ON FRIDAY AUGUST 3RD I WENT OUT RAILFANNING ALONG THE BNSF. I STARTED NEAR HOME AND WENT OLD ROUTE 66 FROM VICTORVILLE,OUT THRU BARSTOW AND ALL THE WAY TO AMBOY. I WAS FOLLOWING A FREIGHT ALL THE WAY FROM BARSTOW,AND I STOPPED TO TAKE SOME PICTURES ALONG THE WAY. WHEN I GOT TO AMBOY I WAVED TO THE CREW OF THE TRAIN I HAD BEEN FOLLOWING AND MADE THAT MY POINT OF RETURN. THE ENTIRE TRIP I HAD BEEN VERY VISIBLE AND WAS STAYING OFF THE RIGHT OF WAY. WHEN I WAS HEADED BACK TO BARSTOW,I STOPPED NEAR PISGAH TO TAKE SOME PICTURES OF SOME GP-30s THAT WERE IN THE SIDING WAITING FOR ANOTHER TRAIN. SO I HEADED BACK ONLY THINKING OF THE GREAT TIME I HAD WATCHING BNSF TRAINS ALL DAY. I WENT BACK INTO BARSTOW TO HAVE ONE LAST LOOK AT THE BARSTOW YARD,SO I PARKED MYSELF NEAR THE HUMP TRACKS NOT ON RAILROAD PROPERTY. I WAS ONLY THERE A FEW MINUTES WHEN THE BNSF POLICE SHOWED UP. TURNS OUT THEY HAD BEEN LOOKING FOR ME BECAUSE ONE OF THE RAILROAD CREWMAN HAD REPORTED ME FOLLOWING THERE TRAIN. THE BNSF POLICE OFFICER ALLREADY KNEW MY ADDRESS AS THEY HAD RUN THE PLATES ON MY TRUCK. THEY HAD BEEN TRYING TO FIND ME SINCE 11AM WOW!! ANY WAY MY SAVIOR WAS MY ID FROM THE BNSF PROGRAM FOR RAILFANS. AS I HAD REGISTERED AND I SHOWED THE OFFICER AND I DID SHOW HIM THE PICTURES I TOOK SO HE COULD CLEARLY SEE THAT I WAS NOT ON THERE PROPERTY. HE TOLD ME THAT THEY WERE HAVING A LOT OF BREAK INS TO RAILROAD EQUIPMENT ALONG THE TRACKS ,SO IF I SAW ANYTHING SUSPISIOUS TO REPORT IT RIGHT AWAY. SO WE BS FOR A LITTLE AND THEN HE SAID SEE YOU AGAIN, AND WITH THAT HE WENT ON HIS WAY. SO TO ME HE WAS REAL NICE AND UNDERSTANDING, A GOOD RR POLICE OFFICER.
He just finished his sophomore year.
BTW, solz check your email.
solzrules wrote:What do you guys mean? I was a freshman when they took that picture!!!
How many years were you a freshman?
