Railfan vs. Foamer

[Semper Vaporo]

tree68

Semper Vaporo

And I know of no railfan that needs scantily clad young women jumping up and down in front of them to keep their interest up in what is happening on the rails.  (The likes of which basketball and football fans do.)

Doesn't hurt, though... 

Backstory - during a railfan event last year, this group of musicians (?) shows up.  They're apparently shooting a music video and thought this would be a good spot.  I have no idea where to look for it, though...

 

Uh... sorry, remind me as to WHY one would have any need or desire to "look for it"?

 

[Semper Vaporo]

zugmann

Semper Vaporo

And I know of no railfan that needs scantily clad young women jumping up and down in front of them to keep their interest up in what is happening on the rails.  (The likes of which basketball and football fans do.)

Why don't we have that again?

 

"Again"???  Hmmm... I don't remember a "first time"!

 

Besides, I think it would have two detrimental effects... one) it would attract those that really don't care about trains at all and make control the photo line more difficult, and two) it would be too distractive to the true railfan and I'd miss seeing the train for all that distraction.

 

[tree68]

Semper Vaporo

And I know of no railfan that needs scantily clad young women jumping up and down in front of them to keep their interest up in what is happening on the rails.  (The likes of which basketball and football fans do.)

Doesn't hurt, though... 

Backstory - during a railfan event last year, this group of musicians (?) shows up.  They're apparently shooting a music video and thought this would be a good spot.  I have no idea where to look for it, though...

[zugmann]

Semper Vaporo

And I know of no railfan that needs scantily clad young women jumping up and down in front of them to keep their interest up in what is happening on the rails.  (The likes of which basketball and football fans do.)

Why don't we have that again?

[Semper Vaporo]

I've said it before and I'll say it again...

 

Railfans may sometimes have small pins representing their favouite RR, or aspect of RR'ing, on their hats, but I have yet to see one paint their faces with greasepaint in the livery of a RR or wear a "cheese hat" or some other outlandish outward showing of their devotion to some aspect of RR'ing.  (The way some Footballer's do.)

I have yet to see one wearing a multi-color "rainbow" wig and clown outfit sitting at a grade crossing trying to influence the employees they are watching into making some particular move. (Like I see the dork trying to influence a pitcher at Baseball games on TV.)

And I know of no railfan that needs scantily clad young women jumping up and down in front of them to keep their interest up in what is happening on the rails.  (The likes of which basketball and football fans do.)

As a "sport", train watching is rather self sustaining and not in need of artificially engendered excitement.

 

 

 

[tree68]

carnej1

I'm a Railfan, this guy is a Foamer:

http://youtu.be/qMcNp3BajtA 

PS. I actually think he's faking it for comedic effect....

Yep - he is/was the manager there.  Totally for effect...

[mudchicken]

zardoz

gabe

.....therwise normal people inside or outside the industry who have hobbies ranging from baseball to basket weaving to dog breeding to pornography might think it is weird that she or he likes trains.

Gabe

I never considered pornography as a hobby......it might make my next visit to the hobby shop more interesting.

"Hey! Did ya see the nice couplers on that one?"

"Yeah!  But how about the caboose!!!?"

"There's a main line I wouldn't mind exploring".

"I wonder if there is a video to go with it?"

"I need a new lay out".

"But honey, I'm merely looking for a good photo oportunity".

She laughed as she said, "You said you were 'O' gauge; it looks to me like you're closer to 'N' gauge".

 

But I think I'll skip the weathering kit.

Something about DED's and HBD's - never mind!....((then again, maybe they did and were really effective at DELETING POSTS - I'll go wash my mind out with soap now)

[baberuth73]

If you have ever seen the movie "Polar Express" the loud mouthed kid the other kids called "know-it-all" would, in my opinion, qualify  as a foamer. He knew more about a Berkshire locomotive than the guy that designed the thing and passionately shared all this knowledge with those that happened to be within earshot of him.

[Deggesty]

If he is for real, the men in white coats should be around the corner.

[Anonymous]

Well if that's a foamer.... sign me up... to foamers-not-so-anonymous that is.

I have been a railfan off and on for 10 years now. I have sorta re-emerged at the beginning of the year and have just gone nuts. I would have to say.. if I saw a NS Heritage unit around these parts I believe I would act about like that. I couldn't imagine if I saw one of THOSE units. 

