Cajon Pass Railfanning - oddball questions - sorry!

[calpoly48]

Hello,

Its been quite some time since I headed out to Cajon pass, but i think i'm long overdue to do some railfanning out there. I have a few questions and concerns before I go out there again.

1. Being of Asian descent in my mid twenties, I guess you can say I dont feel very "safe" out there being a minority, especially driving a somewhat modified Acura Integra. I'm more or less afraid of some local guy telling me to get out of his country or something. Should I even be worried? I'm a nice guy and all, not ever wanting any confrotation, but it just seems that every time I go out there, I feel a bit scared.

2. I mean even if that isn't the case, it is also my concern of local authorities, as it is VERY easy to profile me as a NON-railfan out to do no good. Well maybe not, but I dont fit the typical railfan of older age either.

Tell me what you guys think, if you have the time. Thanks!

[ndbprr]

It appears your English is excellent. LA is big melting pot any way. I don''t think an Asian would be out of place and there have been very few people at Cajon when I have been there. i would stay back and not appear to curious no matter what the natonality

[egmurphy]

It's been a long time since I had the chance to visit Cajon Pass. So I don't have any current feel for the area. But I believe the 'problems' in railfanning have been a bit blown out of proportion. I wouldn't expect you to have a problem, either for being a minority or from the police. Stick to the usual railfanning protocols, including staying off railroad property, carry a couple of issues of Trains mag in the car, be courteous if the police do a routine check, etc.

In fact, didn't we have another post about railfanning in the Cajon Pass area within the last month or so where the original poster was concerned when the RR police approached him? Turned out they were polite and helpful. Maybe I'll see if I can find that post.

Edit: Yup, here it is:
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=36896


Enjoy,

Ed

[chad thomas]

Ed, that may have been me. And I've had another encounter science where the security guard said I wasn't suppose to be in that spot, Then told me he didn't care but warned me of when the next guard came on duty. In other words even though he should have run me off he didn't.

Calpoly48, Don't even worry about it. I go up to Cajon all the time and I never have any trouble. There was a time when the BNSF security guys were a real pain in the a$$ but they have mellowed out a lot in the last couple of years. Just go up there and enjoy yourself. I've never seen it busier up there than it is these days.

[calpoly48]

Thanks guys. Thats a good idea for keeping the trains mags in the car too, i would have never thought of that.

[egmurphy]

Chad, that was definitely your post.


Off the topic but since you're monitoring this thread I just wanted to ask if you had heard about that fan trip that the PSRM ran earlier this week. Went from Campo to Tecate. Here's the clip I picked up on anotther site:

The Pacific Southwest Railway Museum had a special train today, here's the
story:

"The Pacific Southwest Railway Museum was able to pull off a Six car passenger
train today from Campo to Tecate, Mexico. This mid-week special was run for the
N guage national convention here in San Diego. Planning for this special took
about a year - pulling together Customs, Tecate beer, Mexican railroads,
volunteer crew, ticket sales and reservation volunteers as well as months work
of work to bring six passenger cars back into service! There were 260+
passengers onboard and all good time was had by all" -Jim L.


Regards

Ed