Poppa_Zit wrote: solzrules wrote: Here's a good story of police getting a little antsy.....In my younger years (about 17 years old at the time, I believe) I was out walking one evening on a country side road. I was by myself and it was quite dark out. As I was walking a patrol car blasted by me at a high rate of speed - so fast I didn't see the headlights until he was almost on me. He kept going. I thought to myself - man someone's gonna have a bad night. That cop was serious. So I kept walking. About 5 minutes later I approached an intersection. As I was about to turn and head for home (about a 1/4 of a mile away) another patrol car crossed the intersection heading the way I was turning. This time he slammed on the breaks, did a U-turn, and came right at me with the car. He stopped about 10 feet away and shined their large searchlight on me. I could see in the reflection of that searchlight the glint of his gun that was drawn and aimed at me over the driver side door. He ordered me to stop. Not wanting to assert my right to freely walk down the countryside lane at that particular moment, I complied. Within the space of 1 minute I counted 9 police cars from 4 different counties and the state trooper who were present in that intersection. I was patted down, placed in handcuffs, and locked inside the cop car. I was trying very hard not to laugh, because it seemed too surreal. As I sat in the cop car, I began to have a little pain from the handcuffs that were on kinda tight. I decided maybe now was a good time to see what I had been arrested for (the cops said I was being detained - I guess with the guns and handcuffs I would call it an arrest). The cop looked at me kind of funny and said they had a report of a guy who beat his girlfriend almost to death - she was in critical condition in the hospital. They had tracked him on foot to the area I was walking in and they figured that I was him. So I continued to talk calmly with the officer. He asked me where I lived (I had no ID on me, which would have cleared this whole thing up immediately, by the way). I told him I was 17 and that I lived about a 1/4 a mile away. This immediately caught his attention and he began to ask my parents' names and so forth. I informed him that I had been out for a walk and that I was almost home. He began to talk to what I think was his supervisor over the radio. They agreed that I should be released and allowed to walk home. They talked some more and decided it would be best if the cop dropped me off at home and then talked to my parents about the situation. The cop was very apologetic and after explaining the situation to my parents and myself he was on his way. I think it wasn't too long after that they actually did catch the guy. Just goes to show that if you aren't in the wrong, sooner or later they will figure it out. Then the good cops will be apologizing to you. And you'll feel better that they are doing their job in a very professional and thorough manner. Plus you get to brag at school that you got arrested at gunpoint!!!What a terrible experience! Based on the photo in your avatar, the stress has prematurely aged you.
solzrules wrote: Here's a good story of police getting a little antsy.....In my younger years (about 17 years old at the time, I believe) I was out walking one evening on a country side road. I was by myself and it was quite dark out. As I was walking a patrol car blasted by me at a high rate of speed - so fast I didn't see the headlights until he was almost on me. He kept going. I thought to myself - man someone's gonna have a bad night. That cop was serious. So I kept walking. About 5 minutes later I approached an intersection. As I was about to turn and head for home (about a 1/4 of a mile away) another patrol car crossed the intersection heading the way I was turning. This time he slammed on the breaks, did a U-turn, and came right at me with the car. He stopped about 10 feet away and shined their large searchlight on me. I could see in the reflection of that searchlight the glint of his gun that was drawn and aimed at me over the driver side door. He ordered me to stop. Not wanting to assert my right to freely walk down the countryside lane at that particular moment, I complied. Within the space of 1 minute I counted 9 police cars from 4 different counties and the state trooper who were present in that intersection. I was patted down, placed in handcuffs, and locked inside the cop car. I was trying very hard not to laugh, because it seemed too surreal. As I sat in the cop car, I began to have a little pain from the handcuffs that were on kinda tight. I decided maybe now was a good time to see what I had been arrested for (the cops said I was being detained - I guess with the guns and handcuffs I would call it an arrest). The cop looked at me kind of funny and said they had a report of a guy who beat his girlfriend almost to death - she was in critical condition in the hospital. They had tracked him on foot to the area I was walking in and they figured that I was him. So I continued to talk calmly with the officer. He asked me where I lived (I had no ID on me, which would have cleared this whole thing up immediately, by the way). I told him I was 17 and that I lived about a 1/4 a mile away. This immediately caught his attention and he began to ask my parents' names and so forth. I informed him that I had been out for a walk and that I was almost home. He began to talk to what I think was his supervisor over the radio. They agreed that I should be released and allowed to walk home. They talked some more and decided it would be best if the cop dropped me off at home and then talked to my parents about the situation. The cop was very apologetic and after explaining the situation to my parents and myself he was on his way. I think it wasn't too long after that they actually did catch the guy. Just goes to show that if you aren't in the wrong, sooner or later they will figure it out. Then the good cops will be apologizing to you. And you'll feel better that they are doing their job in a very professional and thorough manner. Plus you get to brag at school that you got arrested at gunpoint!!!
