I just got an e-mail from a friend to Warn all Railfans across this country to suspend all Railfanning until further knotice. Becaues of what just happend over in London. If you want or must Railfan DO NOT Railfan in the eyes of the Public for no reason at all,Do it out in the Country side. I was told:RAILFAN AT YOUR OWN RISK! At least until all this begins to start to calm down. I was also told to leave the Camera at home for now. Allan.
Interesting. I did some obvious railfanning today after work (in a city) and even got a wave from a conductor of a train that I photographed.
Notice from a railroader,
and a fan…
Bull crap!
When you quit, they win!
Ed
Who is this friend and what authority does he have to tell me what to do???
Newsflash! Alert levels for freight railroads have not changed since yesterday, before the London bombings.
LC
I think this friend is Chicken Little.
I wonder what would happen if this friend recommended putting plastic bags over the head to protect against possible chemical attacks…
On another board Fred Frailey reported that the UP sent this out to employees today. This will not stop me from railfanning, but I’ll play it safe and will be prepared for it if stopped with a good attitude.
"Being aware of people asking probing questions about the railroad and
its operations, either in person or via telephone, e-mail and other
forms. "
“Disclosing operational information unnecessarily – such as train
schedules, commodities or other information to anyone who does not have
a “need to know.” Be polite but firm in handling inquiries from
individuals who do not have a need to know.”
“Reporting all trespassers or suspicious people on UP property, including
rail fans.”
“Reporting any item that is out of place, such as boxes on the
right-of-way or items attached to a rail car, bridge or tunnel.
Reporting vehicles on the right of way, yards or facilities, whether
occupied or abandoned.”
Jim
Wonder when they’ll realise that we railfans are actually a very good anti-terror tool? We usually know what happens in our area and would notice anything unusual - maybe they should be encouraging us to phone it in rather than chasing us away? Rather than paying extra police etc they could have us do the job for free!
And I’m just getting ready to copy and mail the Trains editorial to all of our local law enforcement types… Better write a good cover letter.
That email is more along the lines of those bogus virus emails that make the rounds from time to time.
One of my “favorite” viruses is the ‘Do-it-yourself Virus.’ In the email, the reader is told to go to the command prompt and type in “Erase C:”. Don’t do that at home. Leave it to the professionals…
Ed
you hit the spike with the BIG sledge! matt and I are going later today[:)]
stay safe
joe
Because the public looks at us Railfans as possible Terrorists. I mean one woman said one time that most people nowadays no thanks to 9/11 that they will call the cops on you now then they would just before 9/11. Allan.
Railroading_Brit brings up a great point. Railfans are certainly in a position to know what is out of place in their little corner of the world. Many railfans probably know those rail areas better than the local police or even the rail crews themselves.
On the local news this morning in Milwaukee they were showing the Amtrak depot and some of the Hiawatha’s arriving & departing, with the reporter’s voice-over saying how the “authorities” want the public to be extra aware, especially around transportation locations.
While I agree that a few million extra eyes watching over things is a good idea, we (as railfans) need to understand that the general population does not understand our hobby, just as we might not understand why someone would want to sit in a field watching or photographing birds, or spend four hours sewing a dress together instead of just go out and buying one.
I plan to exercise due care in the locations I visit in the near future, at least until the excitement subsides. And I will be much more forgiving of law enforcement should they question me about my activities.
So even though the odds of any particular person being harmed by any terrorist activity are so very low, people are panicky now, and we need to be careful.
Every day, when I drive home, I cross the CSX’s line to Bradenton FL (route of the Tropicana trains) and every day, if I’m on time, I see the same fellow walking along the tracks, obviously headed home as well. As a former rail exec, I would never condone walking along the tracks, but spotting him each day has become part of the the routine.
Yesterday, after the London bombings, I spotted him again – talking to four policemen who had two patrol cars (with flashing lights) pulled up next to the tracks.
Hey, didn’t the cops ever see him before? I think a lot of this elevated alert stuff will simply be an excuse for the cops to harass us even more than they have to this point.
I think the key part of this, which makes me completely comfortable with it, is that it said “trespassers or on UP property.”
I think that is completely reasonable and I hope all rail fans don’t pu***hat envelope.
Gabe
Let me ask you guys a few questions…
How many of you rail fan the same place on a regular basis?
How often do you see the same crews?
Do you think the crews know what you are, and what you are doing?
I can name two forum members who fan the same place over and over, and I would bet my bottom dollar the crews around there wouldn’t think it odd to see them there…
Joe and Mookie…
I know Mookie has a regular place, at the yard throat, where she and her driver park and watch…and I would be surprised if the local PD hasn’t run the plates on their car, and decided they are exactly what they appear to be, train fans.
If your on Joes mailing list, you most likely have enough photos of the diamond and wye at Deshler to recognize it if you drove past.
And I doubt there is a locomotive CSX owns that Joe either hasn’t seen, or snapped a photo of, along with most of the local industry drags…
Point is, the crews know who you are…we see you at the same place, often at the same time, and you have become part of the norm…
I would guess the crews around Joes spot look for him and Matt, and when they don’t show up, the crew wonders where they are…
Just like the MOW guys know the Mookie parks where she does, and when she misses her regular days, they wonder too!
What the crews are being told to look out for are things out of the ordinary, the odd box next to the tracks, or the “fan” that they haven’t seen before.
Trust me, we might look like we are bored out of our gourd, or asleep, but we do see you, and we do recognize you as fans.
We notice when you don’t show up, and, for the most part, wonder when you don’t.
I don’t mind you watching, and most other railroaders don’t, either.
Note the UP wants its employees to report people on property…it didn’t say call in all fans, it said report trespassers on UP property, including rail fans…so they know you
Gabe,
I think you did in fact pick the key part. Thats why I’ll still get track side, but will just not “pu***he envelope.”
Jim
That’s the nice part of having a highly recognizable vehicle - including a red light bar - the crews either recognize it or assume I’m someone “official.” On the other hand, I know the local trainmaster, and he knows my truck, so if a crew questions it, it will likely get nipped in the bud.
I also know some of the local gendarmerie, lessening the potential hassles.
All that said, if somebody asks me to move, I’m outa there…
As Ed said, if we stop doing things just in the name of “security”, we’ve lost. The rule of the day has always been stay off private property, especially railroad owned private property. Provide ID when asked by authority. And, why not carry the current copy of Trains to enlighten any authority that might not have gotten the word?
Jay
Hey Ed I agree totaly. I just wanted to tell you that. Infact we railfans always have to worry about being questioned so whats the point in stoping? Myself I have not been asked by a cop what the heck I’m doing, but I know it can happen and I’m not that worried about it. Plus I’m fourteen so what am I going to do?
Dustin