Thanks,

Proud Florida Foamer

[carnej1]

I'm a Railfan, this guy is a Foamer:

http://youtu.be/qMcNp3BajtA

 

PS. I actually think he's faking it for comedic effect..

[Anonymous]

I am a foaming railfan. I love trains and all known (and unknown, likely, when I discover them) aspects of railroading. Why worry about how someone else labels you? It is irrelevant. If you love trains a little or a lot, chances are you get a little foam going. So get out there and take some pictures or pace a train or listen to the scanner or look up mile posts on Google Earth and figure out which subdivision they belong in, subscribe to magazines, go to Folkston's Railwatch next year or whatever. Just don't get caught up in what someone else calls you while you follow your passion. More than likely whomever dreamed up the name Foamer has some passion he/she foams about too. So there.

[trainfan1221]

Seeing what was, that is finding abandoned tunnels, bridges, etc...is a major part of the hobby for me.  I think it is a great way to appreciate history too, even if it is only train related but it spreads to other things too. I know a lot more places than people would ever think I would because of my train hobby. 

I have found artifacts, the biggest one, if you can call it an artifact, being the abandoned Paulinskill Viaduct buried in the woods in western New Jersey. And the feeling of seeing this beautiful structure for the first time is hard to describe, lets just  say breathtaking is a way to begin.

[tree68]

blownout cylinder

cx500

Murphy Siding

Poppa_Zit

My enjoyment comes from analyzing the history of the railroads in this country, and visiting once-vibrant towns abandoned by railroads to see what's left behind, both the physical plant as well as the aftereffects -- indelible imprints left on the community.

So I guess that makes me a railroad history buff

  Ye Gods!   You mean there's more than one of us out there?  I'm always driving or walking through a town, usually a small farm town, to see what's left behind, and try to figure out what was there.  It's sort of like being a railorad archeologist sometimes.

 Ah, more members of the LAABPTPENA, otherwise known as the League of Abandoned Abutment, Bridge Pier and Tunnel Portal Enthusiasts of North America.  Not my creation; a couple of friends found a good location and then had a very tedious wait before any trains showed up.  But railroad archeology can be a wonderful diversion when trains are scarce.

John

My wife and I do a fair bit of driving the backroads and finding old townsites---believe it or not there are quite a few out in our neck of the woods---we also do find a lot of remnants of trainyards and such. I've taken to taking photos of these remnants and then went looking for the pix that display the yards in operation. North of Stratford ON---loads of old ROW's. Lotsa good stuff for the history buff

There's a fellow up north of me who has made a hobby of studying what might have been as well as what was, and is.  His flikr site has hundreds of pictures of old ROW's, bridges, etc.  One of his searches has been for railroads that were planned, and possibly started, but never finished.

Then there's the now-retired forestry professor whose study of any place in the Adirondacks where there are, or were, rails on the ground has now yielded a third edition of his findings, this time in four volumes.  I've worked with him a bit - his goal is to walk every ROW, which can be pretty challenging if the tracks have been gone for nearly 100 years,

[trainfan1221]

tree68

Funny you mention "buff."  Those who are interested in fire trucks, etc, are usually referred to as "fire buffs."  I don't think I've ever heard the term "fire fan."  I've heard "rail buff" and "train buff" before, though.

I think rail buff sounds a little more genteel than rail fan - perhaps connoting those who have an interest in trains, but don't necessarily seek them out.

 

I think you summed this up well.  I have known people in the past who will say they are somewhat of a train buff, though they don't go seeking them like us. They will take note when they see one though.  When NKP 765 was coming through town years back, I told my boss i had to take a break to go see a steam train, he said he was a bit of a train buff too and to alert him. I did just in time.

[blownout cylinder]

cx500

Murphy Siding

Poppa_Zit

My enjoyment comes from analyzing the history of the railroads in this country, and visiting once-vibrant towns abandoned by railroads to see what's left behind, both the physical plant as well as the aftereffects -- indelible imprints left on the community.

So I guess that makes me a railroad history buff

  Ye Gods!   You mean there's more than one of us out there?  I'm always driving or walking through a town, usually a small farm town, to see what's left behind, and try to figure out what was there.  It's sort of like being a railorad archeologist sometimes.