Here's a good story of police getting a little antsy.....
In my younger years (about 17 years old at the time, I believe) I was out walking one evening on a country side road. I was by myself and it was quite dark out. As I was walking a patrol car blasted by me at a high rate of speed - so fast I didn't see the headlights until he was almost on me. He kept going. I thought to myself - man someone's gonna have a bad night. That cop was serious. So I kept walking. About 5 minutes later I approached an intersection. As I was about to turn and head for home (about a 1/4 of a mile away) another patrol car crossed the intersection heading the way I was turning. This time he slammed on the breaks, did a U-turn, and came right at me with the car. He stopped about 10 feet away and shined their large searchlight on me. I could see in the reflection of that searchlight the glint of his gun that was drawn and aimed at me over the driver side door. He ordered me to stop. Not wanting to assert my right to freely walk down the countryside lane at that particular moment, I complied. Within the space of 1 minute I counted 9 police cars from 4 different counties and the state trooper who were present in that intersection. I was patted down, placed in handcuffs, and locked inside the cop car. I was trying very hard not to laugh, because it seemed too surreal.
As I sat in the cop car, I began to have a little pain from the handcuffs that were on kinda tight. I decided maybe now was a good time to see what I had been arrested for (the cops said I was being detained - I guess with the guns and handcuffs I would call it an arrest). The cop looked at me kind of funny and said they had a report of a guy who beat his girlfriend almost to death - she was in critical condition in the hospital. They had tracked him on foot to the area I was walking in and they figured that I was him. So I continued to talk calmly with the officer. He asked me where I lived (I had no ID on me, which would have cleared this whole thing up immediately, by the way). I told him I was 17 and that I lived about a 1/4 a mile away. This immediately caught his attention and he began to ask my parents' names and so forth. I informed him that I had been out for a walk and that I was almost home. He began to talk to what I think was his supervisor over the radio. They agreed that I should be released and allowed to walk home. They talked some more and decided it would be best if the cop dropped me off at home and then talked to my parents about the situation. The cop was very apologetic and after explaining the situation to my parents and myself he was on his way. I think it wasn't too long after that they actually did catch the guy.
Just goes to show that if you aren't in the wrong, sooner or later they will figure it out. Then the good cops will be apologizing to you. And you'll feel better that they are doing their job in a very professional and thorough manner. Plus you get to brag at school that you got arrested at gunpoint!!!
What a terrible experience! Based on the photo in your avatar, the stress has prematurely aged you.
What a terrible experience, Solz! Based on the photo in your avatar, the stress has prematurely aged you.
Not that funny - but the stories here reminded me of one that really got me shaking in my boots. It was 1978, and my dad and I set out for a day of railfanning in Allentown PA. But on our way, we decided we would stop in Cedar Knoll NJ to take some pictures of the MRS1s and the Illinois Terminal ALCO switcher that had just been moved there. To get to where they were, you parked in a residential neighborhood and then "trespassed" (statute of limitations has run out on this one) by walking across a small field area and across the Morristown & Erie tracks. We took our pictures and got back in the car.
I'm driving... I'm seventeen at the time. A police car pulls up right on our tail. My dad yells at me to slow down (I was probably going 25 at the time). I slow down to 20. Cop is still there. I slow down to 15. Cop is still there.
Now another police car pulls up behind him.
I make a turn onto main road, and three police cars, lights flashing come racing at us from the other direction. The two cars behind us also put on their lights.
I pull over and five or six cops all come up. They ask what we were doing and they ask if they can search the car (which we let them of course, we had nothing to hide).
Turned out that a woman had been attacked in the field we crossed the day before and she reported it was a middle aged man and a teenager that attacked her.
