I was chatting a friend when I mentioned that i am a rail enthusiast. This was her response.
“i thought trains were the least reliable mode of transportation, please tell me if its true”
Made my jaw drop…but kept cool and told her this.
It takes one boxcar to carry three truckloads of goods (Source: WSOR website)
I also found out that one gallon of fuel can transport a ton of freight 436 ton-miles, not to mention i linker her to an article here on the Trains site.
Obviously she has not watched or paid attention to the TV advertisements that CSX and NS have been running - not with the frequency of GEICO or some of the other TV advertisers, but they are advertising in the general media - something railroads NEVER did in the past.
Out of sight, out of mind. Without the railroads tooting their own horns - the last time they were viewed in the general media, to the level that even the brain dead would notice, was back in the 70’s with the PC bankruptcy and the ‘bailout’ and formation of ConRail and every thing that ended up leading to the passage of the Staggers Act in 1980. The negative publicity from that time is still the picture Joe & Sally Blow have of the railroads.
BNSF is the one major that seems not to be present, at least in this area on Broadcast media. While their operations are very much evident, in fact, through this region, but not as paid public media advertising(?)
Really fine passenger service, as offered by the AT&SF, UP, B&O, NYNH&H preMcGinnis, and a few others on ALL there trains, not just the top ones, was the best public relations the railroads had. And the bad service on certain others toward the startup of Amtrak was the worst.
At least she asked you if its true and thus gave you the opportunity to set her straight. Personally, I generally don’t tell people I’m a rail enthusiast…it almost never evokes a positive response. Among the pros we’re often regarded as mindless foamers, and among the general population anything outside of “normal” makes you look like a nut. Same with what I do for a living…I used tell to people I’m in trucking…and they would invariably respond with something like “I thought you finished school” …or " I thought you had a college degree"… or they’d launch into a rant about how they got cut off and almost run over by a tractor trailer. But sometimes it works to my advantage…when my wife drags me to a social function I quickly tell anyone who approaches me that I’m a trucker and a train nut…they leave me alone…
You’re just not going to the right parties. Just imagine: an entire room filled with railfans and libations…and then someone mentions how EMD’s are better than GE’s…
Very true…I take my family to the International Model Train show in Mississauga every year… its a completely different atmosphere… there I don’t mind showing my interest. And if you show interest in the exhibits you’re quickly talking to like minded people. Wife says "I never realized there were so many of “YOU GUYS” around…
Lucky she recognized it in real railroad terms…we often get, “Oh, we used to have a train running around the Christmas tree” or “I’ve got my father’s Lionel set packed up in the attic…is it worth anything?” or, “Yeah, you should see my cousin or neighbors cellar–wall to wall trains”. Also check in a library and see how many histories, photo essays, and academics are filed under modeling and toy trains and how many modeling and toy trains are filed with histories, photo essays and academics. One of the major problems stems from the fact that when rails let go of passenger service they also lost identities and voices in local communities; i.e., it was thought the railroad no longer existed or, at least it was a matter of out of sight out of mind. As the main lines and class one’s shrank in size and manpower, realization of the existance of railroads also shrank. The AAR even was limited in what it did and what it achieved. The only people the railroad cared to engage were shippers and politicians where needed. So when a train struck a car at a crossing the community was surprised that there were trains still running. Some has changed. Amtrak is a political football looking for its first Superbowl victory, NS, CXX and BNSF are putting thier messages out on the National stage, But still for the majority of Americans, unless they commute or their place of employeement uses rail services, they are unaware of trains and railroading until a vehicle is struck at a crossing or a tank car derails and local officials explode.
I was chatting a friend when I mentioned that i am a rail enthusiast. This was her response.
“i thought trains were the least reliable mode of transportation, please tell me if its true”
Made my jaw drop…but kept cool and told her this.
