Train watching spot

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

Just cause I know the topic is a hot one with all the “railfanning/unamerican activity” debate going on, I wanted to share a real gem with those of you who look for such things.

The Carrolton Inn in Carrolton, Missouri (several miles east of Kansas City)

It’s a bit of a flea bag, but only $28.00 a night…eventually I concluded what must be making the “pitter-patter” of footsteps above the drop ceiling was not the nosey innkeeper,…but hey, if it’s train watching you want, this place is so close to a NS rail line you can almost spit on the trains that will go by…ALL NIGHT LONG…AND I mean like only 10-15 minutes apart most of the time, and the horns will roust you, if you dare try and catch a few winks between trains.

I only wish I had been “railfanning” at thee time, instead of trying to sleep off 750 miles of highway time on that god forsaken night of extreme rail activity…=)

2

Man, i pitty you guys in america right now.
the local yard where i live…i go there all the time…and the guys talk to me…like i know 2 of them, ive talked to MOW guys…they never tell me to leave…just to be careful.

and the train crews…even the roud crew guys always talk to me…ive never been warned or told to leave…

im trusted…but ya you guys in america have it rough…stup[id cops

3

I have a lot of spots to take train pictues without being on railroad property and when I get off work its right outside the front door.
stay safe
joe

4

Some have it rough, based upon what I read here, which is why I put up the info, for those who evidently are shut out completely.

I have yet to see this type of behavior personally, and have recently moved close to NS’s (former Wabash) line that runs Detroit to St. Louis, and since I’m retired, I’ve been spending far too much of my spare time Scoping the local RR scene, and have yet to encounter anyting but smiling faces/friendly folk, with nary an evil eye.

In fact, across the river on a siding I ran into a string of boxcars converted for human habitation, complete with a domestic water supply control car, numerous port-a-johns and a rental dumpster, and a few NS “schoolbuses” and as it turned out it was a NS track gang, As I was walking the siding, they noticed me, and came out for a chat. And know what? I don’t think they were so much “checking me out” as they were just hungry for local conversation, had a very “chummy” talk with them, and ever since it’s been hand waves and small talk.

If those guys wanted to nail me, it would have been easy for one of them to have a rail cop come sit out for a couple nights, and nail me. But I’ve concluded that is not a priority for them, though it’s evident from the decorum.appurtenances of some of the cars that they’ve got management types with them too, a good 3-4 cars are quite fancy.

I’ve concluded that for all the disgruntled railfans I’ve read about here, there must be more than just “un-american activities” at work here.

For one, if you are railfaning in an area where there has been a lot of vandalizm to cars on sidings,…god help you, Even if you are totally unaware of this vandalism going on, the railroads don’t know this, and they are simply trying to stop a big problem for them (who can blame them?)

For another, the way you act and the way the Railroad employees perceive those actions has got to be a factor. If you act like “ohhh gosh, I know I’m not supposed to be here!” Guess how

5

Thats cool!

Where I live there is no problem either, as you can see from my other response.

Some folks seem to be having big problems though, based upon what I read here. Thought I’d volunteer an alternative that might interest them.

The volume of traffic on the line almost in the middle of nowhere surprised me though.

Must be a transfer line, as it would be 1 or 2 engines and a couple dozen or less cars each time, but constantly coming,…all night long. I’m surprised the Innkeeper can even stay in business

6

its always good to have a back-up plan.I’ve only been asked once by a railroad employee.The rest have said be careful and I haven’t had any police say anything at all.
stay safe
joe

7

Well, Upon reading these posts, I thought I would sahre a story. Im fron Huron, Ohio. About 5 min east of Cedar Point, and I live near the ex-NYC Chicago Buffalo Lafeshore route. I too have read the Trains article and was appalled by the content, and where america is heading.