 

 

Ah, more members of the LAABPTPENA, otherwise known as the League of Abandoned Abutment, Bridge Pier and Tunnel Portal Enthusiasts of North America.  Not my creation; a couple of friends found a good location and then had a very tedious wait before any trains showed up.  But railroad archeology can be a wonderful diversion when trains are scarce.

John

My wife and I do a fair bit of driving the backroads and finding old townsites---believe it or not there are quite a few out in our neck of the woods---we also do find a lot of remnants of trainyards and such. I've taken to taking photos of these remnants and then went looking for the pix that display the yards in operation. North of Stratford ON---loads of old ROW's. Lotsa good stuff for the history buff

[cx500]

Murphy Siding

Poppa_Zit

My enjoyment comes from analyzing the history of the railroads in this country, and visiting once-vibrant towns abandoned by railroads to see what's left behind, both the physical plant as well as the aftereffects -- indelible imprints left on the community.

So I guess that makes me a railroad history buff

  Ye Gods!   You mean there's more than one of us out there?  I'm always driving or walking through a town, usually a small farm town, to see what's left behind, and try to figure out what was there.  It's sort of like being a railorad archeologist sometimes.

 

 

Ah, more members of the LAABPTPENA, otherwise known as the League of Abandoned Abutment, Bridge Pier and Tunnel Portal Enthusiasts of North America.  Not my creation; a couple of friends found a good location and then had a very tedious wait before any trains showed up.  But railroad archeology can be a wonderful diversion when trains are scarce.

John

[blownout cylinder]

Ah---good ol' eccentricity-----

[henry6]

We cannot define foamer seperate from railfan until we define railfan.  Anybody from age one to over a hundred who takes time to watch a train go by can be catagorized as a railfan.  Or buff.  Or afficianado. It is those who do more than just casually watch who start toward foamer.  At one time one of the more respected photographers and writers in the pages of Trains and Classic Trains used ot had pinned on the inside of his jacket his post cards and photo's which he had for sale...kind of a second flash if you will.  Is he a foamer or a fan?  Better or worse than another.  If you or I were to pin our photos' inside our jacket and spread it open to show what we have for sale, what would you think of me or of others who did the same?  Is the continual posting of the same 3/4 wedge and head on zoom shots a sign of a foamer?  Our googling at them mean we are foamers?  I think the term foamer, therefore, is relative.  I am normal, nobody else is.

[ValleyX]

When I see a man like the middle-aged gentleman I saw the other day, holding up for my approval a homemade poster of a CSX locomotive that I assume he had painted or drawn on there, I have to think that gentleman just might have some issues.  He looked normal, but. . .and if, by chance, you're on this board, drop me a note.

[MarknLisa]

I think a railfan is just someone who takes an interest in trains & railroading. Whether it's photography, history, travel, modeling, civil engeneering, transportation economics or simple romanticsim, like some people & sailing ships.  

A foamer has no (or very few) friends.  Has lost jobs, marriages and has bad health & hygene because of an some unhealthy fixation with trains. Probably gets some psychosexual thrill standing too close to the tracks as heavy tonnage speeds by.  Like an alcoholic & his next drink,  the foamer will forsake all to be near the next train that goes by.

[SFbrkmn]

Both terms have always sounded goofy to me. Just like a earlier post stated, Fomers are the ones in the bunch which think they know all there is to know about the rr. But ask one of them what a basic day, HO code, eight deadly sins or perhaps a operating rule of delayed in a block means and all you will get from them is a confused look. I watched trains all my adult life until going to work in the industry a decade ago. When I hired and began condr training, I had hardly any knowledge of operating rules. I knew of the mechanical aspects of it due to loading railcars for many yrs in pre rr days. I knew nothing of restricted speed, dual control switch, CTC, trk warrant, 50 foot rule and othr items. I guess I was a dumb railfan. One does not need to take this stuff serious as a hobby and one would enjoy it more if they don't let it go to their heads. Most fomers are only intersted in modern day mega merger rrs and know little if anything or have no interest of the tradition & history of the industry itself.

[oltmannd]

During college, the term we used for an "over the top" railfan was "fit" - short for misfit.

[henry6]

Ulrich

Foamer is a derogatory term used mostly by people on the inside..rail workers...to descibe those of us on the outside...interested people who are not employed in the industry.

I first heard the term foamer applied to railfans back in the 70's from a fan friend who is also an engineer.  He explained it was a derogatory term railroad employees used for most of us but especially the most avid.

