Murphy's Law of Railfanning

[Mikeygaw]

Was kinda bored, so i figured i'd give myself something to do by coming up with this list [:D]

1. If you drive around for hours hoping to get stopped by a train, there won't be a one for miles around
1a. When you don't want to be stopped (late for work, wanting to get home cause tired/hungry/child crying in the back "I gotta go potty"), you will be stopped at a crossing in the middle of the longest train that's past through in 6 months.

2. When you go out railfanning with a small child, when you are at the spot farthest from home and set up to take pictures, the child will yell "i gotta go potty"

3. When you are waiting to get the perfect shot, or a shot you've wanted to get for a while, you will run out of film, the batteries will die, or the bulb will burn out

4. When trying to replace the film, batteries, or bulb in a hurry, you will it drop both the old and replacement items, both will drop to the most inexcessable place, and have gone in opposite directions

5. When you are about to take the perfect shot, you will drop the camera

6. When you are consentracting on getting a good shot, and you don't want to be distracted, a feminine voice will come from behind and say "Honey, I wanna go home."

7. The day you see a rare locmotive, fallen flag colors, or unit you can not identify, you will have forgotten your camera. Or if you have it with you, it will not work

8. The moment you put your camera away is the moment the train comes around the curve.

9. If you are looking in one direction for a train, the train will come from the other direction.

10. When have have taken the best pictures you have ever taken, the photo lab will somehow mess them up during development. For digital cameras, the memory cards will become corrupt.

[JoeKoh]

#9
when taking pictures from a safe distance and a hot intermodal sneaks up from behind you check to see if you went poddy[:0]
stay safe
Joe

[Anonymous]

Mikey [:)]

Murphy and I are good friends, I know him well. As a matter of fact we are on a first name bases. [:0] I know what you mean about things going wrong with the camera or film or this or that or something. I recently took a few shots at a local heavy repair facility. The cabs/engine housing were off the frames and some had the prime mover removed. They were all in various stages of overhaul. I took a couple of shots to send to some people. When they were developed they all had a rainbow effect down each side of the pics. The sun was behind me. I still can't figure out how the rainbow effect happened. I guess maybe the lab. [xx(] [V] [:(]

[Anonymous]

I happened to me too often. I stand near the track for 45 minutes waiting for a train. Then I give up. ("Ahh screw it, the stupid thing will never come") I bike back to my house, about a mile away. About halfway towards my house i hear the horn. Its torture. So i guess i'm stuck with small passenger trains that go by house every moring during the summer. Better than nothing. I hope someone has more more luck than I do.

[coalminer3]

Here's a couple of more quotes:

1. "Steam train went by yesterday...thought you knew about it."

2. " We had record traffic here yesterday - lots of foreign power and stuff we've never seen before."

Worse than fishing or following the Red Sox.

work safe

[Anonymous]

Another one.......if an especially interesting train is going by on a section with more than one track, it will be on the farthest track, and before you can take a picture a "normal" train will come by on the track closer to you, and it will inevitably be slower and/or longer than the "interesting" one

~Ra'akone

[dmoore74]

Trains only run at night on the lines with the best scenery.

[Trainnut484]

Numbers 7 and 8 seem to follow me the most.

How about this. You park at your favorite photo spot. The weather is perfect, and your camera is loaded with fresh batteries and film and is working great. You've brought enough snacks and beverages to last you a few hours.

Then as soon as the train you've been waiting for is coming, and while focusing your camera you realize you forgot the toilet paper[:0][:(!]

Take care[:)]

Russell

[Trainnut484]

This falls under #7.

A string of rare fallen flag equipment rolls by, and its either raining horizontally, or midnight, and too dark for photos.

Nice Sunny day, and NOTHING rolls by LOL

That was a part of my world LOL

Take care[:)]

Russell

[Mikeygaw]

personnally, i feal sorry for anyone that had to experience #2... that couldn't of been pretty

[sooblue]

# 2
I used to bring the training potty with me. Got a great shot of my daughter sitting on it in my trunk with the trunk lid up.
There will come a time when, she's a teen, that photo will be worth a whole lot *lol*

[JoeKoh]

QUOTE: Originally posted by sooblue

# 2
I used to bring the training potty with me. Got a great shot of my daughter sitting on it in my trunk with the trunk lid up.
There will come a time when, she's a teen, that photo will be worth a whole lot *lol*

we have a few of "those " for matts girlfriends when he gets older.[:)]
stay safe
joe

[ironhorseman]

And to add to the list: opening the camera before rewinding the film. I took a picture, it was the last one on the roll, went home thinking I'll wind it when I get back. I got back and thinking I had already wound it I popped open the camera. D'OH! Fortunatly it 110mm film so only one exposure was lost. Unfortunatly it was probably the best picture on the whole roll! D'OH! D'OH!

