Western Railroad Discussion > A first in 26 years of train watching

A Union Pacific conductor got upset at me for talking his picture at Albina Yard in NE Portland, OR. He felt need to lecture me on not having his permission and being on private but not railroad property. A have shot pictures at this location for years without incident. So for the railroaders in here does it bother you when foamers take pictures of you doing your job?
John Bargert



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/18/20 22:37 by kodachrome4377.

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Nice shots of the SPatch unit!  Out of the 10 years of train watching, we never had any issues with any of the Train Crews.

SouthWest RailCams
CA, NM, CO, TX, AZ
https://SouthWestRailCams.com

we live in extraordeinary times....everyone is on edge for multiple rasons....I don't know what will be our new "normal".will be or when we will get there..Arlen

always salty rails out there

kodachrome4377 Wrote:
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> He felt need to lecture me on not having his
> permission and being on private but not railroad
> property.

I can count in one hand the "incidents" I've had with railroad crews.

One was a high seniority engineer, who covered his face whenever he saw a camera, so obviously, he didn't want his picture taken. Always zoomed out and none of my videos or photos identified him. He yelled at me once for trespassing, but I was, so no argument from me.

A crew called me in, when I was standing near a signal box near a crossing. Young conductor. Maybe he thought I was a metal thief, or a tagger, which I obviously wasn't.

Another conductor onboard a train stuck in a siding for a meet walked many yards to tell us to leave (nicely). One of the railfans with me was walking around and being fidgety, and the conductor's instincts probably told him that was bad news.

A young brakeman on a local yelled at me when I was near a ROW to capture a video of a meet. He probably thought I was a hazard because it looked like I didn't know a large manifest train was coming up behind me (I knew). Well, it could have derailed and killed me, so I didn't take it personally.

Notice a pattern? I think younger railheads tend to confront railfans more than older railheads, who probably have enough experience on the job to read our body language better. An older engineer told a group I was with one time that we (not me) were standing too close to the tracks, and the manager (we were at a yard) was watching us. Nice way to tell us to keep our distance.

Same nut jobs, still the same normal.

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          I agree that the younger RR employees are more likely to confront railfans ( with or without cameras ) because they have been told by management to run everyone off. I try not to take photos that includes the employees doing their jobs because I know they obviously distrust that. 

Remember in some cases the railroads are telling their officers to merit increases they need to catch incidents and issue discipline.
So I wouldn't get all over the workers for their unwillingness to have their photos posted on the net where they can be outed and possibly in trouble.

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

About three years ago a young conductor got off a locomotive in Brunswick, MD, and asked me if I was "Gerry."  I admitted it.  Then he asked me if it was OK for him to use a picture from my website on his model train blog.  Sure.  Gerry

I can understand people not wanting to have their pictures taken at work. Even the slightest violation could cost you your job.

I never had with the crews, but my first in 26 years of watching the last week of August I was at a grade crossing in Cleburne watching and taking pictures of the Eagle 21 leaving the station this motorist in a sports car drives up to the grade crossing gets into my shots waiting as I was taking pictures of 21 departing Cleburne next thing you know the sports car comes up to me and says you got any pictures of me please delete them. So I had to delete them he was nice just a little concerend he said he was making sure I wasn't being sneaky. I apologized to him and told him I was just trying to take pictures of the train leaving town and that I am a train buff then we went about our day don't think ill be coming back to that spot for awhile. Always watch your surroundings when your railfanning especially in a town like Cleburne. 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/20 07:09 by jayman.

In 1994-95 I was in West Virgina  working on a bond deal and a number of CSX crews took exception with my photographing their trains.  Usually gestures and yelling as they passed me.   Seemed to happen around Hinton mostly.   That said,  I was mostly looking for industrial shots,  mostly at coal mines,  and I was never turned down once when asking to enter the property to shoot their units.  A couple of times they asked if I'd send them photos which I always did.  These included a few crew shots with their locomotive and I also got a couple of cab rides here and there.  All of this over a six month period where I'd come back for meetings and then spent a few days railfanning.  WV still one of my all-time favorite places to chase trains,  not that I do it anymore, living 5000 miles away.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/20 07:49 by masterphots.

