Western Railroad Discussion > Photog killed doing portrait RR photography

This is why you don't trespass and take those "trendy" stupid pictures of people on railroad tracks!

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Amtrak-train-hits-person-near-Auburn-241030611.html?c=n&fb=y&can=n

Discussed on the Passenger board here:

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?4,3296215

But it begs the question. What the "photographer" engaged in "railroad photography"? Or was he photographing his subject on railroad tracks, as seems to be the trendy thing to do these days? Your subject line infers he was a railfan. Doesn't seem to be the case when reading other sources on this incident.

NWRailfan Wrote:
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> This is why you don't trespass and take those
> "trendy" stupid pictures of people on railroad
> tracks!
>
> http://www.king5.com/news/local/Amtrak-train-hits-
> person-near-Auburn-241030611.html?c=n&fb=y&can=n

I wonder if these "trendy" photographers would consider
taking their pictures with people seated on an Interstate
Highway?

Photographers seem to like the "converging" rails as the offer a perspective you don't always see in other venues. Makes a nice theme element for wedding pictures, in particular.


[Not defending this, merely noting the attractiveness of the setting)

Maybe Darwin will preside over the wedding?

It also has to do with the cultural perspective, promoted by some parts of the political spectrum, that railroads are obsolete and useless.

We at the Indiana Live Steamers helped solve the problem. We had a couple and a photographer take the kinds of photos they wanted in a very safe and controlled way. I haven't seen the finished photos. But, it was fun helping do it in a safe way.

Ptolemy Wrote:
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> It also has to do with the cultural perspective,
> promoted by some parts of the political spectrum,
> that railroads are obsolete and useless.

I tend to agree. It seems "posing between the tracks" photography is NOT trendy outside the U.S.

Here's something to fuel the fire. I was waiting for something like this to happen to post this link. I was hoping to wait forever:

http://www.sacramentoparent.com/magazines/sacramento-parent/2013/december

In my opinion, the girl's pose didn't need the railroad tracks to look good. I'm sure this particular shot was done with safety in mind, but how do you control the copycats?

Appalachianrails Wrote:
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> I don't know if many TO members use Instagram, but
> I've noticed a large trend of people taking
> "artsy" pictures that blatantly show trespassing
> on Instagram.

I wonder how many photos that appear here on TO were taken by people who were trespassing?

While I agree that many people take pictures from locations where they should not be -- whether for safety issues or legal reasons -- I do wonder how "treaspassing" is measured. I have heard, for example, that ROWs are 50 ft from the tracks. Is the distance measured from the centerline of the tracks or is it from the outside of the rail or...? And the 50 ft number was not plucked from thin air. I am aware that the General Railroad Right of Way Act of March 3, 1875 set 100 ft as the width of the right of way. This act applied to public lands in the western states. Also President Lincoln gave a 400 ft wide ROW to the Union Pacific and Central Pacific to encourage construction of the transcontinental railroad. Based on the way the eastern states were surveyed ('metes and bounds" in many cases), I suspect the width of the ROWs varied a lot!! At one spot I visit, I can legally park my car and be less than 50 ft from the outside edge of the rail! I prefer to park further away -- just in case!! At another spot, the state-maintained highway runs less than 10 ft from the outside of the rail. And again, I am not condoning trespassing, I am curious!!

Bruce

Don't trespass? Right after don't text while driving, or operating a train, ditto on the cell phone. Don't drink or use drugs while driving, or before. Don't speed, drive engaging in road rage because your po'd, don't beat your wife or husband, abuse children, animals, the old. Don't still cable shows, download music with out paying, give back the change you got if the cashier gave you two much. Generally, don't do anything that breaks any laws, civil or moral.
Isn't going to happen.
People aren't wired that way.

I try not to tresspass in most cases. Occasionally I'll pull off the road onto a railroad access road, just enough to get out of the traffic lane but I don't go any further. Sure, I know that techenically, I'm tresspassing, kind of like pulling into someomes driveway to turn around. A CSX police car pulled up next to me one time. He passed the time of day with me. I told him I was just there wating to take some train pictures and I ask if I was on railroad right of way. He said he didn't know where the rightaway actually started but as long as I didn't get too close, it was OK with him. He was there to check the seal on a boxcar door as it passed because the car had military amminition on it. We chatted for 10 to 15 minutes.

