Edit post

Edit your reply below.

Post Body
Enter your post below.
I used to see some drug and alcohol use during the 70's and 80's. It was done fairly openly by those who used the stuff. I once heard a brakeman bragging about how he shot vodka into an orange he carried in his lunch pail. When I asked the conductor why he would let a guy like that work on his crew, he just shrugged and said "he does his job. If he gets messed up we'll just let him sleep in the caboose and do his part of the work. There's not much I can do about it." I think Operation RedBlock has helped a lot. At least the guys with problems come to work sober no matter what they might be doing in their off hours. And I remember that brakeman was fired about ten years later (he offered to sell me his safety belt buckle because he was broke...very sad). But I agree, it is very disapointing to see or hear about reckless, incompentent people with drug or alcohol problems getting railroad jobs while people who actually have an interest in the industry get snubbed because they build models or take pictures. Granted, their are many in the railfan community who could not handle the job. And some are an embarassment to the hobby and give all of us a black eye. Sadly, this is true of all hobbies and industries. I take pictures at work, I take pictures of old cars, old buildings, family, friends, fellow employees, ships, news events, sunsets, football games, whatever. Photography is a hobby, not a vice. Building models is a constructive past time. Drugs, Alcohol and reckless driving are not. Oddly enough, when the railroads need photo's, who do they turn to? Foamers. Including their employees who take photo's. We supply the pictures for their calendars, employee pictures for their monthly magazines, accidents, and for the walls of their offices. Despite the bias against railfans, it's surprising how many actually work for the railroads. I forget the name, but there was a former Soo Line official who wrote a Soo Line motive power book (was his name Appel?). He claimed (tongue in cheek) in the introduction that the real reason railroads bought new locomotives was so that railroad officials could have their pictures taken on the them for the annual report (funny). Run8John
Tags (Optional)
Tags are keywords that get attached to your post. They are used to categorize your submission and make it easier to search for. To add tags to your post type a tag into the box below and click the "Add Tag" button.
Add Tag