Explanation of graffiti motives:
Gang †
Gang name or symbol, including hand signs Gang member name(s) or nickname(s), or sometimes a roll-call listing of members Numbers†† Distinctive, stylized alphabets††† Key visible locations Enemy names and symbols, or allies' names
Mark turf Threaten violence Boast of achievements Honor the slain Insult/taunt other gangs
Common Tagger††††
High-volume, accessible locations High-visibility, hard-to-reach locations May be stylized but simple name or nickname tag or symbols††††† Tenacious (keep retagging)
Notoriety or prestige Defiance of authority
Artistic Tagger
Colorful and complex pictures known as masterpieces or pieces
Artistic Prestige or recognition
Conventional Graffiti: Spontaneous
Sporadic episodes or isolated incidents
Play Rite of passage Excitement Impulsive
Conventional Graffiti: Malicious or Vindictive
Sporadic, isolated or systematic incidents
Anger Boredom Resentment Failure Despair
Ideological
Offensive content or symbols Racial, ethnic or religious slurs Specific targets, such as synagogues Highly legible Slogans
Anger Hate Political Hostility Defiance
schlimm "Graffiti" "taggers" etc. seem to be euphemisms. The persons responsible are often members of criminal gangs. Painting on a movable billboard (railroad car side) provides free publicity for them in many other cities.
"Graffiti" "taggers" etc. seem to be euphemisms. The persons responsible are often members of criminal gangs. Painting on a movable billboard (railroad car side) provides free publicity for them in many other cities.
"Gang" as in a group of people who associate together or act as an organized body(doing graffiti). Not "Gang" as in group of criminals who band together for mutual protection and profit.
guetem1 But, he did most of his work in chalk, or maybe crayon.
But, he did most of his work in chalk, or maybe crayon.
He used streak markers. Looks like chalk, permanent like paint thus you can still his work on some trains today.
Euclid. That is a good classification chart of graffitti motives. I don't think we see much gang-related tags. Trains don't serve their purpose. We certainly do see the rest, though.
Some impressions/observations after watching 20 trains on the Rochelle webcam; (Your experience may be different.)
1, There is graffiti on all kinds of rolling stock. The least is on flatcars, the most is on boxcars (all types)
2. Very little graffiti has any artistic merit. Only white boxcars seem to attract the art type work and most of that is bad.
3. Most of the graffiti on other cars seems to be amateur scrawls, mostly in white. Not even good gang tags.
4. There is little or no graffiti on BNSF, UP and run-thru locomotives. Leased locomotives seem to have quite a bit of it.
5. Well cars and containers don’t have much graffiti, possibly because they are rarely found outside well secured yards.
6. Boxcars that may be at the end of their service life (I saw one of undetermined color with a GT logo) seem to have the worst “infections”, some looking to be very faded and old.
7. Tank cars don’t appear to have much graffiti. Could it be that the placards tend to protect them?
8. Auto racks get their share of graffiti, but it’s unusual to see a whole car defaced. It looks more like the work of one vandal, who only painted as far as he could reach from a single point alongside the car. Something/someone scared him off? (Lots of cars done this way.)
9. I wonder if the RRs are giving more attention to the graffiti situation. Very little of the graffiti I saw looked fresh. Maybe, just maybe, they are making arrests and getting convictions in key locations. It could be, too, that the graffiti painters are changing their ways. (I know that the faculty of the Art Dept at our local college has condemned graffiti across the board. In the past, art students have been the source of a great deal of this vandalism). If either is true, we may see graffiti just fade away as old cars are retired and scrapped.
We can dream, can’t we?
I used to just assume that all graffiti was done by gangs. I was seeing mostly inner city graffiti on walls and fixed structures, and it just had that careless, aggressive, distressed look that I would associate with gang culture.
But now I gather that most graffiti is not done by gangs. However, train graffiti is said to have originated with the hip-hop culture in big east coast cities. But current freight car graffiti seems to have a different origin. A big factor in that origin is the artistic expression in bold, extravagant illustrations. The objective is notoriety rather than making money. The attraction to using freight cars is their large format and random, roaming nature that gives nationwide exposure. It is a terrific gallery if you are willing to work for only the notoriety rather than pay.
Blended in with this artistic motive is a sort of angst that often accompanies a deeply creative and driven personality. The danger and the legal risk of freight car graffiti play a part in this angst. They also serve the motive of thrill seeking and adventure. These personality traits also link with railroad themes such as train surfing, and showing off by lying between the rails as trains pass over.
Good post Ramrod. It does appear that the majority of graffiti is old. Two ways I make this call is 1) faded and weathered 2) reflector stripes placed atop graffiti.
What I find amusing is the ones that are obviously painted on by individuals wanting to give graffiti a try! Is that now a pastime? Can people just give it a whirl nowadays?!
A proactive approach on some of the car types you mention could eliminate graffiti by design. The graffiti on autoracks could be eliminated if the perforations in the side panels were increased to a size where it would be an exercise in futility to try and paint. The size. shape and angle of these perforations could be designed to achieve this while still stopping projectiles.