But, "fan" is actually short for "fanatic".  Thus baseball, football, hockey, afficianadoes are also called fanatic.  As are so many who admire and follow people, activities, causes, etc.  We often will say so and so is a real fanatic to emphasize how much a fan a person is. "Fan" is a term that has been so watered down from its roots it has become just a mild term.  Thus "foamer" has become the replacement term in the popular nomanclature for those of us general or universal railfans while inside our kingdom refer to those of us who we feel are "over the top".  We have to have a name and reference for everyone and everything and when the old wears thin, we reinvent. 

[tree68]

mbkcs

You mean you don't have "woo-woo's" up in your neck of the woods? Woo-woos: volunteer firefighters/EMTs that outfit their POVs as miniature ambulances and fire trucks? 

Oh, sure.  Heck, I ran a full-width bar and a siren when I was chief. 

The fire equivalent of a foamer, but on the "inside" is a wacker.

It's a rule of thumb in the EMS world that you can tell the relative experience of an EMT by looking at his/her belt.  The more they have hanging from it, the less time they've been in the business...

[Paul_D_North_Jr]

tree68

Funny you mention "buff."  Those who are interested in fire trucks, etc, are usually referred to as "fire buffs."  I don't think I've ever heard the term "fire fan."  I've heard "rail buff" and "train buff" before, though.

I think rail buff sounds a little more genteel than rail fan - perhaps connoting those who have an interest in trains, but don't necessarily seek them out.

My understanding is that the term "buff" originated from the sartorially and fashionably correct young gentlemen fire buffs in England back in the 1800s, who were called that because of their customarily worn buff-colored coats. 

Or something like that.  I'll let someone else research that further, if you want.

- PDN.

[Ulrich]

Foamer is a derogatory term used mostly by people on the inside..rail workers...to descibe those of us on the outside...interested people who are not employed in the industry.

[mbkcs]

tree68

Funny you mention "buff."  Those who are interested in fire trucks, etc, are usually referred to as "fire buffs."  I don't think I've ever heard the term "fire fan."  I've heard "rail buff" and "train buff" before, though.

I think rail buff sounds a little more genteel than rail fan - perhaps connoting those who have an interest in trains, but don't necessarily seek them out.

 

 

 

You mean you don't have "woo-woo's" up in your neck of the woods? Woo-woos: volunteer firefighters/EMTs that outfit their POVs as miniature ambulances and fire trucks? 

I met a couple once at Rochelle that told me they were train enthusiasts.

tina

[Deggesty]

tree68

I think rail buff sounds a little more genteel than rail fan - perhaps connoting those who have an interest in trains, but don't necessarily seek them out.

Yes, "buff" does sound better, perhaps. I don't know if going into Bristol after supper to watch the N&W take the Pelican out to Roanoke counts as seeking out the train, but occasionally, when I felt I had the time to do it, I would take the seven o'clock bus (it came up on the campus) in and go to the north end of the station to admire the J that was there, waiting for the eight o'clock departure time. Some times I would walk back (two miles), and some times I would take the eight fifteen bus back and walk up the hill to the campus. During the summer, I would at times walk in and back out to watch the southbound Birmingham Special arrive (due in at 1:05 in the morning) About the only time I could see the Tennessean was on a Saturday in the summer, and then, again, it was to see the southbound train.

The treasurer was a good fellow, despite his upbringing ( he certainly talked faster than anybody else at the college). Apparently, he took good care of the funds trusted to his care, and invested wisely such funds as were available for investment. His small son was not really popular with some students. On one occasion, one of the students was painting the treasurer's house, and the boy was standing inside the front door and bothering the painter with his talk. When the breaking point came, the student opened the screen door and made one or two swipes with his broad brush on the front of the boy.  I was NOT that student, but I did help paint most of the buildings on the campus (I even sat in the kitchen window of the president's house, painting and having a pleasant conversation with the president's mother-in-law).

Johnny

[bubbajustin]

trainfan1221

According to people who aren't us, we're all freakin' nuts.

That's what I get called at school although replace the freekin' with the F bomb. I do get kind of foamerish sometimes. Especially if there is a SD70M around. But I don't think I've ever foamed at the mouth. I get really shakey as the train goes by though. So I guess I could be called a train shaker.