It takes one boxcar to carry three truckloads of goods (Source: WSOR website)
I also found out that one gallon of fuel can transport a ton of freight 436 ton-miles, not to mention i linker her to an article here on the Trains site.
In my neighborhood, CSX’s Abbeville Sub is about a mile away. There is a passing siding that is cut by two road crossings near each end. They occasionally get blocked when:
The dispatcher has lined up a bozo meet. The first train to arrive holds the main and the passing train has to creep in and out of the siding at restricted speed. Happens a lot.
The train waiting does not pull down quite far enough and has one or two cars blocking the crossing. Happens too often.
The train doesn’t fit between the crossings and the dispatcher doesn’t have the train wait until the other train is getting close. Happens infrequently.
I typically get two comments about the RR. The horn noise and the blocked crossings. I have two answers. “Not my RR. It the other guy’s” and “Call the 800 number on the Xing signal”.
Well, if I ever get a job with the railroads…and someone says “didn’t you finish college” I’ll just say “At $50,000 a year, a 401K, and good retirement benefits, it’ almost as if I did!” XD
Good answer… I usually just don’t respond. Let them think what they want to think… Truth is transportation has been really good to me over the years. No regrets regardless of what others think.
Yeah, but you spend years on-call, no real decent days off, bumped form one job to another, get to experience the joys of shift work, working outside, etc. etc.
Yes Railfans are definitely not ‘normal’… so that does appear to make us nuts.
I mean, I know some Railfans have a baseball cap with the logo of their favourite RR on it, and some have some logo pins on the hat or on their coat, from the museums they have visited or excursion trains they have ridden, but, is that what constitutes being “not normal”?
How many RR fans have a street sign by their driveway that names their favourite RR or Engineer? My neighbor has a sign that reads, “Bart Starr Pkwy”, so how come railfans don’t have signs like, “Casey Jones Blvd”?
How many have a sign bolted to their garage that reads, “Parking for ATSF fans only”, instead of “Parking for Vikings fans only”?
How many have bumper stickers that read, “My kid is a UP employee”, instead of “My kid is a Steeler”?
How often do railfans stand trackside, bare chested, with grease paint on their bellies spelling out “C M St. P & P”?
How many railfans have a 3-corner slice of cheese for a hat?
I am glad to be a rail enthusiast…as you get into middle age you gain a true appreciation for your interests and passions. What seemed like a useless pass time in my youth has guided me in my career, although not in ways that I could have envisioned 20 years ago.
"…At least she asked you if its true and thus gave you the opportunity to set her straight. Personally, I generally don’t tell people I’m a rail enthusiast…it almost never evokes a positive response. Among the pros we’re often regarded as mindless foamers, and among the general population anything outside of “normal” makes you look like a nut. “…Same with what I do for a living…I used tell to people I’m in trucking…and they would invariably respond with something like “I thought you finished school” …or " I thought you had a college degree”… or they’d launch into a rant about how they got cut off and almost run over by a tractor trailer. But sometimes it works to my advantage…when my wife drags me to a social function I quickly tell anyone who approaches me that I’m a trucker and a train nut…they leave me alone…"
And Again!
[quote user=“Ulrich”]
Good answer… I usually just don’t respond. Let them think what they want to think… Truth is transportation has been really good to me over the years. No regrets regardless of what others think.
And Once More!
The three statements blew me away! I could have written them and share the same sentiments.
Have been a railfan since a vacation in 1956 to Colorado, and a stay at the Narrow Gauge Motel, and a couple of rides on the NG between Durango and Silverton. &
Pretty much the same story for me samfp…both CN and CP didn’t allow glasses back when I applied in 81… although I think that has changed over the years. So that nixed my railroad career as well. But one door closes and another opens… although my uncorreected vision wasn’t quite good enough to work as a brakemen for those roads, I had no problem getting qualified to run tractor trailers through the mountains of BC at 19 years of age…go figure… No complaints though…it’s been quite a ride over the years and it ain’t over yet!