Jim Norton
Huntsville, AL
I'll make a prediction here.
Some night, somewhere and somehow a motorist is going to plow into the side of a freight train. There will be a lawsuit because the reflector stripes, which were there to prevent this, were covered with graffiti.
Maybe that will be an incentive to keep these vandals away. Who knows....maybe somebody can figure out how to ram their car into the side of a graffiti covered car and win a lawsuit!
Prediction made 8/18/2014
jimnorton I'll make a prediction here. Some night, somewhere and somehow a motorist is going to plow into the side of a freight train. There will be a lawsuit because the reflector stripes, which were there to prevent this, were covered with graffiti. Maybe that will be an incentive to keep these vandals away. Who knows....maybe somebody can figure out how to ram their car into the side of a graffiti covered car and win a lawsuit! Prediction made 8/18/2014
I have made that same prediction in the past and agree with your assessment. Once the reflectors are mandated as a safety device, they had better be in working order, or it will be seen as negligence.
Euclid Once the reflectors are mandated as a safety device,
Once the reflectors are mandated as a safety device,
Aren't they already?
https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2005/01/03/04-28407/reflectorization-of-rail-freight-rolling-stock
The article in the Federal Register indicates that retroreflective material would only be required when a car was new or undergoing maintenance/repainting.
So I would opine that if a car gets tagged between shoppings, the railroad is more or less off the hook.
It might be possible to provide a stock of retroreflective strips at points where personnel would be available to apply them as needed. But that would simply be a matter of sticking a new strip over the one that was obscured. It would not involve removal of graffiti.
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
Euclid jimnorton I'll make a prediction here. Some night, somewhere and somehow a motorist is going to plow into the side of a freight train. There will be a lawsuit because the reflector stripes, which were there to prevent this, were covered with graffiti. Maybe that will be an incentive to keep these vandals away. Who knows....maybe somebody can figure out how to ram their car into the side of a graffiti covered car and win a lawsuit! Prediction made 8/18/2014 I have made that same prediction in the past and agree with your assessment. Once the reflectors are mandated as a safety device, they had better be in working order, or it will be seen as negligence.
And all the legal manuevering will be completed in 2040.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
Pound for pound the Reading and Northern is probably the best railroad in the country. One forum member discounted the efforts of the Reading and Northern since it was owned by a "railfan." But, if this is the success merited by a "railfan" than all roads should be so fortunate!
Below is the news item regarding RBMN's effort to be the first in the industry to "wage war" on graffiti.
April 9, 2014
“Treat it like it’s your own backyard.” That is one of Andy Muller, Jr.’s favorite lines when he talks to the team about anything associated with railroad property. Whether it is trash thrown on the property, materials laying over the right of way, or illegal digging on the property, Andy's point is that you would not allow it on your own property, therefore it cannot be tolerated on railroad property.
Railroad property is not just fixed assets, it is also rolling stock. Therefore it is not surprising that Andy has had a long standing desire to stop graffiti from appearing on rail cars. Anyone who has been around railroads, particularly urban neighborhoods, would know that the graffiti problem has become progressively worse everywhere. In fact, it has become downright disgusting! Take a look at photographs of a mixed freight train in the 1950s and compare it to one of today’s trains, and you will see what I am talking about.
Graffiti is not an easy problem to address in an age of maximizing asset utilization and turning equipment quickly. However, the Reading and Northern has never been known to throw their hands up when faced with a challenge. Wayne Michel recently gathered together the company's managers with the goal of developing a process to eliminate graffiti on RBMN owned railcars while we keep traffic moving.
The team had many factors to consider when developing the process. Who would identify the problem? How is it reported? How and when is it fixed, and by whom? For a company with over 130 full-time employees, operating over 320 miles of track throughout nine counties, the team had many obstacles to overcome. In the end, we developed a process that designated the responsible parties for inspecting, reporting, and removing the graffiti on each type of railcar. Brian O’Neal, our VP - Transportation, was put in charge of the overall project to ensure that all parties are working together.
During the meeting we also discussed graffiti in a broader sense. We noted that some of our facilities have also been vandalized. We agreed to work to eradicate graffiti on our bridges, signal boxes, and other equipment throughout the railroad.
To us, eliminating graffiti is yet another part of making sure we are protecting the environment and the communities we serve. It may not be on the top of the list of the biggest problems we face, but graffiti eradication will make the world a little nicer to live in. If you want to help us by reporting graffiti you see along our property you can do so by contacting me, or any of our managers so we can address it.
Tyler Glass
Notice that reduction of graffiti and other related vandalism is NOT at the top of the priority list for a short line railroad that doesn't operate in an urban area. To be fair, how successful would this short line be in eradicating graffiti if it operated in an urban area like Belt Railway of Chicago or Pacific Harbor Line?
Considering the financial resources and manpower RBMN efforts rank high when compared to say Union Pacific. As far as the Belt Railway goes RBMN cars travel through these same gateways. Curiously, I have seen their handsome blue and orange tipped hoppers on the Northeast Corridor as well as way down here in the Heart of Dixie. So they do get around.
What does RBMN do with graffiti on cars coming in that don't belong to them?
