You Might be a Railfan if.......

[dwil89]

you get into debates regularly on whether EMD OR GE is better...

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by icmr

you walk around muttering the specifications of your favorite locomotive.(done that)



ICMR

Happy Railroading.[swg][swg]

I do that ... people look at me funny[:D][:D][:p]

You might be a railfan if you and your dad get a freshly washed and waxed Jeep covered in mud beyond color regognition to chase a UP SD70!!! Done that[8D]

Since were on the topic of Jeff Foxworthy, how about a Larry the Cable Guy quote...

Git er done!!!!!!!

[espeefoamer]

You're going over a grade crossing when the lights and bells activate and you make a u turn so you can wait for the train.I did that this morning[:)].
You might be a railfan if you can say "been there,done that "to over half of these posts!

[trainboyH16-44]

bnsfkline and bbrant, you're sooooo right!!! I do about 90% of those. Really!
Matthew
Wish I had some....

[Anonymous]

You think terrosrist is just an excuse so some police officer can steal all of your rail photos.

[JDV5th]

QUOTE: Originally posted by equinox

You approach a railroad grade crossing and hope to be stopped by a train.

Absolutely!

Or, every time you hear a train in the distance, you yell out "Train!" so all your co-workers and family members can hear you.

[JDV5th]

Or, because an HO scale model won't do, you have to build a scale model railroad around your backyard that you can ride on, and give kids all sorts of rides (adults too).

[jockellis]

G'day, Y'all,
You look down one side of the road and then the other as you drive, searching for the telltale signs of weed-covered embankments which tell you some long-forgotten railroad once ran there. Your wife has to tell you to slow down for traffic or a stop sign.
Jock Ellis
Cumming, GA US of A

[scole100]

You and your wife take a once in a lifetime trip to Hawaii, and you haul her into the only Railroad Museum on the island, instead of taking her to the beach! By the way, the Lapahoihoi Railroad Museum on the big island is a MUST SEE! The Sugar Cane Train on Maui is not to bad either.

[bbrant]

Here's a couple more....

You complain about getting up for work at 6:00 AM but happily get up at 4:00 AM to go railfanning

When someone rings your doorbell they hear two long chimes, a short chime followed by one more long chime

You think the bell choir at your church has nothing on the bell of a locomotive

When you turned 16 you wanted your first car to be a locomotive

You have to explain to your friends that your car is dark blue but the roof is white because "that's how CSX does it"

[espeefoamer]

When you check into a hotel,you ask for a room that faces the tracks.

[trainboyH16-44]

QUOTE: Originally posted by piouslion

QUOTE: Originally posted by StillGrande

You get up before everyone else in the house on vacation and walk 2 miles to the tracks 1 hour early (just in case) to photograph the 1 train that comes by on the line that day.

I thought I was the only one that did that!!!!

Nope, I've done that tons. I tell you, nothing gets you up better than the thought of seeing a train that isn't powered by AC4400s, bbrant style
Matthew

[wairoa]

You believe those who have never experienced riding on a train are under privilaged.

You believe railroads getting rid of steam engines was short sighted.

Are happy about the increasing gas prices as it means more freight wil be shipped by rail than trucks.

You keep an engine on the dash board of your car so your date can see how cool you are.

You think of the wheel arrangement on your car as an 0-4-0.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by wairoa

You believe those who have never experienced riding on a train are under privilaged.

Best post I've read all day

[Anonymous]

...somebody tells you, "3985 was taken off of the Frontier Days trip because of a big end failure on the left rear main rod," and you instinctively start thinking about what could cause a roller bearing to fail.
...you know the difference between Mallet, tandem, cross, and Vauclain compounding.
...you benchpress coupler knuckles.
...your car has all gasoline controls painted red and all airconditioning controls painted yellow.
...your car is black with seafoam green interior.
...your car has Nathan non-lifting fuel injectors.
...you wonder if there's a Lima Lock Company (there're Alco and Baldwin, right???).
...you complain that a book called 844 a Big Boy, somebody says "no, it's a challenger," and you both laugh.
...your bycicle is a 1-1-0.
...your car's brake pedal has been replaced with a 26-EL valve.
...you figure that your car isn't a road-railer so much as it is a rail-roader.
...you went to PE and CPR classes, but didn't learn a thing about railroads.

Sincerely,
Daniel Parks

[miniwyo]

I just took CPR, but I just learned ho to push on this plastic dummie's chest!! [:D]

[bbrant]

Yet a few more....

