Updated Rejection Reasons

[hoydie17]

Originally Posted by Ron Flanary

I'm sure the guys in my age bracket (60 and older) would agree: that rarely, if ever, happened back in the "old" days. But, it's just one more aspect of the loss of civility and respect, and the deterioration of society. Politicians don't make public policy now---they scream at each other as if it's a blood sport. The whole nation is rude and polarized, so it's not a good place to be now.

Sure, I miss the old days when a member of the crew would lean out and wave--with all five fingers extended, rather than one.

If it matters, I totally started a slow clap for this.

A year or so ago, I was out with a friend and he had his two boys with us, 6 and 11 respectively. Conductor on a local decided to give us all the finger. It was a very tough decision to e-mail the photo to the railroad knowing how touchy a subject it can be among train crews. Nevertheless, what kind of example is that to demonstrate in front of kids?

Several months later, we had the polar opposite. Train was stopped waiting for a couple to pass by, and the engineer invited us up into the cab to shoot the breeze while they waited.

Some folks just can't be nice enough, and others just can't be nice. . .

[Freericks]

Originally Posted by MagnumForce

I had the ENGINEER of a train coming off the lower bridge on the Toledo Terminal run down and open up the door while moving in an attempt to mess up my shots. I really don't give a crap so I was sure to go shoot that train 5 other times as it traversed the Terminal to Walbridge just to make sure he was good and pissed off. Crews have been doing this for a long time now.

It's been done to me many times, and I frankly don't railfan the same line ever enough to have anyone who has a personal dislike for me. First time I saw the MoPac unit it was moving very slowing toward me. I had a great shot lined up. Saw the engineer and conductor both point at me, then the conductor ran down and opened the front door.

I've also had lights turned on high beam (on the Long Island Railroad) and light turned off (to make it appear it's static train). All of these are common.

[Freericks]

Originally Posted by Ron Flanary

I'm sure the guys in my age bracket (60 and older) would agree: that rarely, if ever, happened back in the "old" days. But, it's just one more aspect of the loss of civility and respect, and the deterioration of society. Politicians don't make public policy now---they scream at each other as if it's a blood sport. The whole nation is rude and polarized, so it's not a good place to be now.

Sure, I miss the old days when a member of the crew would lean out and wave--with all five fingers extended, rather than one.

I'm about ten years younger than you, and while I agree it was rare - it did happen. I got the finger. I get yelled at. And this dates back to the 1970s.

I well remember a day in 1976 when I was threatened by a crew member in Hoboken NJ that I had broken the law taking pictures of trains and he was going to have me thrown out of the station (being a kid whose only way home was through that station, I was pretty traumatized).

A-holes are a-holes and they have existed for a long time. While we no longer have the polite society we did in the 50s, I think in some ways we are more polite today than we were in the 70s (obviously politics not included).

[Chris Kilroy]

Originally Posted by Freericks

It's been done to me many times, and I frankly don't railfan the same line ever enough to have anyone who has a personal dislike for me. First time I saw the MoPac unit it was moving very slowing toward me. I had a great shot lined up. Saw the engineer and conductor both point at me, then the conductor ran down and opened the front door.

I've also had lights turned on high beam (on the Long Island Railroad) and light turned off (to make it appear it's static train). All of these are common.

These stories just blow my mind. Granted, I'm not out foaming as much as I'd like to be, but I've never had anything like this happen to me.

In fact, my only experience was on the opposite end of the spectrum. We were chasing a northbound Alaska RR coal train led by a 70MAC on an absolutely gorgeous 70 degree summer day along the Turnagain Arm. When we first saw the train at Portage, the nose door was (understandably) open. The crew saw us, pulled it closed, and left it that way all the way into Anchorage.

PhotoID: 285059 Photograph © Chris Kilroy

[Ween]

Glad to see these updates and hope they help folks down the road. I was hoping to see Bad Info look like this though:

Bad Info: The locomotive/railroad/location or other data you entered for the photo is incorrect.

We're actually going to enforce this one now

[Mberry]

Originally Posted by Ron Flanary

I'm sure the guys in my age bracket (60 and older) would agree: that rarely, if ever, happened back in the "old" days. But, it's just one more aspect of the loss of civility and respect, and the deterioration of society. Politicians don't make public policy now---they scream at each other as if it's a blood sport. The whole nation is rude and polarized, so it's not a good place to be now.

Sure, I miss the old days when a member of the crew would lean out and wave--with all five fingers extended, rather than one.

It still happens in the country up north that is just a bit more civil than yours.

P.S. It helps to know the conductor.

Wave! by Michael Berry Railfan, on Flickr

[Reginald McDowell]

It also happens down here in the south too. Sometimes, you don't know what to expect.

