This one’s for all the hoggers and conductors out there. When there’s some railfan in the bush knee-deep in a mosquito-filled swamp or snowbank, would you rather he look normal or be wearing a safety vest so you can see him from a mile away?
I’m none of the above, but -
Around here in Pennsylvania it’s ‘rifle season’ for antlered deer now - it seems there’s always something in season, anyway. So wearing a ‘blaze orange’ safety vest out in the woods might be a good idea - and even mandatory, in some places - anyway, regardless of what the train crews think.
- Paul North.
Being a railfan and fan of this forum, I recall this question coming up before. I believe the consensus was that railfans should look like regular people, not railway employees. It simply minimizes the chance for confusion by the train crew.
You also probably shouldn’t be standing in a place where having a safety vest would appear to be necessary in the first place.[:)]
Bruce
All the once a year hunters tracking that elusive 6 pack Buck…Budweiser that is,[:o)]
Exactly! Thank you.
Now that we are required to wear the supervests, I’ve heard some area railfans are also donning vests of the same color. There is such a thing as taking a hobby too far… [#dots]
Our local police chief had a notice in the local paper a while back telling people it would be a good idea to wear hi-vis vests/clothing when out walking/jogging/running around dawn and dusk hours. He even said they would provide a vest if someone wanted one.
Jeff
I acquired a brilliant yellow vest while at work. My job didn’t require me to wear one for routine work, but I kept it in the trunk, in case I wanted to go out and look at a freight car or two in the bowl, visit the latest wreck on my plant, or whatever (I always had the other PPE on my person while working, even though it wasn’t required).
However, I would occasionally commute to the yard on my bicycle, and I would wear the vest on those occasions. I did it once for a retirement party (over a month after I myself had retired), and looked like I fit right in (and was told that by more than a couple of folks!), although my vest is cleaner than a lot of the others out there.
I still have the vest, and will be happy to use it when great weather permits dusk or after-dark riding of my bike (supplementing, not replacing, the lights with which it’s already equipped), and if I should ever go back on railroad property–I do plan on making visits from time to time. However, I don’t plan on wearing it for routine train-watching…don’t wish to be mistaken for a weed-weasel!
(Bold emphasis mine)
One of my favored areas to shoot video of trains at speed away from cities (read as: with horns blaring) is near public hunting areas. I have worn blase orange when required (ok, plus I was hunting too) and bright yellow clothing when I’m not hunting or required to wear orange, but there are other hunters around. In my defense those shirts do not have any reflective ANSI material on them.
I guess it would really be interesting for a railfan to put on the vest and hunt around and do some railfaning… hehe I wouldn’t advise it but, I shouldn’t talk because I do it all the time while I am at work! I have often said that I tend to do my best railfaning while I am railroading. I have tons of the reflective stuff at home. I have four t-shirts, two long sleeve t-shirts, and a jacket that has the reflective stuff on it.
When we first got them I was told by my Terminal Superintendent that the DOT is going to eventually require all the people with in the transporation sector to wear them. I really don’t mind wearing it but what I don’t like about it is this…When my train goes into emergency over a series of highway rail grade crossings that are busy, busy, busy during the middle of rush hour, and I sit there and block all those crossings, and have to get out and walk the train. It is like I have a big yellow target on my back that says kill me now. I have actually gotten flipped off sever times when something like this has happened. [:O]
In Pennsylvania any thing you can wear during hunting season is a plus.
The way some of the hunters are, during hunting season. A John Deere Tractor would need a vest; It might even be a help locating a wandering individual’s remains.
At one time I was a regular traveler across I-80 and West of the Milton area, I’ve had more than one stray round put through the side of a freight box during deer season.
I guess that there have been some fired in the direction of rail cars around there as well…Some guys are so anxious they will snap off a shot in the direction of noise, because they are so excited to be in the wodds with a gun. Vests? You Betcha’!
Why do you think Schiendor paints their Trucks orange. So the Hunters in Wisconsin do not mistake them for DEER. I will never foprget that time I had that Brown truck going across WI in Rifle Season. Had to take a back woods road to theshipper. Had 14 Bullet holes in my sleeper. Told the Boss can you please put an Orange Stripe on this thing so the Hunters will not Mistake it for a freaking
Holsteins, which all of us raised in a country setting know are black and white, have been gunned down by hunters in Michigan.
Darned shame they can’t tell the difference between cattle and deer.
If a hunter can not tell the Differance between a KW with a 53 foot Trailer behind it that is Painted white with a Billbord on it thaty reads Orbit Trans on the side and weighs 80K lbs. Compared to a deer that is Brown and might weigh 200 if your lucky has Antler if it is a male and jumps high. Mine Burned Diesel the deer left Methane and Deer Poop on the ground. How in the heck hunters got it messed up is BEYOND MY BUTT.
Remember the rfrain to the Tom Lehrer “Hunting Song” from the 1960’s or so ?
"People ask me how I do it -
I tell them there’s nothing to it -
When something moves, you shoot it !
So now the following adorn my trophy room wall:
Three game wardens, seven hunters, and a pure-bred Jersey cow !"
- Paul North.
D’ya think that possibly alcohol was involved?
Mmmm, alcohol, loaded rifles, sensory distortion,–let the good times roll!
All I’m gonna say is that twice I’ve forgotten to put mine on and nobody saw me, including managers, so they MUST work, right?
I do not know I did not STAY around to find out. When your getting HOLES SHOT IN THE SLEEPER you do not STAY AROUND.
Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. I’ve never worn a reflective vest (except my dad’s when biking in really bad weather) but seeing so many foamers wearing reflective vests made me wonder if there really was something in it, and whether train crews appreciate knowing where you are from a distance as opposed to seeing me, dressed all in black, pop out of a trackside bush with a black thing in my hands.
I suppose I’ll keep doing things the way I always have done!
If you are foaming in the woods during hunting season, then I think a vest may be good for your own safety. But train crews can usually figure out the railfans from a good distance.
PS. all in black?
Johnny Cash fan or goth railfanning?
Not to hijack the thread ( 
) but as a hunter (not a bullet flinging SoB) reading those comments on WI hunters makes me sick. This was my 20th season with a license and I’ve been in the woods longer than that just observing. I have not once witnessed that kind of behavior…but I know it happens. Thanks for letting me vent & I’ll get off of my [soapbox]