the intersection to completely ignoring the stop and just maintaining speed. See, because they got away with a slow roll through the intersection for so long they went from forming that bad habit, to developing a full on dangerous/deadly habit. Escalation. The same applies to railfanning and so many other of life’s activities. The longer people get away with their bad practices, the level they become unsafe rises. Sadly, when it eventually catches up with them, they are not held accountable. Accountability…at all levels…is as rare in society today as common sense. Instead, some ambulance chaser is salivating at the prospect of cashing in on his/her clients stupidity. Age isn’t a factor here either. Young and mature folks are equally as guilty.
Its gods way of thinning out all the idiots. What do they call it, oh the darwin awards. If you’re stupid enough to get on the tracks, then you deserve to be hit by a train.
You see it all the time on train videos. Like the chasers on the highways, while going 65mph they have their camera out the window while driving.
Yeah unfortunately in cases like this, the idiot is gone, but the crew in the cab of the locomotive has to live with that experience for the rest of their lives. Nothing as horrible as the feeling that no matter what you do, someone will be hurt or killed. Same with suicide by train people who jump off the platform in front of the train. They aren’t sick, they’re selfish. There’s another human being who has to live with the guilt (even though there was absolutely nothing they could have done) of killing someone, but the suicide doesn’t care, they’re dead.