More recently I was near the P&L yard in Louisville and noticed some activity. I pulled into a vacant lot and parked about 50 feet from the street and 50 feet from the tracks. When they had finished switching one of the crew walked over and ask what I was doing. Told him I was a rail fan and just liked to watch trains and I try to stay off railroad property. He told me the lot belonged to the railroad (no signs to indicate that) but aslong as I didn't walk up to the tracks I would be OK. I had parked there a dozen or more time previously.

It's easy to tresspass and not even know it at times.

John

The guy was a member of the "Jersey Boys" band, a tribute show to Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons, here in Vegas.

Bob

Appalachianrails Wrote:
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> colehour Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I wonder how many photos that appear here on TO
> > were taken by people who were trespassing?
>
> True, but how often will you see these kinds of
> photos on here?
>

My point is that some folks on TO complain about trespassers when many railfans trespass. Perhaps railfans are more cautious and respectful and don't do stupid things, but trespassing is trespassing. For example, I just saw some photos of old rail here on TO that I think must have been taken from a point that was on railroad property. I could be wrong: perhaps they were taken by someone who had permission or who used a telephoto lens.

Ptolemy Wrote:
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> It also has to do with the cultural perspective,
> promoted by some parts of the political spectrum,
> that railroads are obsolete and useless.

I agree, there is that "political spectrum" that whines about how unsafe trains are running through their neighborhoods
on bad track and derailing, causing pollution and noise, spilling that awful coal, exploding crude oil. That same "political spectrum"
causes more damage to railroads than anything. I think we all know what "political spectrum" you are talking about, don't we? But I'm
glad you had to bring the whole "political spectrum" into this discussion, we know where all the protesters stand politically. No wonder
people think they are obsolete and useless.

tacobell Wrote:
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> Ptolemy Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > It also has to do with the cultural
> perspective,
> > promoted by some parts of the political
> spectrum,
> > that railroads are obsolete and useless.
>
> I agree, there is that "political spectrum" that
> whines about how unsafe trains are running through
> their neighborhoods
> on bad track and derailing, causing pollution and
> noise, spilling that awful coal, exploding crude
> oil. That same "political spectrum"
> causes more damage to railroads than anything. I
> think we all know what "political spectrum" you
> are talking about, don't we? But I'm
> glad you had to bring the whole "political
> spectrum" into this discussion, we know where all
> the protesters stand politically. No wonder
> people think they are obsolete and useless.

I dunno.

Some areas that are quintessentially "right" like Texas, San Diego, northern Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, even Atlanta, have been doing some important things with passenger rail. I suspect many political attitudes were frozen in concrete years ago, and haven't recognized the changes going on.

Places like NYC, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, etc have embedded rail transportation in their mix for decades.

The AAR lobbys with state legislatures to get trespassing made a class 4 felony. So if you get dinged then imagine your life as a convicted felon. Try to get a mortgage, travel outside the country, purchase a firearm or get a job with a felony conviction on your record. The AAR says they need this because courts don't take misdemeanor trespassing seriously enough.

Posted from Windows Phone OS 7

chuchubobnv Wrote:
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> The guy was a member of the "Jersey Boys" band, a
> tribute show to Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons,
> here in Vegas.
>
> Bob

Oh no.....that is a really great show. One of the most well-done in Vegas.

fbe Wrote:
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> The AAR says
> they need this because courts don't take
> misdemeanor trespassing seriously enough.

Because trespassing is not a serious crime. The legal system has a hard enough time dealing with violent crime that the last thing we need is to be sending railroad trespassers for hard time in state prison. Those cells should be reserved for the violent criminals, not some guy who took a shortcut across the tracks

Todd Clark
Canyon Country, CA
Trainorders.com

Reading some of the downright hateful and disgusting comments left on the original article by the "friends" of the deceased, I'm really finding it hard to have much sympathy for him. I understand they are trying to cope with the loss of their associate, but they are not doing his memory any bit of service by spewing such venom at the forum's other users.