A visiting railfan enjoys a passing train in Deshler, Ohio, taking a break from reading Classic Trains Magazine. Brian Schmidt photo. Fifteen years ago, as a newly independent railfan, I could not wait to get out trackside each weekend. I would gas up the car, stock the cooler, grab a few rolls of film, and set out in search of adventure. Some weekends were more fruitful than others, but I always had fun doing it. There used to be an adventurous, almost pioneering spirit to railfans. A bright, warm day was all it took to set out in search of trains. You could almost count on running into some other railfans when trackside. They were easy to spot, after all, with the large antennas and mud-covered fenders.
However, in 2015, the hobby has seen a fundamental shift. Railfans seem to expect perfect knowledge before they will head out the door. How many trains run through that hot spot a day? What's the busiest day? Morning or afternoon? Valid questions for someone dropping coin and flying to his destination, but not so much for the weekend day tripper. A laughably extreme example: About 10 years ago, a young railfan would periodically post to a then-popular forum, asking how many trains he could expect to see in a particular Indiana community in about an hour's time on Saturday morning. After a few of these posts, one of the regulars simply responded with "0-60." Well, yes, on a main line with 60 trains a day, you will see somewhere between zero and 60 trains when you are trackside for part of a day.
Yes, I listen to a scanner and use ATCS Monitor when I go out trackside, but the key is that I first go out. If ATCS doesn't show any trains coming, I take a nap or make a pit stop. There are going to be lulls in the action, but that just means there is more time to explore. There is a saying common in photography communities: "f/8 and be there." Be there, indeed. It does not matter if there are 45 trains or 65 trains or that Saturdays are busier than Tuesdays if you’re not out there to see it anyway.
The next time your local train-watching spot is a topic of discussion, be the guy with the answers, not the one who hasn’t set out yet.
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