Case in point.

PhotoID: Photograph ©

[John West]

Originally Posted by Mberry

It still happens in the country up north that is just a bit more civil than yours.

Lota truth in that.

[MagnumForce]

If I can dig it up I know there is some trains mag from the 60's with an article talking about "mean" rails. Could be the 70's too, I remember some f unit down south with a funky bell on the nose and the Engineer running across the cab screaming at the guy to stop taking photos and calling the photog every name under the sun. May have been a George Drury article. It was in black and white and surely under DPM's tenure.

Everything always seems better in the past, just my take, when in reality the things that we have, the quality of our lives, our life expectancy itself is all better now than any previous generation of humans will ever had. Bigotry and hate are at an all time low, murder rates and violent crime way down, a far lower percentage of people in the world dying from famine or going hungry, heck some of the music isn't even ALL bad.

[Mberry]

Originally Posted by MagnumForce

If I can dig it up I know there is some trains mag from the 60's with an article talking about "mean" rails. Could be the 70's too, I remember some f unit down south with a funky bell on the nose and the Engineer running across the cab screaming at the guy to stop taking photos and calling the photog every name under the sun. May have been a George Drury article. It was in black and white and surely under DPM's tenure.

Everything always seems better in the past, just my take, when in reality the things that we have, the quality of our lives, our life expectancy itself is all better now than any previous generation of humans will ever had. Bigotry and hate are at an all time low, murder rates and violent crime way down, a far lower percentage of people in the world dying from famine or going hungry, heck some of the music isn't even ALL bad.

It was a Jim Boyd article in Trains. An FT on some shortline in Georgia.

[JimThias]

Originally Posted by Ron Flanary

I'm old and have fewer brain cells because of a life misspent on booze and wild living, so this is more than I can remember. I'd rather just take train pictures and not have to fret over so many details. Moreover, it's the ultimate buzz kill for railroad photography.

And who is being stopped from just taking train pictures and not having to fret over so many details? There are a million places you can share your images where no screening is involved. Why would you have to fret over details here if you didn't care for that? There must be a reason you still submit to RP, even though you dislike the screening process. And if you choose to do so, then why is it hard to play by their "rules"? I have no problem with it at all. If they want me to crop my image differently to be on their site, fine. The crop I like will be on flickr, or my photobucket acct, or wherever. I have never once felt pressured or forced into submitting photos to RP. It's been of 100% free will, and always playing their game, which at times I find to be a fun challenge. And for Pete's sake, sometimes they just happen to like photos the way *I* want them to be, too!

[CSX1702]

Been invited into cabs, chatted with a crew waiting on a cab, been waved at, given conductors rides back to the engine, never anything bad. Wouldn't be surprised if all of the crews between Cincinnati and Lima recognize me by now.

And maybe none of them hate me because most of the time I just watch without taking pictures. Lol.

Originally Posted by MagnumForce

....heck some of the music isn't even ALL bad.

No, it's all bad.

[troy12n]

Some of these are definitely steps in the right direction

[Freericks]

Originally Posted by Chris Kilroy

These stories just blow my mind. Granted, I'm not out foaming as much as I'd like to be, but I've never had anything like this happen to me.

In fact, my only experience was on the opposite end of the spectrum. We were chasing a northbound Alaska RR coal train led by a 70MAC on an absolutely gorgeous 70 degree summer day along the Turnagain Arm. When we first saw the train at Portage, the nose door was (understandably) open. The crew saw us, pulled it closed, and left it that way all the way into Anchorage.

The bad experiences tend to stick out, yes, but I've had plenty of great experiences too. I should have said that.

[ME 488]

Originally Posted by Freericks

I'm about ten years younger than you, and while I agree it was rare - it did happen. I got the finger. I get yelled at. And this dates back to the 1970s.

I well remember a day in 1976 when I was threatened by a crew member in Hoboken NJ that I had broken the law taking pictures of trains and he was going to have me thrown out of the station (being a kid whose only way home was through that station, I was pretty traumatized).

A-holes are a-holes and they have existed for a long time. While we no longer have the polite society we did in the 50s, I think in some ways we are more polite today than we were in the 70s (obviously politics not included).

I've definitely experienced some similar things, but I'm honestly surprised how often crews are accommodating and friendly to rail photographers. I think it's safe to say workers in the vast majority of non-railroad professions would never welcome strangers following them around taking pictures throughout their workdays. Ever tried photographing cops?

[semen0ff]

Originally Posted by Chris Kilroy

Banned: Your upload privileges have been revoked by the Editors of RailPictures.Net. Please e-mail the editors if you believe you have been banned in error.

new

I accidentally re-uploaded rejected photo in RPN database and get such message. How long will last the period of ban? And what should user do to stop disqualification?