The experience sucked for my dad and I, but when I heard what had happened, I understood why we were stopped (and in such a public manner).
vsmith wrote: Poppa_Zit wrote: Just curious:Why if one of the 42,211 forum members dislikes a thread or topic does he/she feel compelled to post in that thread an order plea request for that thread to end, for people to stop posting to it? If the topic or discussion is so painful, why do they keep reading?Sometimes it takes a heated discussion -- within the boundaries of proper decorum -- to warm up the brain cells.If I don't like a particular thread, I simply ignore it. Lord knows, there are plenty of those.So what goes?Well thats whatcha call 'ultimate political correctness'
Poppa_Zit wrote: Just curious:Why if one of the 42,211 forum members dislikes a thread or topic does he/she feel compelled to post in that thread an order plea request for that thread to end, for people to stop posting to it? If the topic or discussion is so painful, why do they keep reading?Sometimes it takes a heated discussion -- within the boundaries of proper decorum -- to warm up the brain cells.If I don't like a particular thread, I simply ignore it. Lord knows, there are plenty of those.So what goes?
Just curious:
Why if one of the 42,211 forum members dislikes a thread or topic does he/she feel compelled to post in that thread an order plea request for that thread to end, for people to stop posting to it? If the topic or discussion is so painful, why do they keep reading?
Sometimes it takes a heated discussion -- within the boundaries of proper decorum -- to warm up the brain cells.
If I don't like a particular thread, I simply ignore it. Lord knows, there are plenty of those.
So what goes?
Well thats whatcha call 'ultimate political correctness'
In my old neighborhood, we just called them "buttinskis".
Like all 2000 kids in a school MUST stop eating peanut butter because one unfortunate kid is allergic, or calling for everyone in a business to stop eating beef, chicken, eggs, and cheese so that the one ultra-vegan employee can feel guilt free.
Have fun with your trains
chad thomas wrote: Here's another... This was just a month or so back. I was up on Hill 582 (Cajon Pass) one morning with my bro Joe. It was between trains and kind of quiet. We see this USFS cop come tearing it up along the #1 track. He spots us on the hill and races up to where we were at, jumps out of his rig and comes up and asked where the guy on the dune buggy went. Well I was trying to remember a dune buggy even comeing by when Joe blurts out "He went up that road" pointing tward Silverwood. The gets back in his truck and blasts out after him. When he left I asked Joe if I missed something cause I really didn't remember any dune buggys, or any other vehicles for that matter, going past us. Joe says "There wasn't any dune buggy". I asked him why he told the guy that he went that way and Joe says "Got rid of him didn't I".
Here's another...
This was just a month or so back. I was up on Hill 582 (Cajon Pass) one morning with my bro Joe. It was between trains and kind of quiet. We see this USFS cop come tearing it up along the #1 track. He spots us on the hill and races up to where we were at, jumps out of his rig and comes up and asked where the guy on the dune buggy went. Well I was trying to remember a dune buggy even comeing by when Joe blurts out "He went up that road" pointing tward Silverwood. The gets back in his truck and blasts out after him. When he left I asked Joe if I missed something cause I really didn't remember any dune buggys, or any other vehicles for that matter, going past us. Joe says "There wasn't any dune buggy". I asked him why he told the guy that he went that way and Joe says "Got rid of him didn't I".
Sorry, but thats not at all funny sending any official on a wild goose chase.
Dan
chad thomas wrote:Good stories Semper. Reminds me of one I have told here a while back... My dad and I were on the last legs of a multistate railfanning adventure and had just pulled up to the Pepper st. overpass at the end of the SP West Colton Departure yard. We were still in the car when this cop shows up. First he parked about 50 yards behind us and sat there a few minuets. Eventually he pulled right up to our car, got out and slowly approached us, looking everywhere but at us. He comes up to my window, so I roll it down to see what he wants. Still paying us little attention he casually asked if we had seen anything suspicious. For those not familiar with this location there is usually no lack of suspicious activity of some sort or another within eyesight. Now at this point the wise thing to say would probably have been no and let it go at that. But no, I couldn't resist being a wise --- so I replied,"As the matter of fact yes I have. The last train through had 2 UP engines pulling it" (this was pre merger when UPs were rather rare in West Colton). The cop turned and looked me straight in the eye as if I were from another planet. After about 5 seconds he turned around and walked back to his car shakeing his head. It was all we could do to keep from laughing our --- off.
