The funny things we do as railfans

[Carl Becker]

So I came up with this idea for a thread after a recent string of medical appointments, operations, and a surgery. What are some of the funny things you do just because you're a railfan/photog?

One of mine, must admit, was scheduling appointments and stuff during high sun. :oops: The strategy did prove to be worth it (http://www.railpictures.net/showphotos.php?ids=330794, 330787, 330785) in the Twin Cities.

Talk!

[trainboysd40]

I fall down cliffs a lot.

[Joe the Photog]

I fell into a dep crevice a few years ago and nearly broke my leg. But I managde to throw my camera bag out harms way. Missed a day of work.

[stlgevo51]

Took off of school to see the 3985 a few years back. Hope to do the same in October!

[MNJRR]

skip school to catch a carnival train. stay out all night just for trains

[EMTRailfan]

One of mine, must admit, was scheduling appointments and stuff during high sun. :oops:

Guilty :lol: I get free truck inspections in Grove City, PA, so I schedule during high sun, and try to catch CN/Bessemer in the morning/evening.

[bigbassloyd]

I stand by myself at 2am in the middle of nowhere. Beat that.

Loyd L.

[lost bouy]

Spend hundreds of dollars on cameras and lenses as well as video editing software and other useless crap I don’t need. Then dragging family out to sleazy places to use it.

[Freericks]

Trying to figure out real vacation spots near railfanning that I want to do... so that I can include the family.

[Joey Bowman]

Got too caught up reading The Rat's latest rants.

[troy12n]

I find creative ways to stimulate the local economies of podunk towns by getting speeding tickets chasing special movements, steam locomotives, rare units and rare paint schemes.

[DWHonan]

I stand by myself at 2am in the middle of nowhere. Beat that.

OK: I drive into the middle of Cascade Range blizzards for night shots. :grin:

[Freericks]

I ask my wife permission to go out, and then I try and read the way she said "sure, go ahead" to figure out if that was a real "sure, go ahead" or a couched "whatever, go chase your stupid strings of rust" (hey, if you're married, you'll understand).

[coaststarlight14]

i fell into the mud today

[EMTRailfan]

I ask my wife permission to go out, and then I try and read the way she said "sure, go ahead" to figure out if that was a real "sure, go ahead" or a couched "whatever, go chase your stupid strings of rust" (hey, if you're married, you'll understand).

I understand. :lol:

My wife considers my once every month or 2 chase days as "all of the time".

[crazytiger]

I ask my older family members what they see as every night to take me into town at 10:30 at night when they'd like to be sleeping or what not.
Spend 5 hours out in the middle of no where on a hot, humid, rainy day waiting on the OCS that I thought would be there any minute. (keep in mind, I don't sit in the car until it comes like some o' you older folks)
Spend 3 hours trackside in another state with the thermometer at 18F and only one bad-lit train the whole time.

Probably not as good as y'alls but, I'm crazy as far as your average joe is concerned.

[Freericks]

Peter,

Many of us were once teen railfans, dependent on our parents or other railfans to get us around.

I recall many a trip where one parent dropped me off somewhere (in the days before cell phones) and I waited on trains that never came.

Still remember very clearly my mom had an all day meeting in Montclair, NJ, and I had read that Conrail was moving most of its freight on the Bonnton Line, which went through Montclair. Although my mom was really reluctant (because I was 15), I convinced her to bring me along and drop me at the tracks, where I would wait the eight hours until her meeting was done.

Well, what I didn't know was that Conrail ran all its freight through Montclair at night. During the day the line was completely moribund. For eight hours, I stood, figured out places to sit, paced, listened to planes and trucks and motorcycles in the distance trying to make them sound more like a train, and waited on a freight that never came.

In fact, to this day, 33 years later, I have never seen a freight train on that line (and am unlikely to now as it's no longer a through line).

[crazytiger]

This most recent five hour stretch was my longest by a "dead" set of rails. And it didn't seem too terribly long because I knew the OCS would come sometime, but all I have to say is WOW.

[Dennis A. Livesey]

I have hundreds of books and thousands of photos that will go into a dump when I'm dead.

[Freericks]

I have hundreds of books and thousands of photos that will go into a dump when I'm dead.

I fear the same...

[Joe the Photog]

I find creative ways to stimulate the local economies of podunk towns by getting speeding tickets chasing special movements, steam locomotives, rare units and rare paint schemes.
Smarter people would learn to slow down.

:lol:

[barnstormer]

I convinced my brother to take me to the tracks one night so I could see a heritage unit that was supposed to come through and we waited for four hours. The unit never came. I found out the next day that it had actually gone through about 20 minutes after we had left.:mad:

That is what railfaning is, you enjoy trains when they come and you just wait when they don't.