About five years ago when I was taking pictures from a public sidewalk, of activity in the yard in South Salem, Oregon I was approached by one of the workers who (politely) asked me to not take pictures that included any of the people there. He said that someone had posted a picture on TO that almost got someone fired. I suspect that the worker must have been doing something against the rules. I saw no point in arguing with him and moved on.
Bill Pyper
Lacey, WA
 

In this decade I took a trip to the coal line and went through South Morrill, NE.  Since I'd last been there, UP and installed a bridge over the east end of the yard, and I parked there and set up shop, so to speak.  A little while later, I heard on my scanner that "someone is hanging out at the bridge on the eat end of the yard."  Shortly there after, a UP pickup truck drove up and asked what I was doing.  Oh, taking pictures.  Well you know we're being a lot more careful since 911.  The conversation was friendly and polite.  As we talked, a car drove up with a man and woman, obivously UP types, and stopped.  Everything okay here??  Yes.  See you later, and they drove off.  While I have obvioyusly heard of these acid confrontations, I have yet to experience one.  

Nick Tharalson,
Marion, IA

Well, look at it this way. How would you react if you had people show up at where you work and just start taking pictures of you doing your job?
You have no idea who they are and you don't know what they're going to use the pictures for.

My favorite 'interraction' goes back to Conrail years on the Southern Tier West

I lived near the ex-EL Waterboro Jct,, came home from work to find OIEL parked at the signal.   I'd passed a track gang just around the curve further west, busily at work.

An hour later, after dinner, train was still sitting there, so I walked down to talk to the crew, crossing cornfields to do it.   They watched me approach.  "hey, you live around here?   Do you have a minute?    Can you walk up ahead and tell that crew to IMMEDIATELY get off the main, tell them supt. ______ is on this train and they have been told two hours ago to get off the main!'   

Sure.   No problem, and I walked back, got in my car, drove about half a mile down, walked back up toward the track crew.   Whoa, I walked around an empty hirail truck and I could hear Supt. ______ still calling on the radio....   track crew was just out of sight, walked down the track toward them, with spikers, tie inserters, all going.    A 'foreman looking' type about 6'4 and 250 lb comes strolling down at me, spewing obscenities, threatening to have me arrested for tresspassing.   I stopped.  He got up in my face, demanding I get off his railroad.  "Hey, I've got a message for you from Supt. ______'   He's in the cab of OIEL just around the curve to the east, they've been sitting there for two hours waiting for you to get in the clear, he's still on the radio in the truck trying to reach you".   I turned around and walked back, he passed me running to the truck.    I didn't make it back to the grade crossing before it was classic "BUG OUT' on the whole gang headed west to the nearest siding at flank speed.   I stuck around to watch them,  OIEL creeped by, got a big wave from the crew.   

I make a point not to tresspass, but there are a lot of cases where 'trained eyes' have helped railroaders.  But yeah, any more, as a rail employee, you just have no idea what is to be considered to be a punishable offense, wo we as railfans have to appreciate that as well.

PHall Wrote:
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> Well, look at it this way. How would you react if
> you had people show up at where you work and just
> start taking pictures of you doing your job?
> You have no idea who they are and you don't know
> what they're going to use the pictures for.

Well, I was in law enforcement for 30 years and was told to learn to live with it, as it comes with the job. And I most certainly knew why the press and  the curious were taking photos. In today's world of cell phones this now happens all the time. Get used to it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 10/19/20 11:57 by rev66vette.

rev66vette Wrote:

> Well, I was in law enforcement for 30 years and
> was told to learn to live with it, as it comes
> with the job. And I most certainly knew why the
> press and  the curious were taking photos. In
> today's world of cell phones this now happens all
> the time. Get used to it.

You were a LEO for 30 years, ---> congratulations, brother. That's a fine accomplishment.
Glad you safely made it to your well deserved Pension. Many LEOs, esp. in our turbulent
times now-- never make it to the Pension. It's a sad commentary; happens far too often.

In my 2.5 decades working many different Crafts in the RR industry, I had many still pics and videotapes
shot of me in the Work environment. Some of the photogs sent me the results, and I was glad to get them!

But now in these days of *everyone* having a cellphone camera- it's a bit more dicey out there. You are
Always on Camera now -  in these kinds of public jobs.

RRers not wanting to be photographed is actually something of a tradition and goes way way back- almost reaching the level of superstition with old heads.  Mostly it has to do with avoiding discipline.  I carried a camera in my grip at work, but was always mindful of who and what I was shooting.  Even then, I didn't take many photos, and certainly not of coworkers w/o their okay.
Just apologize and move on.
SR

About 25 yrs ago I was videoing a yard job kicking cars at CR Bay View Yard in Baltimore.  A couple weeks later went back and a few minutes after I got there a CR police officer came over to me and said the yard crew wasn't comfortable being filmed, but stills were fine.  He also asked if I was the same guy who was there a couple weeks prior. as they were afraid who may see the video.   I had no problem with that, and he was very friendly (and I was on CR property by the yard office, but that was a different time) so I just took photos.