Good stories Semper. Reminds me of one I have told here a while back...
My dad and I were on the last legs of a multistate railfanning adventure and had just pulled up to the Pepper st. overpass at the end of the SP West Colton Departure yard. We were still in the car when this cop shows up. First he parked about 50 yards behind us and sat there a few minuets. Eventually he pulled right up to our car, got out and slowly approached us, looking everywhere but at us. He comes up to my window, so I roll it down to see what he wants. Still paying us little attention he casually asked if we had seen anything suspicious. For those not familiar with this location there is usually no lack of suspicious activity of some sort or another within eyesight.
Now at this point the wise thing to say would probably have been no and let it go at that. But no, I couldn't resist being a wise --- so I replied,"As the matter of fact yes I have. The last train through had 2 UP engines pulling it" (this was pre merger when UPs were rather rare in West Colton). The cop turned and looked me straight in the eye as if I were from another planet. After about 5 seconds he turned around and walked back to his car shakeing his head. It was all we could do to keep from laughing our --- off.
Great story! I am glad we didn't end it. Happy pz?
PZ, as usual, you hit the nail right on the head. I couldn't have said it better myself.
An "expensive model collector"
Midnight Railroader wrote: I'm not going to respond to a rant full of accusatory questions and inflammatory statements.
I'm not going to respond to a rant full of accusatory questions and inflammatory statements.
Are you a representative of the liberal "drive-by media" we are warned about by conservative AM talk radio?
I chatted with a Sergeant of Patrol for the Oshkosh, WI Police Department last night. I asked him if they (OPD) had any trouble or issues with trains/railfans. His reply:"We have standing instruction from the CN that any persons on the ROW for their tracks are to be cited for trespassing. Typically we give warnings, but if the person got beligerent and refused to cooperate would we possibly take further action such as a summons or citation. Our officers will ask a person alongside the ROW what they are doing if a call comes in to dispatch, that's Standard Operating Procedure. To date we've only issued summons in 2 incidents where people were observed riding the steps of railcars. I don't believe that any have been issued for taking pictures of trains from public property. We've gotten calls asking us to send an officer to 'check something out' that has turned out to be railfans pursuing their hobby in a safe and legal fashion. They've always cooperated that I've heard."
Looks like I'm in good shape!
Poppa_Zit wrote:Just curious:Why if one of the 42,211 forum members dislikes a thread or topic does he/she feel compelled to post in that thread an order plea request for that thread to end, for people to stop posting to it? If the topic or discussion is so painful, why do they keep reading?Sometimes it takes a heated discussion -- within the boundaries of proper decorum -- to warm up the brain cells.If I don't like a particular thread, I simply ignore it. Lord knows, there are plenty of those.So what goes?
Key words being "within the boundaries of proper decorum". Lord knows we have not had a lot of those!!
But I got another one!
I was watching trains at Beverly Yard one evening when a County Sheriff pulled up along side me (driving on the wrong side of the road!) to get our driver's side windows adjacent.
I rolled my window down and he asked: "Have you seen anyone around here with a gun?"
Don't think my head didn't do a lot of swivelin' around in a big hurry!
"No, I haven't." I said.
"Keep a look out and let us know if you do."
He then left. I was about to decide to leave also, when I saw a train coming so I watched it come up. It stopped and pushed some cars into the yard. I figured I stick around and kind of watch over the Conductor as he did the switching.
But my head was still swivelin' around a lot! (Wonder if I worried the Engineer with my wild-eyed looking around?)
