Today there was 4 of us in 2 cars pulled way off the road waiting for a train near a crossing.
These creepy local yokels in a delivery truck pull up and say:
“Do you guys need help or a hand with anything?”
We were like “Um, no.”
OK. That was nice, I guess - but not for long.
Then this bannana says:
“What are you gonna do, jump in front of the train?”
I heard him but I said “What?” to see if he said it again.
He said it again “Whatcha gonna do, jump in front of the train?” with a smirk.
I gave him a “what the heck” look and said “No…”
They drove off…
I’m like; First, I’m on a public road, I don’t have to explain anything to some guy in a truck. If he’s that concerned (he wasn’t) just call the cops (he didn’t) - don’t confront us.
“IF” we were doing something like that, why would we all have cameras, scanners, and RR hats???
I mean, come on people. It bugs me - the nosey attitude and then what he said…[:(!]
We’ve all had our strange encounters, and I have had some far stranger than your story. Frankly my preferred approach in situations like these is to openly volunteer that you are there to watch and/or photograph trains. If they think that’s nuts with luck they drive off and the conversation is over, which I gather is what you want. But sometimes they express interest in the hobby. And sometimes even non railfans have some information about the local trains.
Dave Nelson
I would have acted even more strange than those “yokels” — Driving down a country road , meeting 2 cars with 4 people, sitting beside railway tracks, with choo-choo hats, scanners, cameras, and asking them if they need any help(which is nice eh?) If I was one of the"’ yokels" I would have fled the scene as quickly as possible and notified some authorities, no wonder people think railfans are nuts. (??don’t confront us???) yikes.
I’ll remember that - I “Joe no authority Schmoe” can go around harassing people about what they’re doing anywhere, anytime… I would’ve rathered he just called some authorities.
I should’ve asked if he needed help and if he was going to go cra***hat truck…
I’ve had it happen while stopping to use a mobile phone (driving while using a handheld phone is now punished with a hefty fine and license endorsement here, rightly so to my mind). Didn’t think it was odd at all - it was about 22:30hrs, dark, cold, and raining. I’d like to think that I’d stop to check on anyone else in the same situation - there aren’t many people about here so if you were unfortunate enough to break down away from an area with phone reception (only reliable in built up areas) you’d have a long wait for help.
Had it happen to me too. I was playing a game on my cellphone waiting for the next train when a woman paused and asked me if I was hurt I told her that " I’m just fine" She asked again to be on the safe side And I said calmly “I am okay. thanks.” and she calmly walked away. No police were called.
In a case like what happened to you, if the people are not well intentioned but seem to be smart aleck jerks…you can say that you’re photographing high horsepowered locomotives instead of dumping money at the bar on drinks that will wind up in the toilet.
LOL - thats a good one, Chad! After they left, we were joking around about what we should’ve told them…
To everyone,
Asking if we needed help was one thing - I didn’t mind and wouldn’t mind if it ended there.[^]
What bugged me was implying (with a smart-aleck attitude) we were doing something malicious - “What are ya gonna do, jump in front of the train or what?”.[8][?][B)]
I have lived in places where if you DON’T stop and ask if someone needs help then you are considered a jerk. It’s considered common curtasy(sp) and I lost count of how many times I have towed people out of the snow or given jumpstarts, and had the favor returned a few times too. Certainly not where I live now. That’s no big deal. I agree with you though, there was no need for the smart @#$ remark. If it were me I probably would have said something back that might start a fist fight.
take pictures leave footprints and mind your ps and qs.and having your son tell people me and dad are watching the trains go by fast is a bonus.
stay safe
Joe
He was probably hoping you were part of a train worshiping religious cult and you were going to sacrifice yourselfs to the great metal god of EMD. If so he was gonna to call his cousin Bubba to bring the towtruck, new cars for the family! Then he could claim he witnessed the sacrifice to TV crews, how you tried to get him to join the cult and lay on the sacred rails with you, then write a book about it, go on Oprah and later have to recant for making up critical facts of his story.
Some Lawenforcement could careless what you do. As long as your safe. I have seen that many of times. I have seen Lawenforcement just see what your doing and just keep on going. Allan.
“No - we’re waiting here to notify the aliens that they can come down and lift a 200-ton locomotive into their spaceship. — Heeere’s your sign.” [#dots]
What a hoot! If David had told the guy that he was part of train-worshipping cult, the local cops probably would have gotten a call . . . or the nearest mental health professional. When being bothered by people like these yahoos I’ve found it helpful to put the colander or tinfoil hat on my head and resume my conversation with my invisible friend. Works every time!
No, it would appear he has never seen a railfan before and
Learn to take a joke, people joke around with me all the time when I taking shots. Face it, taking trains isn’t a socal norm, so people are gonna act strange when they interact with railfans.
I just shoot a joke back at them, ask them the score of the Yankee game (if its in season), tell them to have a good one and thats it
That is the way it is here, If I see somone on the side of the road I usually stop if i am not pressed for time going anywhere. I hae people ask me all the time if I am OK and thats about as far as it goes. I even had a guy stop and talk trains with me one day. So if you are ever through here, expect that.
I’ve had people and police stop and ask if I’m OK or need any help, and when I tell them that I’m just watching trains, they just say OK and head on their way. One time I had a couple cops bother me and a friend while we were sitting in an empty parking lot by the tracks waiting for a train…they ran our licenses and the whole nine yards (and this was way before 9/11).
The strangest story I ever heard happened to a friend of mine who was chasing a train in West Virginia (think it was on the CSX Cowen Sub). Just after he finished getting a picture and was walking back to his car, a woman came out of a nearby trailer and propositioned him on the spot! [:X] He got out of there in a hurry.
Should have told them you were with NBC scouting for cast members of a new daytime reality series called The Dumb and the Toothless featuring dingleberries from a small town, and tell them they would be perfect for the leading charachters.
Or you could have simply said pi%% off and mind their own business.