Oh, how many times I have I wished I left the house just 2 minutes earlier? Or went one direction and not the other? Lets see... number of years in one house (times) number of train watching trips (divided by) number of trains per day (equals) TOO MANY!

There goes one now, and here I am in front of a computer screen.

[Mookie]

QUOTE: Originally posted by ironhorseman

And to add to the list: opening the camera before rewinding the film. I took a picture, it was the last one on the roll, went home thinking I'll wind it when I get back. I got back and thinking I had already wound it I popped open the camera. D'OH! Fortunatly it 110mm film so only one exposure was lost. Unfortunatly it was probably the best picture on the whole roll! D'OH! D'OH!

Oh, how many times I have I wished I left the house just 2 minutes earlier? Or went one direction and not the other? Lets see... number of years in one house (times) number of train watching trips (divided by) number of trains per day (equals) TOO MANY!

There goes one now, and here I am in front of a computer screen.

[:X] But you have the Mookie right here, instead! Almost as good!

[:I]

[Anonymous]

HOW ABOUT THIS ONE, THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME TWICE

YOU GET CALLED FOR WORK AT 4 IN THE MORNING. YOU GO OUT TO THE ENGINE TRACK AND RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU THERE ARE 2 BRAND NEW AC4400"S IN WARBONNET PAINT. YOU KNOW YOU GOT YOUR CAMERA WITH YOU AND YOU FIGURE YOU ARE GONNA STOP SOMWHERE AND GET A GOOD SHOT IN. YOU GO TO SHOO AND YOU REALIZE YOU DONT HAVE ANY PICS LEFT IN THE CAMERA. THE SECOND TIME WAS WE HAD A TUNNEL MOTOR STILL IN SP PAINT,A CONRAIL SD80MAC, AND A GP30 SLUG IN THE LEAD. IMAGINE THE CHANCES ON THAT ONE.

[JoeKoh]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jchoochoo71

HOW ABOUT THIS ONE, THIS HAS HAPPENED TO ME TWICE

YOU GET CALLED FOR WORK AT 4 IN THE MORNING. YOU GO OUT TO THE ENGINE TRACK AND RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU THERE ARE 2 BRAND NEW AC4400"S IN WARBONNET PAINT. YOU KNOW YOU GOT YOUR CAMERA WITH YOU AND YOU FIGURE YOU ARE GONNA STOP SOMWHERE AND GET A GOOD SHOT IN. YOU GO TO SHOO AND YOU REALIZE YOU DONT HAVE ANY PICS LEFT IN THE CAMERA. THE SECOND TIME WAS WE HAD A TUNNEL MOTOR STILL IN SP PAINT,A CONRAIL SD80MAC, AND A GP30 SLUG IN THE LEAD. IMAGINE THE CHANCES ON THAT ONE.

yep
get called in early and there is a gp38ac switching the cars out and you dont have a camera its in the other vehicle or you wait until after work when its light and your engine and train are gone [}:)] .
stay safe
Joe

[dknelson]

Many years ago an editorial appeared, I do not recall if it was in Trains or in Railroad/Railfan, but it said why not go out to the tracks and leave the camera home and just watch trains
So I said, OK tomorrow I am going to go out and just watch trains. And I did. And there were trains. That was the day the C&NW hauled a string of dead Alcos from the Huron District south towards Chicago, presumably for scrapping.
I was angry.
Months later I tried it again. That was the weekend when the C&NW was short of power and used commuter F units to haul freight up to Butler and back.
Murphy's Law!
Dave Nelson

[Mikeygaw]

11. As your walking out the door to go take some pics, the in-laws will walk in to visit. Something rare will pass by that day.

12. When a some unusual excursionis scheduled to come to your town, you will have to go to a PTA meeting/child's sports game/recital

[bnsfkline]

I always have a camera with me. It seems like when ever something neet goes by, I dont have the video camera, but I have mbe 35 mm camera!

[Trainnut484]

Here's another one to tack on the list.

The special excursion train is due to come by at any second, and twenty people pull up and get in your way of the shot.

Too bad there isn't a people filter.

Take care

Russell