Just after they left, the Sheriff was back.
"Thought I'd let you know. We got a call of someone with a gun down at the train yards. Turns out it was a man outside the 'Union Station' bar up on 16th. Hope we didn't worry you too much."
And he drove away. (16th is about 2 miles north and the bar is then about 1 mile east.)
Semper Vaporo
Pkgs.
Semper Vaporo wrote:Let's lighten this up a wee bit. At least for me this was funny...On my way back from visiting my Mother in Florida in 1992 I stopped at a Georgia Motel for the night. I always had to stop early in the afternoon to be sure I could get a non-smoking room (this was back when that was a very rare thing and most motels had a limited number of such rooms). When I got to the room, I discovered that the "FREE CABLE TV" was nothing but a bunch of "Shopping channels"! Well, that was the pits.Then I heard a train horn! Wow, it was close. So, I grabbed my new hat... one that I got at Disney World... one of those Australian Outback one-side-of-the-brim-pinned-to-the-crown touristy thingys. It had the "one-of-a-kind" gold collector's pins on the front of the crown.I was wearing dark blue pants and light blue shirt and hanging from my belt I had a rather large (by today's standards) old style cell phone on one side in a black woven nylon holster and a "Mag-Lite" (tm) flashlight in a black woven nylon holster on the other. Being as that I am also one of the original computer "Nerds", I had my pocket protector in my pocket with the "badge" pocket on the outside with my photo ID from work (shouldn't have been wearing it, but force of 30 or so years habit was hard to overcome!).By the time I found the railroad track, in a trench, not far from the motel, the train was gone. I went out onto the state highway/city street in front of the Motel and down about a block to a bridge over the track, in hopes of seeing another train.I went out on the sidewalk of the bridge and leaned on the ornate stone/concrete railing. While waiting for a train I started to watch the considerable automobile traffic on the bridge. After about 30 minutes, I began to notice a LOT of "city" Police cars going by. I started to mentally note the car numbers and there were about 8 of them that went by repeatedly... about 1 every 30 to 45 seconds! First one way, then the other. Round and round they went... 3 or 4 of them in visual range at any one time. Some of the cars had just a driver, some had two officers in them. None of the officers ever looked at me; they always looked straight forward. I even nodded to them or gave a nonchalant wave, but they did not respond.Then I saw a carload of teenagers. The kid in the passenger seat in front smiled and gave a half-hearted wave to me. One of the kids in the back seat slid WAY down in the seat with both hands over his face, peaking out at me between two fingers! I truly did not understand what was happening at that moment, so I leaned over just slightly to see into the car a bit better and looked right at the kid. He promptly disappeared onto the floor in the backseat, as the driver sped away.When I straightened up there were two Police officers, on foot, headed my way from the far end of the bridge; one I assumed was a Patrolman and the other was obviously NOT just a Patrolman... he carried himself in a manner that definitely identified him has someone a bit more important. They were both moving quite "briskly". About 20 feet from me the Patrolman suddenly brought himself up short and got a really odd grin on his face, covered his face with one hand and turned toward the street, rubbing his nose with the index finger.As the other "Officer" continued toward me, I glanced behind me to see if there was some else in the area that he might be wanting to see.The Patrolman was now facing me again, and his "smirk" was clearly visible. I do believe I have never seen someone's mouth have such an odd outline. Obviously stifling an outright burst of laughter, mixed with a look of fear for his job, or at least a severe dressing down in the Chief's office.When the Officer was just a few feet from me he spoke..."Listen here; I don't like it when you do this sort of thing without..."Only then did he REALLY look "at" me."What are you doing here?""I was hoping to see a train." I said, half in fear and half in mirth as I kind'a pointed at the track below. (I was just beginning to recognize what was happening.)"Oh." And he turned and walked away, met up with the Patrolman and they got into a car (non-police, that I could tell) parked just off the bridge, backed out into traffic and left.I waited around another hour or so. There were no trains so I went back to the motel room. Upon closeing the door, I heard another train. I was tired so I watched all 6 of shopping channels for all of about 30 seconds total, turned off the TV, and went to sleep. When I left in the morning, there was a city Police car parked at the end of the Motel parking lot and it followed me to the Interstate as I left town.I do believe I apparently looked like a County Sheriff or State Trooper on a stakeout or something. However, I can't help but wonder if they have so little fashion sense as to wear a dark blue and light blue uniform and then put on a tan/khaki Australian Outback hat!?!
