Western Railroad Discussion > Kids will be kids, but add a train...

...and we see who just might become a railfan.

It's a shade past suppertime in this Metra platform scene yesterday at Naperville. These three youngsters were closely watching the approach of an eastbound unit coal train. Between the three are three tripod-mounted recording devices. But the equipment split is a bit off the expected. The tall dark one had a cell phone atop his tripod and his slightly shorter and more serious cohort to the right had what appeared to be a small video recorder and a small point & shoot camera on separate tripods. For my money, this is the kid most likely to grow up into a solid railfan photographer, maybe even good enough to become a well-known name within the hobby.

That leaves the little shaver closest to me. No camera, or equipment of any kind. But that little pumping fist sure was in fine working order with the time-honored 'give-me-a-honk' sign! Alas, that coal train engineer either didn't see these three kids, or he opted to strictly obey the no train horns ordinance. There was no horn at all out of this train. But maybe that youngest cranium's impressionable grey matter is merely absorbing -and will retain enough- visual & audible evidence to produce another picture-takin' railfan, like his 2 partners.

1. BNSF 6348 leads an eastbound coal train through Naperville, IL. It's 10 minutes shy of 7 PM on July 18, 2018 and 3 budding railfans are in attendance. (No photo-editing)

Thanks for looking!
Lance Garrels
santafe199



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/19/18 04:26 by santafe199.

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This is nice to see.  

John

Lance:

I agree....nice shot!  Maybe you should take then to the ATSF convention!

See you soon.

Jeff N

Fantastic!

ShastaDaylight

Lance --
That is such a cool and wonderful shot!  Too bad Naperville has a Quiet Zone there.  I am very impressed with how serious the 2 older boys were with photographng trains -- tripods do show that.  And the enthusiasm of the youngest boy is wonderful to see.  Maybe all 3 will still be railfans when they get a lot older -- I hope so!

Love your great narrative!  Have fun at what is surely a great Santa Fe convention!  "Santa Fe all the way!"



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/21/18 15:31 by Margaret_SP_fan.

sfn2633 Wrote:
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> Lance:
>
> I agree....nice shot!  Maybe you should take then
> to the ATSF convention!
>
> See you soon.
>
> Jeff N

Great idea! You can rent a plain white cargo van and lure them in with candy and train photos!

That was a fun shot!

Larry

I was sort of pacing a train several years ago and had my grandkids with me.  The tracks paralleled the road but all of the cross streets were part of a "No Horn" zone.  My grandson was waving all the way.  As we neared a point where we would no longer be able to see the train, the engineer gave him a little "toot, toot."  It wasn't a loud, long blast, just a few short toots.

That is an interesting picture.  I like the ones that have a human factor to them.
 
John

wa4umr Wrote: > ... I like the ones that have a human factor to them ...

This is my first real opportunity to shoot the 'triple track raceway' at any depth. I told myself at the onset I wanted to shoot something in addition to all the routine 3/4 wedgies everybody (and their dogs) typically shoot. So for the past 3 days I've had a blast looking for & shooting exactly what you said: the Human Factor...

Lance/199

Lance-
If you can, try to get into Downers Grove, Hinsdale and La Grange. The evening light hits the stations on the south side of the tracks just right.
And if you want people, there's a classic car night every Friday at Downers Grove Main Street. 

kevink Wrote: > ... try to get into Downers Grove, Hinsdale and La Grange ...

Thanks, Kevin! I actually made Downer's Grove my first target driving up from the south. I spent considerable time there and at Hinsdale & La Grange and a few other places before I checked into my room at Naperville. I'll have a much fuller report as soon as I can get back home to the 'dungeon' and some quality photo-editing... ;^)

Lance/199

santafe199 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
>I'll have a much
> fuller report as soon as I can get back home to
> the 'dungeon' and some quality photo-editing...
> ;^)
>
> Lance/199

Looking forward to it. It's always interesting to see someone else's perspective of my home turf.

Good to see....

How I started.....taking in the sights and sounds of dad's Lionel trains/town that we created.   Has stuck with me....:<)