My apologizes and best regards from Russia, Ilya Semyonoff.

http://www.railpictures.net/semenoff/

[miningcamper1]

Originally Posted by JimThias

And who is being stopped from just taking train pictures and not having to fret over so many details? There are a million places you can share your images where no screening is involved. Why would you have to fret over details here if you didn't care for that? There must be a reason you still submit to RP, even though you dislike the screening process. And if you choose to do so, then why is it hard to play by their "rules"? I have no problem with it at all. If they want me to crop my image differently to be on their site, fine. The crop I like will be on flickr, or my photobucket acct, or wherever. I have never once felt pressured or forced into submitting photos to RP. It's been of 100% free will, and always playing their game, which at times I find to be a fun challenge. And for Pete's sake, sometimes they just happen to like photos the way *I* want them to be, too!

I just didn't like the "choice" of not so long ago:
Get it on here for 1000-2000 views.
OR post it on Flickr for less than 100.

That seems to have changed really quickly!

[miningcamper1]

Originally Posted by Mberry

It was a Jim Boyd article in Trains. An FT on some shortline in Georgia.

April 1969 Trains Magazine. Apparently the last 2 FTs in regular service. Jim's article is a good account of backwoods railroading gone forever in this country.

[MagnumForce]

Glad others appreciate old paper, too

[Coloradorailfan]

This is certainly a step in the right direction. This will definitely not add confusion now to some rejections. Great job, Chris.

[hoydie17]

Originally Posted by miningcamper1

I just didn't like the "choice" of not so long ago:
Get it on here for 1000-2000 views.
OR post it on Flickr for less than 100.

That seems to have changed really quickly!

Really not a great comparison since RP.net is strictly railroad related photos it is focused on a very small niche hobby. People come to RP.net for one thing.

When you upload to FLICKR, you're putting your stuff in a much bigger bucket of photography, so naturally the viewcounts are going to be considerably more diluted because very few people are on that site looking specifically for train pictures.

You're far more likely to be "discovered" by someone on FLICKR than you are on RP.net. Because it is more likely that they may stumble across your photo by accident. I find that judicious use of tags and albums helps greatly to bring up the viewcounts, although more time is needed for me to confirm that supiscion as I only recently started tagging photos with keywords, but I have noticed the ones with tags tend to get higher numbers of views than those without.

[jac_murphy]

It's still PEQ to me, dammit!

-Jacques

/But seriously, a much-appreciated change.

[WMHeilman]

I had an engineer get off his train, approach my car and tell me: "Stop taking pictures of MY fucking train or you'll regret it." I had shot the train once about a half hour earlier and was waiting for them to meet another train while I was on public property and paying absolutely no attention to the train. Then as he started to back away, I picked up my camera to snap a picture to send the railroad. He stopped, put both middle fingers up, and said something I couldn't understand. I contacted the railroad, sent them the picture of him flipping me off, and received the standard "thanks for your concern but whatever this is a robot" email.

Thanks to a contact inside the railroad, I found out he was indeed fired for "a number of things over time."

[troy12n]

Originally Posted by WMHeilman

I had an engineer get off his train, approach my car and tell me: "Stop taking pictures of MY fucking train or you'll regret it." I had shot the train once about a half hour earlier and was waiting for them to meet another train while I was on public property and paying absolutely no attention to the train. Then as he started to back away, I picked up my camera to snap a picture to send the railroad. He stopped, put both middle fingers up, and said something I couldn't understand. I contacted the railroad, sent them the picture of him flipping me off, and received the standard "thanks for your concern but whatever this is a robot" email.

Thanks to a contact inside the railroad, I found out he was indeed fired for "a number of things over time."

Some railroaders seem to be oblivious to the fact that they are the equivalent of very, very highly paid truck drivers. At least on Class 1 RR's. Shortline employees probably make about what truck drivers do, maybe less. These same people dont realize or dont care that they are the "face" of the railroad.

Because of all the silly rules and safety precautions, the industry is no more dangerous than most these days. Work schedule, while bad for family life, is not nearly as bad as some professions which get paid a whole lot less.

Most encounters are fine, but Charles is right, you certainly remember the bad ones...

[Mr. Pick]

Engineers and conductors down here on the Chattanooga Sub are overwhelmingly friendly, class guys. Never had a derisive gesture or comment from any of them, and have had many wave and cooperate for a picture. Just last Friday I was holding my 4 year old granddaughter in a field near the tracks to watch a work train go by and the engineer opened the window, waved and yelled a big "hi" to her and then gave the horn a couple of toots. She was thrilled. Can't beat that!