Good evening--
In one of the other threads going, reference was made to the circumstance that railfanners are now (post-9/11)being viewed by some of the mgmts. of major railroads as potential terrorists, so that railfanners should now be careful to bring some kind of train paraphernalia or reading material with them to give them more believability. Does anyone out there know if there have been any confirmed incidents of trouble like this across the US? Also, would the proverbial fisherman or other potential (illegal) user of a RR bridge trying to get a quicker access to his favorite fishing hole get caught up in the same net (no pun intended) as other potential trespassers? What are the rules, tacit or posted, that govern this behavior?
Riprap
Oh, my--where have you been hiding?
There should be a few (scores) of threads on this subject in here.
Just watch--and be watched!
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
CShaveRR wrote: Oh, my--where have you been hiding? There should be a few (scores) of threads on this subject in here. Just watch--and be watched!
Amen, brother Carl. But in case our friend hasn't the time to look up other threads, or the material from Operation Lifesaver, or...
Trespassing on railroad property -- any railroad property -- is illegal. It also happens to be hazardous to your health. It's also DUMB. It doesn't matter why you might be trespassing. Just don't do it.
For the record, I don't even fish, and I have no opportunity to "trespass" on RR property, since I currently live outside the US. My point in opening this thread was to determine whether the RR cos. concerns are just so much hot air, or if there have indeed been confirmed incidents of this behavior. Also, rubber meets the road, if none of us "trespassed" on RR property or on adjacent private property abutting RR lines, there would be a greatly decreased amount of available photos (which I suspect wouldn't terribly bother a lot of the Class I's) for our consumption. It's entirely possible this has been "discussed" here earlier, but not in the last seven virtual pages of forum dialogue. Mention has been made that some RR's are absolutely draconian about their treatment of railfans on or near their property, so the other point of my discussion was to find out if all RR's hate us equally, or if there are relatively more- or less-friendly RR's to railfan.
Oh, and Videomaker, just to clarify, the story I heard about this didn't involve actually FISHING from the RR bridge. It was on the news in MT, and there was a locally known fishing hole that was most directly accessable ONLY by walking across the RR bridge, then getting off. There was another way to get to the fishing spot, but it took a much longer route, and most opted to walk across the RR bridge (illegally).
No one out there needs to convince me about the dangers of RR trespassing (legal and physical) But you might want to get in touch with Johnny Carson (posthumously). Does anyone out there recall, I think, a "People" magazine cover with Johnny hanging from one of the ties of a RR trestle over a Nebraska river? According to Johnny, he'd go out to that trestle regularly, hang from one of the ties, wait 'till he'd hear a UP freight coming close, then release his grip and fall into the river. The magazine cover showed a UP freight approaching, and Johnny hanging from the bridge. I guess NBC got to Johnny before UP could, eh?!
SD60MAC9500 wrote:The only terrorist I know are over in Washington D.C. !!!!!!!!!!!!
I fully agree with that !!!!!
railroad_artist wrote:Then Vote them out of office! I don't like them, Republicans Suck! But there are those who would use a Train to hurt others here in the US.
Careful.........
So, let's replace the Republican'ts with the Democraps.... that would be like taking dead batteries out of my camera, and replacing them with dead batteries of a different brand..... both sets are just as useless....
I don't want to take this thread in that direction, but, all politicians are useless....They have no idea, or clue on how to protect us.....
Incident Commander to Staging Officer: "Are the FEMA guys here?"
Staging Officer: "Yeah, they are in staging, I sent them to get some coffee."
Incident Commander: "Good, they should be able to handle that."
Staging Officer: "Do you have an assignement for them?."
Incident Commander: "Yeah, tell them to make mine cream and sugar."
Dude, before making a flaming statement like that........cool off a bit and think. Both major political parties have huge flaws.
Anyway, when out railfanning there's no reason not to enjoy it. Just be aware that at anytime you may be questioned by law enforcement, railroad personnel, or local citizens making sure things are o.k. If questioned, keep a positive attitude when answering.
Let's face it.......some of our own citizens vandalize railroad property without batting an eyelash. Some have even been willing to cause derailments. The recent derailment here in Tampa in which a GP40-2 fell over on its side with the crew still onboard was vandalism. It's understandable why some train crew members aren't as friendly towards railfans as they were 20 years ago.
Yet, on some past threads railfans posted anger and outrage at being questioned by officials. Yes, the incidents where cops were just downright nasty were uncalled for and not justifiable.
But in cases where railfans start quoting "Constitutional Rights, civil liberties.....I'm calling the aclu......yada....yada...yada...our rights are vaporizing" I have very little sympathy for. To these guys I gently remind them that back in the "good ole days" of the early 1900s, repeat trespassers in certain parts of Kansas and Texas could be gunned down with little fan fare. Read your history.