Let's lighten this up a wee bit. At least for me this was funny...
On my way back from visiting my Mother in Florida in 1992 I stopped at a Georgia Motel for the night. I always had to stop early in the afternoon to be sure I could get a non-smoking room (this was back when that was a very rare thing and most motels had a limited number of such rooms). When I got to the room, I discovered that the "FREE CABLE TV" was nothing but a bunch of "Shopping channels"! Well, that was the pits.
Then I heard a train horn! Wow, it was close. So, I grabbed my new hat... one that I got at Disney World... one of those Australian Outback one-side-of-the-brim-pinned-to-the-crown touristy thingys. It had the "one-of-a-kind" gold collector's pins on the front of the crown.
I was wearing dark blue pants and light blue shirt and hanging from my belt I had a rather large (by today's standards) old style cell phone on one side in a black woven nylon holster and a "Mag-Lite" (tm) flashlight in a black woven nylon holster on the other. Being as that I am also one of the original computer "Nerds", I had my pocket protector in my pocket with the "badge" pocket on the outside with my photo ID from work (shouldn't have been wearing it, but force of 30 or so years habit was hard to overcome!).
By the time I found the railroad track, in a trench, not far from the motel, the train was gone. I went out onto the state highway/city street in front of the Motel and down about a block to a bridge over the track, in hopes of seeing another train.
I went out on the sidewalk of the bridge and leaned on the ornate stone/concrete railing. While waiting for a train I started to watch the considerable automobile traffic on the bridge. After about 30 minutes, I began to notice a LOT of "city" Police cars going by. I started to mentally note the car numbers and there were about 8 of them that went by repeatedly... about 1 every 30 to 45 seconds! First one way, then the other. Round and round they went... 3 or 4 of them in visual range at any one time. Some of the cars had just a driver, some had two officers in them. None of the officers ever looked at me; they always looked straight forward. I even nodded to them or gave a nonchalant wave, but they did not respond.
Then I saw a carload of teenagers. The kid in the passenger seat in front smiled and gave a half-hearted wave to me. One of the kids in the back seat slid WAY down in the seat with both hands over his face, peaking out at me between two fingers! I truly did not understand what was happening at that moment, so I leaned over just slightly to see into the car a bit better and looked right at the kid. He promptly disappeared onto the floor in the backseat, as the driver sped away.
When I straightened up there were two Police officers, on foot, headed my way from the far end of the bridge; one I assumed was a Patrolman and the other was obviously NOT just a Patrolman... he carried himself in a manner that definitely identified him has someone a bit more important. They were both moving quite "briskly". About 20 feet from me the Patrolman suddenly brought himself up short and got a really odd grin on his face, covered his face with one hand and turned toward the street, rubbing his nose with the index finger.
As the other "Officer" continued toward me, I glanced behind me to see if there was some else in the area that he might be wanting to see.
The Patrolman was now facing me again, and his "smirk" was clearly visible. I do believe I have never seen someone's mouth have such an odd outline. Obviously stifling an outright burst of laughter, mixed with a look of fear for his job, or at least a severe dressing down in the Chief's office.
When the Officer was just a few feet from me he spoke...
"Listen here; I don't like it when you do this sort of thing without..."
Only then did he REALLY look "at" me.
"What are you doing here?"
"I was hoping to see a train." I said, half in fear and half in mirth as I kind'a pointed at the track below. (I was just beginning to recognize what was happening.)