I understand the context, and pretenses surrounding this topic, both in written form and in tangible form, but i have not been stopped or arrested or the sorts. What has happened though is numerous times I have been shadowed and hounding by the local police like some criminal. What needs to be understood, is that my town can be described as Varsity blues without the accents. So the cops are royal pains, and I have the upmost respect for law enforcement. I just hate the fact that I am being treated like a criminal for trying to have fun, Hell the railroad people wave and don’t mind, it’s the local police that I have to worry about. I have an id, and since I run a small graphic business I carry my business card around, and that has helped explain waht i am doing. (www.trainweb.org/sbcarshops)

Another story I have. I was following a Loram Ballast cleaner along the same track rights, and i got ahead of it, and followed it to a crossing and stoped. There were some NS workers there and I pulled off the road and asked one if tehy would mind if i took some pics. He referred me to his boss, and his boss said well we really aren’t supposed to, and i was just at a security meeting (etc) and asked me if i was Taliban, and going to Blow something up, and i explained my business card, and what i was doing, and even let him see the movie/pics i took.

This is what i have to deal with. Other than these two instances, i have had no problems, lol other than the occasional weird look from people who don’t know how much fun they are missing. lol

Gregg Staley

8

AntiGates, et al.

I grew up next to the same NS ex Wabash line to which you were referring. Recently, some kid (17) from back home decided it would be cool to hop on an NS northbound freight. Unfortunately for him, it picked up speed and when it got to 15-20 miles away from town he got scared that he wouldn’t know where he would end up and jumped while the train was doing an estimated 55 mph. He was severely injured.

I am one of two lawyers ever to come from my town, and the family (which my family is on good terms with) recently contacted me about suing the railroad. Fortunately, I am not a member of the Illinois bar and had a ready-made excuse for rejection.

My point is, though I really sympathize with rail fans on here and think it is great railroads still can be friendly, I understand why they are not sometime.

Gabe

9

Just curious… How exactly do they rationalize suing the RR? In your opinion… When people do this, is it a matter of them knowing it’s wrong, but not knowing how else to pay the bills involved in the accident? Or do they really believe the company is somehow at fault?

Dave
Los Angeles, CA
-DPD Productions - Home of the TrainTenna RR Monitoring Antenna-
http://eje.railfan.net/dpdp/

10

The illusionof deep pockets & greed.

11

traisessive1, nice to see another Augusta poster well a SC poster since you just across the river from me ( not really I live in Evans) how often do you go see trains in Augusta

kevin

12

AG
Are you talking about the bunk cars that are sitting in New Yard (between Nuttman and Brooklyn)? Did they say where they are working?

13

He is in Ontario.

14

It sounds like you have got some bad information. Yes, some railfans in America have been harassed. However, these incidents seem to be isolated. I railfan not far from a CHP station and local police station, so at shift time many police go by (coming off of and starting patrol), they come by fairly frequently at other times also. They have driven by while I photographed, one time they had someone pulled over on the other side of the street (directly across the street from me), I have never been harassed. The only rough thing I have while railfaning is trying to find an unpatch Southern Pacific locomotive.

15

there’s a North Augusta in ontario??? sorry for the confusion

kevin

16

Here’s one for ya.
Last night about half a mile from home, I crossed the tracks and saw a headlight in the distance. I pulled into the old high school parking lot (now owned by a church) that fronts the tracks just past the small yard in town. The local was in the hole and the conductor was standing by the electrical lock box at the switch for the main. I was parked within view but over 100 feet away on a private parking lot with a guardrail between me and the tracks. I watched the small stack train go by and was just hanging around to see if the local was going to come out on the main. The conductor walks all the way over and has me roll down the window. He asked me if I was having [car] trouble. I said, “no, I was just killing some time.” I had some papers from work scattered around me for effect. (You can’t admit to being a railfan in public, ya know.) He then asked if I was a railroad cop. Again, I answered no. (I knew one lived 3 blocks away, but wasn’t going to let on that I knew.) He then floored me by asking if I was a terrorist. I tried not to laugh as I said no, I’m not a terrorist. He said something about company policy to check out anything suspicious. I wasn’t going to argue with the guy, but since when is a car parked in a parking lot suspicous? Can anyone shed a little more light on the subject/thought process than this dim bulb can?

17

Uh, why can’t you just admit to being a railfan? It seems to me like that would have cleared things up a bit.

18

It seems to cause as many problems as it solves, especially when you work with them.

19

Lincoln,Neb.
The Heart of the BNSF Railroad.
[bow]BNSF[bow]

20

Well in the example you gave don’t you think it would have cleared things up as opposed to letting him assume you were up to no good?