If I see someone standing on the sidewalk in front of my house for a long period of time.......I'm not going to worry about his rights even though he's on a public sidewalk. .I want to know what's going on.
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
Careful...... Yes! George tapped the phone, didn't he.
At least the Democrats (seem) to vote for things that help the working man.
railroad_artist wrote: Careful...... Yes! George tapped the phone, didn't he. At least the Democrats (seem) to vote for things that help the working man.
And to further your simplistic categorization, Republicans mainly represent business.
First, most of us attempt to stay away from political vitriol, name-calling and finger-pointing.
There are always at least two sides to every coin. What some people don't realize is that businesses are often owned by people who are genuine risk-takers, the ones who stepped up, took a huge chance (often with their own hard-earned money), invested in and started a business that employs working people. There's no guarantee any business will be successful; therein lies the risk of failure.
It is wrong -- yet popular -- to think that every business owner is rich beyond belief and does not ever have to worry about paying bills. I own a business, and I have the responsibility to make sure it continues to generate enough revenue so I can write employee paychecks every week. When times are tough and receivables slow (or non-existent), my employees still get paid while I may not. The money in their checks comes out of my savings.
To wit, without business owners, how would working people pay their bills? In the interest of fairness, let's acknowledge it's a two-way street -- which in this particular case does not fit the political agenda of Democrats, who thrive on pitting "working people" against big, bad, rich, greedy business owners.
Might I suggest anyone who thinks starting a business and making it successful is an easy thing -- quit the security of your job and try it yourself.
Railroad Artist -
Just trying to tell you politely that obnoxious statements like that will eventually draw a response. I have learned not to START political arguments, but I will not sit by on the side lines when one makes statements that are just begging for a response. Not everyone on the forum is a fan of liberalism. Or democrats. Or even some republicans.
I am not a fan of either one of them.... why? Not because I am ignorant, whatever... I am just fed up with them. Look, I live in the Chicago area, a place call "Cook" County... which should be renamed "Crook" County... I am tired of scandal, and talking out of both sides of their mouths, ignoring the real issues, and instead concentrating on "talking points"... they are all, pretty much , like a bunch of bad car salesemen.
I won't go on about any political views, because at the moment, I have none...
Speaking of "business owners" my brother owns a business...my dad also owned a business, up until he passed away. They put up the money, they take the risks, they provide jobs for the rest of us... In other words, if they get rich doing it... THEY EARNED IT!!!!! It WAS NOT handed to them, and if you believe it was, then you have the problem.
Antonio, could you provide more details about that Tampa derailment that you say was caused by vandalism?
TimChgo9 wrote: I am not a fan of either one of them.... why? Not because I am ignorant, whatever... I am just fed up with them. Look, I live in the Chicago area, a place call "Cook" County... which should be renamed "Crook" County... I am tired of scandal, and talking out of both sides of their mouths, ignoring the real issues, and instead concentrating on "talking points"... they are all, pretty much , like a bunch of bad car salesemen. I won't go on about any political views, because at the moment, I have none... Speaking of "business owners" my brother owns a business...my dad also owned a business, up until he passed away. They put up the money, they take the risks, they provide jobs for the rest of us... In other words, if they get rich doing it... THEY EARNED IT!!!!! It WAS NOT handed to them, and if you believe it was, then you have the problem.
Tim, I don't know if most people know we don't have political parties in Illinois.
Instead of Republications and Democrats, in Illinois we have "The Combine" -- a clique-ish group of gladhanding political insiders who control most of the decision-making and contract dealing no matter which party is currently in power. It is THESE parasites who have their heads permanently buried in the trough of public tax dollars -- until a Federal Prosecutor and jury surgically remove them.
That explains why four of our last seven governors were convicted of and did time for crimes that occurred while they held office (a fifth was convicted of Savings & Loan fraud and did hard time, but technically it happened after he left office). And it may grow to six of eight real soon.
riprap wrote: Antonio, could you provide more details about that Tampa derailment that you say was caused by vandalism? Riprap
Hello Rip-rap. Occured about 3 weeks ago here in Tampa. Made the headline news. I think if you check http://www.tbo.com the story should be in the archives. From what I understand someone placed a solid object, ( I think a coupler knuckle) on top of one of the rails.
CrazyD, I like the licensing idea!! Antonio, thanx for the news update. It's a shame that with all the "diversions" we have in the States, there are people who can't think of anything better to do with their free time than rather blatantly endanger the lives of train crews. Sad....
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