"Oh." And he turned and walked away, met up with the Patrolman and they got into a car (non-police, that I could tell) parked just off the bridge, backed out into traffic and left.
I waited around another hour or so. There were no trains so I went back to the motel room. Upon closeing the door, I heard another train. I was tired so I watched all 6 of shopping channels for all of about 30 seconds total, turned off the TV, and went to sleep. When I left in the morning, there was a city Police car parked at the end of the Motel parking lot and it followed me to the Interstate as I left town.
I do believe I apparently looked like a County Sheriff or State Trooper on a stakeout or something. However, I can't help but wonder if they have so little fashion sense as to wear a dark blue and light blue uniform and then put on a tan/khaki Australian Outback hat!?!
Great story and a very good way to end this thread!! PLEASE
solzrules wrote: And you expect me to believe that you, as a sainted member of our print media, keep such biases out of your news business? You had trouble keeping that out of a trains forum.
But I am allowed to express an opinion here, which is not part of my work, and I do that as well.
da Milwaukee beerNut wrote:Very well written, Tim. Only inflammation I read was the "suspicion" of the caller!
I did 9-1-1 for 11 of the 15 years I was in Public Safety, believe me, people think that way, and they will call for any reason....Sometimes, all it takes is someone walking or driving through the neighborhood that is unfamiliar to any given resident of that neighborhood.... The last place I worked 9-1-1 at, we took at least a dozen if not more, "suspicious person" calls a shift...
Midnight Railroader wrote: solzrules wrote:(I'm sorry, only those who exceed their authority, right?) Correct. Because society could not function without law enforcement officers, and I have great respect for the profession and those who would choose to put their lives in danger for a paycheck.
solzrules wrote:(I'm sorry, only those who exceed their authority, right?)
And yet you just got done claiming in a prior post to Steam is King that his son probably was guilty of creating his own laws since he was a cop. That isn't biased? And you expect me to believe that you, as a sainted member of our print media, keep such biases out of your news business? You had trouble keeping that out of a trains forum.
Midnight Railroader wrote: solzrules wrote:He promptly plopped his camera down about 20' away and began filming the whole affair, including the body of the deceased man. I haven't seen a more crass, deplorable idiot then that day. Even in death the man had to have a camera shoved in his face. I wish the cops would have thrown that 120 lb. idiot up INTO a metal shipping container and then shipped it to Siberia.The law allows him to take those pictures, whether or not you approve, and throwing him into a metal shipping container would be assault, whether or not you think that's a good way to deal with the situation.
solzrules wrote:He promptly plopped his camera down about 20' away and began filming the whole affair, including the body of the deceased man. I haven't seen a more crass, deplorable idiot then that day. Even in death the man had to have a camera shoved in his face. I wish the cops would have thrown that 120 lb. idiot up INTO a metal shipping container and then shipped it to Siberia.
The law allows him to take those pictures, whether or not you approve, and throwing him into a metal shipping container would be assault, whether or not you think that's a good way to deal with the situation.
Really? That would be illegal? Wow. Thanks for the info, I guess I'll stop doing that to reporters from now on. I think you missed my point a little bit. It was that some moral decency may dictate that taking pictures of a man crushed by an I-beam is not going to make the evening news, and therefore, not necessary. Suffice it to say, the guy could have just reported that a man was killed. No, we had to have live video of the scene, as if that would somehow reinforced the idea he was dead. Footage that isn't necessary, but taken just because they can. I lost what little respect I had for the news channel in question. After learning the mentality behind the camera, I have even less respect for them now.
And again, thank you for your rant. I'm sure, you, too, feel better now.
Not yet. My beer is warm and I have to go to work again tonight. But I'll get over it. Your lack of sensible answers to some of the other folks' questions on this forum is kind of funny, so in a way, you're helping me have a better day. Thanks, dude.
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