You know you're a railfan when . . .

[Junctionfan]

......you install a train bell or an electric crossing bell for the door.

[Modelcar]

...We have several "older" buildings around town that I have noted in the past they have interurban and streetcar history....and there is nothing to indicate that to the avg. person with avg. interests....but they stick out to me like a sore thumb.

[Anonymous]

Putting your car into the "big hole" when you get a red traffic light. Complete with sound effects. My son puts the car in the big hole when we stop in the driveway.
Mitch

[chad thomas]

.....your local hobby shop considers you to be the most prefered customer, and cringes at the thought that you might not show up on pay day.


....your local photo-lab technician asks,"Do you ever take pictures of anything besides trains?"

[oltmannd]

....every local errand just happens to take you by the local road Xing - with your camera.

[n2mopac]

...you are the only one in your office that actually gets excited about getting caught by the train on your drive to work.

Ron

[CopCarSS]

You are proud to be refered to as a "foamer."

[trainfan1221]

you jump out of the passenger seat of a friend's car upon the arrival of a train, ignoring the usual stare you get from them because you are one of those train fanatic people.

[espeefoamer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by trainfan1221

you jump out of the passenger seat of a friend's car upon the arrival of a train, ignoring the usual stare you get from them because you are one of those train fanatic people.

Been there done that,
Got the T shirt & the hat[:D].

[Sterling1]

OK I know some good ones having been a lifetime railfan even in high school . . .

You know when you're a railfan when:

You think about some cool or legendary locomotive just to go to sleep

When a heavy metal rock song of some sort comes up on the radio and you match up the rythmn to the rythmn of a train (serious no joke that's me )

When you you use terms like ABDX air brakes and DB in a email conversation with a non-railfan friend

When your computer background are mostly pictures of trains or the cabs of locomotives

When you go to the crossing and you shake like an addict at every single because you haven't seen one in weeks or months

When you ( I have done this no kidding actually last Saturday afternoon ) praise God for the Amtrak train that rolls right before your eyes

When you scour the RR mainline for trains just in case one comes unexpectedly

I know others request some and I'll think of others later

MAtt

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Sterling1

OK I know some good ones having been a lifetime railfan even in high school . . .

You know when you're a railfan when:

You think about some cool or legendary locomotive just to go to sleep

When a heavy metal rock song of some sort comes up on the radio and you match up the rythmn to the rythmn of a train (serious no joke that's me )

When you you use terms like ABDX air brakes and DB in a email conversation with a non-railfan friend

When your computer background are mostly pictures of trains or the cabs of locomotives

When you go to the crossing and you shake like an addict at every single because you haven't seen one in weeks or months

When you ( I have done this no kidding actually last Saturday afternoon ) praise God for the Amtrak train that rolls right before your eyes

When you scour the RR mainline for trains just in case one comes unexpectedly

I know others request some and I'll think of others later

MAtt

The forth one is me.Right now I have 611 and 765 doubleheading on a fan trip.

[miniwyo]

QUOTE: Originally posted by trainfan1221

you jump out of the passenger seat of a friend's car upon the arrival of a train, ignoring the usual stare you get from them because you are one of those train fanatic people.

How did you know what I did today!!

[Anonymous]

When you draw your own enigens and cars for a made up railroad.[trust me I have done this]

[miniwyo]

OK. When you jump out of your own vehicle at a crossing and take almost a whole roll of pictures(36) while waiting for the train to clear the crossing! (don't laugh, I did this, earlier this afternoon) Boy, were all the other drivers looking at me funny!

[Anonymous]

when instead of speeding up when the crossing lights come on, you slow down around crossings just in case.

[mloik]

Your three-year old son screams, "Daddy a GG-1!!!" at a model railroad show (and he was correct).

[mloik]

After two months apart for research, your wife flies from Costa Rica to LA to Reno, and lets you take your son to the Nevada State Railroad Museum.

[GP-9_Man11786]

1.You get caught at a crossing an say "Ah man, if we were closer we could see it better.)

2. You have a garden railway

3. You bring trains back to your off-campus apartment when returning from Easter Break

4. Not only do you design your own imagionary railorad, you actualy build it with Trainz Railroad Simulator or MSTS.

[adrianspeeder]

...Spend time here

[Tharmeni]

when you like to drive your car with your head out the side window.

[mloik]

QUOTE: Originally posted by adrianspeeder

...Spend time here

Dang Adrian, you beat me to that one!

[mloik]

When your wife gives a seminar at another University, she lets you skip it to go trackside (like me and my son did this past Friday).

[edbenton]

You know every shortcut to get to the crossing to catch the next train when you are 2 miles away. Done that a time or 2. Or this one you are an OTR driver and you blow for a grade crossing while passing a school bus. LOL

[Anonymous]

you hope you get 3 feet of snow so you can go down to your local railroad and get a picture of 7 or 8 locomotives trying to plow throught it because last year you didn't have a camera with you when it happened. Never happened this winter maybe next. I just might have to go to California and watch them in the mountains.

[dldance]

you crtitique the engines decorating your railroad themed neckties.

dd

[Soo 6604]

You know when you're a railfan when......you're on a roadtrip with a NONrailfan and you drive 15 miles out of the way to get stopped by a train.

When you use "got stopped by a train" as an excuse for being late for work and there isn't any rail crossings within the 10 mile radius from your house and work cause you drove 15 miles out of the way to get caught by it.

Reading every one of these remarks and nodding to the ones apply to you, and saying "yep" to the ones that your fellow railfans have done

Paul

[Anonymous]

When all the Crews say Hi when they past
When you go out in 105+ Degree Weather
When you go out in 0 Degree Weather

[Anonymous]

Basically, all of these apply to me and my other railfan friends. lol

[Anonymous]

... you live in a canyon where your ex-girlfriend is and blow an old K5LA horn (that your dad got for 20 buck at a garage sale one day) to keep letting her know how she hurt you

... you stop what your doing while with friends and watch the trains go by
... you enjoy a day by the tracks with a girl you love
... you travel all the way to DC on a school trip hopeing to see to east coast action but only to see one amtrak train at night and the tops of the trains in union station.

QUOTE: Originally posted by Tharmeni

when you like to drive your car with your head out the side window.

im 14 i do it on the passenger side
[;)]

[wgnrr]

...You put heavily creosoted tie plugs in your car instead of air fresheners...
...Your railfan car is a bucket truck...
... http://my.coredcs.com/~bbokrlwy/w040321pole/a040321pole.html (I know this guy)
...You pay off your hobby shop debt instead of paying your taxes...
...Recieving the Walthers HO catalog is like getting a new Harry Potter book...
...Your dates in school just happen to live next to the tracks..
...Your Ham Radio callsign just happens to have RR reporting marks in it (now, I wonder who did that?[%-)])...
...You can bribe the railroad security on the UP by giving them a CD of BNSF pics...
...You can bribe the railroad security on the BNSF by giving them a CD of UP pics...

Phil