You have a bumper sticker on your car that says “My other vehicle is a ________” (insert favorite locomitve).

You’ve ever caught yourself blinking your eyes like a railroad crossing signal

You refer to interstate highways as “high speed mainlines”

You’ve ever driven your car while sitting in the passenger’s seat just because you wanted to feel like an engineer

You shout “All aboard” when your family is getting into the car for a trip (you then ask to see their tickets)

Your hedge bushes are cut to resemble various railroad items

You refer to your garage as “the station” or “engine house”

The front door to your house is shaped like a tunnel

[Anonymous]

You slow down and look both ways when crossing a RR right of way, even though the tracks have been gone for 40 years.

[espeefoamer]

QUOTE: Originally posted by wairoa

You believe those who have never experienced riding on a train are under privilaged.

You believe railroads getting rid of steam engines was short sighted.

Are happy about the increasing gas prices as it means more freight wil be shipped by rail than trucks.

You keep an engine on the dash board of your car so your date can see how cool you are.

You think of the wheel arrangement on your car as an 0-4-0.

The wheel arrangement on a car would be 0-2-2 for front wheel drive, and 2-2-0 for rear wheel drive.

[Lord Atmo]

here's a tribute to anotheer blue collar comedian

so i was railfanning in altoona, wisconsin. and this guy walks up to me and sees the locomotive i'm looking at and he asks the stupid question

"is that Geep number 38?"

"NOPE! it's 500! heeere's your sign"

also, the locomotive was an SD60....

[blade]

as a young lad growing up and watching trains at the local railway track when your dad would take you and love old steam engines built way before your time and as a young boy would go to the park with a high school friend and get into the cab of a beautiful steam engine when you graduated high school and always wanted to be a locomotive engineer but never lived your dream.

[Randy Stahl]

You ruin the family buget forever by buying a classic ALCO S-6 . THEN you talk your new wife into spending quality time together as a couple..... Pulling batterys on said ALCO before they freeze.
(she never let me live down the time I had her scraping stack carbon)
Randy

[Anonymous]

You find a couple of lengths of 1by 4 lumber kicking around and bolt them together, paint them white and make your own crossbucks. Then, needing something to mount them on, you take PVC pipe, trailer taillights, and an automotive flasher, and wire up a crossing signal. I did this to make a display for my wife to use. Next step is to figure out how to add a gate arm to it.

[Anonymous]

I don't have any to add, because I have done a lot of these too. I am a railfan. These are all quite hilarious.

[espeefoamer]

You donate money to preserve a diesel that 20 years ago you hated because they were as common as dirt.( See www.f40phr231.org/ )

[ferky]

QUOTE: Originally posted by wairoa

You think of the wheel arrangement on your car as an 0-4-0.

The wheel arrangement on a car would be 0-2-2 for front wheel drive, and 2-2-0 for rear wheel drive.

The wheel arrangement on an all wheel Drive would be 0-4-0.

[Erie Lackawanna]

QUOTE: Originally posted by piouslion

QUOTE: Originally posted by StillGrande

You get up before everyone else in the house on vacation and walk 2 miles to the tracks 1 hour early (just in case) to photograph the 1 train that comes by on the line that day.

I thought I was the only one that did that!!!!

Nope, I've done that tons. I tell you, nothing gets you up better than the thought of seeing a train that isn't powered by AC4400s, bbrant style
Matthew

This is the standard pattern in my family too... and I've got pictures going back to 1977 from doing it.

[BNSF_GP60M]

WOW! I started this topic off as kfuztv and who would think that it was so popular! Hopefully soon I will have some new ones.

[bigboy4024]

if you ever gone to a railroad museum with more knowlidge than the gide

if you were asked about a picture of milwaukee road 261 in a art galery and had a circle of people around you while you anserd

if the vent fan in a public restroom sounds like an alco to you

if you get your minnesota boilers licence before you can drive a car

if you ever railfand in a blizard or in -30 below temps (i just did the blizard one today)

if you have more train pictures on youre myspace acount than you

if you get asked by one of your coworkers at a horse show waht railyard is next to the barns and you tell them arginten with out missing a beat

you just might be a railfan big boy

 

[HEdward]

While feeding your newborn, you make sure to face the window to watch the NJT trains pass the back of the hospital.(someone will now be able to tell me exactly where my sons were born!)(oh, and the singular usage above is correct as one of the twins was in the NICU on the other side of the building during our stay)