Passenger Trains > Plane Spotters (rail related)

Good story on Fox News this morning about "Plane Spotters."  Sort of the same as train spotters for aviation. The story went on to detail how after 9/11 aviation hobbyist photographers enjoying their hobby near major airports were looked at with suspicion. But now, they are considered an asset to airport security. The story showed some working hand in hand with the TSA at various airports.  Too bad too often railfan photographers aren't treated with the same regard....with eyes and ears that are more attune to a potential terrorist threat than the general rail traveling public.

That's an excellent point. At Newark Liberty airport, there are always dozens, and sometimes hundreds, of people at the south end parking area, and near the overpass to Ikea, etc. In the Ikea parking lot, sometimes with grills and chairs, etc. 

I doubt anybody could get a serious weapon within a mile of the runways.

But, the plane spotters probably don't stand in the middle of the runway to get that killer picture, or climb up on fuel loader trucks for a better angle. Or fly drones in over the service area.

Previous thread:  http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3888258,3888258#msg-3888258

So PA cops allow airplane fans to hangout and take pictures in their parking lots but God help us if we take pictures of PATH, even from the street. They really need a lawsuit against them.

BNSF had a good idea with their railfan watch program(can't think of what it is called right now), where you sign up and are encourage to report problems or unsafe conditions. In the process they get their point across to stay safely off the property. I haven't signed up, but from my experience if the special agents see you around a lot and know who you are (and you are safely off the property) they will just wave as they drive by. Even the SP cops did that years ago. It surely doesn't hurt to report problems if you see something.

But like someone else has already said there are just enough fans that do stupid things where the whole community suffers a little. At least at airports the perimeter is fenced, but no so much with railroads.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Gary

Posted from iPhone

SN711 Wrote:
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That airport fence does nothing for the idiots with laser pointers. So there goes that theory.

> But like someone else has already said there are
> just enough fans that do stupid things where the
> whole community suffers a little. At least at
> airports the perimeter is fenced, but no so much
> with railroads.
>
> Happy Thanksgiving.
>
> Gary
>
> Posted from iPhone

The BNSF program I think is, "Friends of BNSF."

I was near a mainline a few years ago and the agent pulled up. I thought, "Oh no, get ready, here goes the routine."  Well, it didn't go that way.  He greeted me.  I told him I was taking some pictures.  I didn't know exactly where the ROW was but was trying to stay safe and off the ballast pile.  He said he didn't know where the property line was either but as long as I was not too close to the tracks, I would be OK.  He said a northbound was coming in a few minutes.  It had a boxcar with ammunition on it belonging to the Army and he had to check the seals on it as it passed.  We chatted for a minute, the train came and went.  He gave me his card and told me, "If you ever see anything going on that shouldn't be happening, give me a call."  

I've moved to another part of town since then and spend more time at another location.  Twice, the local PD has stopped to talk to me.  Both times they just ask what I was doing.  We chatted a few minutes and they left.  Now when they see me they just waive.  I found out that they posted a note in the office that the guy in the red Focus is just a rail fan and he's  OK.

A few months later I came up to an accident where someone had been pushed into the side of a passing train.  I called the railroad to report it to them as the police were arriving.  I told the officer that I had met before that I had advised the railroad.  He thanked me and accepted that as a function that he didn't have to handle.

That's the way it should be.  Most of us are fans of the railroad.  We don't chase trains to see them fail.  We document a lot of things.  May of us have called to report problems.  If nothing else, we're just another set of eyes out there.

John

Lackawanna484 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> That's an excellent point. At Newark Liberty
> airport, there are always dozens, and sometimes
> hundreds, of people at the south end parking area,
> and near the overpass to Ikea, etc. In the Ikea
> parking lot, sometimes with grills and chairs,
> etc. 
>
> I doubt anybody could get a serious weapon within
> a mile of the runways.
>
> But, the plane spotters probably don't stand in
> the middle of the runway to get that killer
> picture, or climb up on fuel loader trucks for a
> better angle. Or fly drones in over the service
> area.

Bingo!  We could collectively fix this, but -- like those riding in a quiet car -- we would have to police ourselves or, as a last resort, call railroad police to report flagrant offenders.  
Just dreaming, I guess...must be too much turkey. :-)

My 20 year old laser pointer died last week so I went to Staples and bought a new one for $23.00.  The label on the box says it will project a laser beam 800 feet.

WHY would anyone need a laser pointer that shoots 800 feet?  Is there ANY auditorium, banquet hall or convention facility in the U.S. that is 800 feet in length?

However, this is the ideal range to shine into the cockpits of airplanes.  Why doesn't the FAA or some other government agency prohibit the sale of such powerful laser pointers?
.

The laser pointer industry apparently has some powerful friends in Washington.
I always thought it was odd that traditional cameras around transportation areas are often considered threatening, yet cell phones and smart phones, 100% photo-capable, and many enabled to instantly transmit photos in real time to who knows where,  are not.
We are going to find out who really runs the FAA when push comes to shove over the "pilotless aircraft industry."
"When drones are regulated, only criminals will have drones." 

 

Why doesn't the FAA
> or some other government agency prohibit the sale
> of such powerful laser pointers?
> .



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/15 13:37 by NewRiverGeorge.