[bigbassloyd]

OK: I drive into the middle of Cascade Range blizzards for night shots. :grin:

must not be too bad if you're driving... ;)

Loyd L.

[chuckman]

One of my railfan friends tied a rope to his waste and another to a tree and went into the side of Letchworth State park gorge to snip a couple trees that were in our way. (thanks callduckfarm)! Not something I recommend doing, but nonetheless, it was what had to be done to get that shot!

And the scenario of "waited four hours and it never came" has occurred many times.

Lastly in the winter, when my dad takes me on my early morning train chases in the southern tier, I get up at 4 in the morning to start shoveling the car out of the driveway, so I can be done in time to leave four hours later!

[DWHonan]

must not be too bad if you're driving... ;)

I'm sure not walking the 75 miles up to Skykomish! :razz:

[Joe the Photog]

I got some (then) great (to me) shots of the Carolina Southern on my honeymoon. (And, no, she wasn't angry. And, yes, we're still married.)

[IHapsias]

I was out the other day and was attempting to climb a hill with the camera around neck.. There was a coal crew awaiting a clear signal through the spot I was at.. The crew got to enjoy a 20 minute struggle of me tumbling down the hill and to get up. Still got the shot I was after. Boy did they find that amusing with how the horn show went after they got the signal...

- Ian Hapsias

[nikos1]

The trunk is for standing on, and falling off of........

[PArailfan]

How about walking through 30 inches of snow in a blizzard?

[Andrew Blaszczyk (2)]

I have hundreds of books and thousands of photos that will go into a dump when I'm dead.

I fear the same...

Ahem...I'm sure there is SOMEONE out there who would sign and initial some papers to see that that never happens. ;-)

[Andrew Blaszczyk (2)]

There are so many, I will just use the latest 'funny' (or stupid depending on how you look at it) thing. How about driving from New Jersey to Ohio (7 hours 27 minutes as per Google directions) all night after a concert that you bought tickets to not realizing it was 12 hours before you needed to be in Ohio for the first excursion run? Then to make matters worse, getting word that the deadhead move will be at 7AM, 4 hours BEFORE the first run, which means no sleep at all. Now I guess is the funny part...the deadhead move leaves 45 minutes early meaning a photo finish at the last decent photo location before the sun is even up which is also the end point for a marathon later that morning. Oh, what a trip.

[milwman]

Oh, what a trip.

Your young, Doing so called dumb things are fun and make for fun stories later in life. Crazy runs get harder to do as you get older, well for me they are.:p

[DAKIBSRR]

I plan vacations around areas where I can railfan.

[Soo 6060]

Having to ride my bicycle in the rain, snow, sun, wind, heat, or cold the 2.6 miles to get to the depot.

Also having my mother schedule things during high-sun, or during passenger curfews. :roll:

As mentioned before, the scenario of, "Waiting all day for something, and having it not come." has happened many times, including just yesterday.

Ahhh Teen Railfanning!

[Dennis A. Livesey]

In 2009, in response to the diseaselazation of "The Cog", I left NYC at 6, drove 7 hours from NYC to the Cog overnight, slept in the car, railfanned all day, (including WALKING down New England's highest peak), then drove 7 hours home.

Long day!

[Joe the Photog]

I used to get flat tires pretty often while chasing trains. Blew an engine on a bridge on a dangerous road once. Got a speeding ticket chasing a train in East Arkansas. When I told the LEO why I was speeding, he just looked at me for about five seconds. Then gave me a warning. Used to see him a lot after that. I'd throw up my hand. Never sped on Hwy. 177 from Turell to Marion again.

Not that he was aware of anyway.

[Dennis A. Livesey]

One time, I borrowed my sister's new husband's new four wheeler and went to Cajon Pass for about my fourth visit there. I had never four wheeled before and was feeling pretty bold splashing through water and zipping up steep, narrow "roads."

So I get though the day, and night is falling. I had a 3 hour drive home and work early the next morning. I'm about to head out and so what happens? Of course I get stuck. I was in no danger, and help from a service station only a mile away. Still, the expense, the time that would be wasted getting a tow and visions of having to tell my new brother in law that I had gotten his baby stuck were not visions I wanted to see. So the most expeditious and inexpensive solution was obvious.

I dug out with my hands.

It took about a half hour. Believe me, my effort was fully fueled by the desire to avoid ignominy at all cost.

Of course, as I'm on the freeway, shimmy occurs in the wheels. More unpleasant visions of brother in law explanations.

Couldn't get away from telling about the shimmy and was about to take it in to be serviced when I was washing the vehicle and several rocks came out of the fancy mag wheels. No more shimmy.

Whew!