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
Stumbled upon this, Apparently RBMN is seeking 2 vandals photographed on the property clear as day. I hope the link below works:
http://readingeagle.com/news/article/reading-and-northern-railroad-police-seeking-2-males-in-graffiti-case
Never seen this type of effort on behalf of the Class Ones. Apparently, the RBMN's war on graffiti is chartering new ground.
RBMN is located in a low-crime area. As I've hinted in a prior post, I wonder how much of a priority would be given to combatting graffiti vandalism if RBMN was servicing container terminals in the Port of Philadelphia instead of coal mines in rural Pennsylvania.
If RBMN was servicing container terminals in the Port of Philadelphia, wouldn't many of its cars be those capable of handling containers, such as flats and wells, which I think would not be as attractive to graffiti than the hoppers and gondolas I'd expect for coal mines in rural Pennsylvania?
Patrick Boylan
Free yacht rides, 27' sailboat, zip code 19114 Delaware River, get great Delair bridge photos from the river. Send me a private message
You'd be amazed at the graffiti that turns up on well flats in double-stack service.
Yes, Paul, I was amazed to see such on the narrow band that is available on well flats this past week, in Canada.
Incidentally, I also saw flats with two trucks each that are joined to others by drawbars.
Johnny
Made a trip from East Coast to the near Mid-West over the weekend - the number of graffiti marked highway trailers was higher than I have previously experienced. Several showed evidence of removal attempts - the appearance after 'removal' was worse than the original graffiti would have been.
Yet another reason why I like flatbed.
Regarding areas where graffiti vandalism occurs. Go to Youtube and do a little graffiti searching. You will find videos posted showing the act in progress just about everywhere. Before I researched this, I speculated that graffiti vandalism was at night. Wrong. Broad daylight and out in the open. These trespassers have apparently nothing to fear.
So its not always high crime areas. A more accurate statement is its anywhere rail cars sit idle. Good to see the RBMN doing something.
I've seen it done in broad daylight as well, at the former MM&A yard in Sherbrooke, QC. The guys were wearing their spray cans like a tool belt. Lots of people around and that didn't seem to bother them one bit.
jimnorton Good to see the RBMN doing something.
Good to see the RBMN doing something.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
Won't change anything..unless you like looking at people spray painting freight cars.
Jclass makes a good point. I agree.
Have a small camera corner mounted on a clean refrigerator car. This motion sensing camera only activates when the car is stationary. Then, Patch alerts to a single officer's smart phone. Monitor the car from the time of its arrival, through it's spotting and departure and odds are you can catch some vandals.
The railroads know areas of high instances of vandalism. Small scale stings could be effective.
jimnortonThe railroads know areas of high instances of vandalism.
Rather than mount cameras on each of several thousand railcars, why not concentrate a few of them in those known areas of high instances of vandalism? You can still run a sting.
If someone is going to have to watch the cameras to look for possible taggers, who's going to pay for them? How will the signal get to where someone is watching it?
Besides, if I knew there was a camera mounted on a railcar, I think that would be the first thing I'd tag.
While I can't disagree that graffiti is a bad thing, it does occur secondary to trespassing, which is what we're discussing here. It could be argued that graffiti, while unsightly and representing a security breach, doesn't carry the potential for loss of life that trespassing does, especially in the example cited by the OP.
Far too many people regard railroad ROW's as publicly accessible, witness the FEC thread. This is the behavior that has to stop. In the process of doing so, the application of graffiti may subside somewhat as well.
I expressed this on the FEC Trespassiing thread and thought it was relevant here as why this whole graffiti thing is maddening:
There is one demographic of trespassers who inflicts untold property damage, costs the railroads money, compromises operations (i.e. reporting marks) and effects safety (i,e, reflective striping). It ain't the joggers, the pedestrians nor the photographers! Psssst,,,,,,its the one many of you think is harmless and not worth apprehending......(the vandal.)
Here is my rub. By excluding the vandal from trespassing concerns the railroads appear to be doing an admirable job of keeping future brides, fitness nuts and shutterbugs off the property. But to acknowledge that the same property is being over ran by a legion of spray paint toting armies would be an admission of epic failure.
The hypocrisy on behalf of the industry is staggering. Ignore the trespasser which actually costs the company money while pursuing the ones which don't.
jimnortonHere is my rub. By excluding the vandal from trespassing concerns the railroads appear to be doing an admirable job of keeping future brides, fitness nuts and shutterbugs off the property. But to acknowledge that the same property is being over ran by a legion of spray paint toting armies would be an admission of epic failure.
What makes you think vandals are excluded?
You're acting like a few newspaper stories are a representative sample of what the local and RR cops are doing. I know our local RR officers arrest vandals pretty frequently. It just doesn't make the news. And if a bridal party gets squished on a bridge, you can bet it WILL cost the railroads a pretty penny. NOt only for lost revenue, but from investigations, trials, lawsuits, etc.
It's been fun. But it isn't much fun anymore. Signing off for now.
The opinions expressed here represent my own and not those of my employer, any other railroad, company, or person.t fun any
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