what's the appeal or allure behind being a railfan?

[drdispatch]

I suppose its similar to little kids like big trucks. When I was a little kid in my parents car the best thing that could have happened besides mcdonalds was getting stuck at a railroad crossing

We used to have a crossing (since torn up) on a one-way street downtown. If we were headed home from the west side of town during the summer and got caught by a train, a little prodding from my brother and I would convince our dad to put the car in park and walk over to the ice cream shop that was strategically located there, returning with cones or shakes to enjoy while we waited.
I think that's when I first developed my affection for trains......

 

[drdispatch]

I "chased" Union Pacific 4014 "Big Boy" from St. Anne IL to Villa Grove IL earlier this month. Lots of examples of railfans doing stupid things. At the top of the list were the fans standing on the Norfolk Southern bridge over the UP at Sidney. Aside from blatant trespassing, they were completely oblivious to the fact that NS runs stack trains through there at 60 mph.

The trip to the West Suburbs of Chicago which I mentioned in an earlier post was planned, vacation requested, and hotel reservations booked......one week before Big Boy's schedule was released. 🤦‍♂️ We were in Rochelle. Five days too late.😡

 

[Falcon9h]

What's the allure? If I knew why I love trains it wouldn't be a hobby any more. I just love them without being a wacker-foamer. I photographed since the Instamatic days but haven't since NS. Too sterile with no more locomotive variety. You can shoot only so many GE wide cabs.
Aspberger's (definitely diagnosed) might have something to do with it. Biggest aspie hallmarks are radio and trains, got 'em both in spades.

 

[SmileySixguns]

My interest could be attributed indirectly to my Dad's Uncle that worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad. He used to take his kids and my Dad and Uncles to work with him to check everything out. That kept my Dad interested, and when I arrived he started taking me too. It eventually lead to me working for 4 different railroads, and most of that time being a locomotive engineer. Because it was also a hobby, and my Dad's MANY ties to various tourist railroads (even to the point of owning his own locomotive for a while), I've been able to run a number of historical engines over the years. My older grandson had his first cab ride with me when he was just 6 weeks old.

 

[Coffeemug]

I can't say what exactly sparked my interest in Railfanning, but it felt more like a sickness. My Uncle Ralph did work as CONRAIL POLICE K-9 OFFICER, and I did a lot of my swag collectable stuff from him. Every spare minute, I was down at Holmesburg Junction watch the action on the Northeast Corridor. Once in a while, I would get sit upstairs inside of the Holmes Interlocking Tower watching the lights on the board. The Block Operator or Dispatcher would set each switch and each signal to route each train to right destination.
My favorite freight local

 

[kc5uta]

well that settles it...mySDRplay should arrive in a few days, so I will definitely start researching the appropriate frequencies ..Thanks for the input

 

[kny2xb]

I suppose its similar to little kids like big trucks. When I was a little kid in my parents car the best thing that could have happened besides McDonald's was getting stuck at a railroad crossing

Substitute Carroll's for McDonald's, I'm from Western New York State

My Dad & I would count the number of cars, & I'd watch for the caboose at the end

To try to answer the thread topic question, for me it's nostalgia for earlier times, I can't verbalize it, it's something that I feel

The fact that I enjoy radio in different forms is icing on the cake, I enjoy seeing trains, & listening to the rail people is an additional pleasure

 

[spongella]

Watching railfan videos on YouTube is very entertaining, almost like being there. A big thanks to all the railfanners for sharing.

 

[RRR]

Mine is simple....

💰💰🤑

 

[jbhunt04]

Watching railfan videos on YouTube is very entertaining, almost like being there. A big thanks to all the railfanners for sharing.

That’s how I usually do my train watching, unless I look out my front windows or walk out to my front porch…

 

[ratboy]

I was at the NS tracks in Holland, Ohio from about 9pm until 11pm tonight, then off to work. I would say I average about 7 hours a week at the tracks. When my dog Gus was alive, we were there probably over 20 hours a week. He would bug me endlessly about going on my nights off. This was the look I would get when I would (most of the time) lie and tell him, "No, we're staying home!". The sighs would start, and he would refuse to look at me, but all I had to do was creak my chair, and he was ready to go. He never went quietly. He really didn't do much of anything quietly.

 

[rf_patriot200]

I was at the NS tracks in Holland, Ohio from about 9pm until 11pm tonight, then off to work. I would say I average about 7 hours a week at the tracks. When my dog Gus was alive, we were there probably over 20 hours a week. He would bug me endlessly about going on my nights off. This was the look I would get when I would (most of the time) lie and tell him, "No, we're staying home!". The sighs would start, and he would refuse to look at me, but all I had to do was creak my chair, and he was ready to go. He never went quietly. He really didn't do much of anything quietly.

That's a Rail Dog !

 

[ratboy]

General Norman Schwartzkopf was in town for a speech and said that Gus "Looks like a dog aught to look!" when he met him at several stoplights.

A lot of the Conrail crews would yell "Hey Gus!" when they went by and if they stopped, he almost always got at least a visit if not a snack. He got me into being friendly with the train crews in Walbridge. They would take me into the yard to show me wrecked stuff. They were all sad when Gus passed away at 14, in 1999. King just wasn't the same, he liked going to the tracks, but he didn't give a damn about the crews, as he was basically a woman loving dog. I was the only guy he had any use for, and Molly didn't care about going at all.

 

[Coffeemug]

I wish I could afford one of those Kenwood DMR/ NXDN HTs, because I would like to have a radio that I monitor the action on the rails. Of course, I know that I can't transmit, but I could add a MURS channel or two to talk with fellow railfans. Just the radio is no problem, but add CPS Extra Battery a speaker/mic, yep that's out of my budget.

 

[rf_patriot200]

I wish I could afford one of those Kenwood DMR/ NXDN HTs, because I would like to have a radio that I monitor the action on the rails. Of course, I know that I can't transmit, but I could add a MURS channel or two to talk with fellow railfans. Just the radio is no problem, but add CPS Extra Battery a speaker/mic, yep that's out of my budget.

The TYT MD-UV 390 Dmr/Analog HT is only about $90 and Dmr is the cheapest Digital mode to get started with .

 

[Coffeemug]

The TYT MD-UV 390 Dmr/Analog HT is only about $90 and Dmr is the cheapest Digital mode to get started with .

I'm assuming that the TYT MD-UV 390 radio will only do DMR and Analogue, not IDAS/NXDN. I realize that most of the TYT radios have positive reviews, but for railfanning, it's not for me.
Thaks for the suggestion anyway

 

[rf_patriot200]

I'm assuming that the TYT MD-UV 390 radio will only do DMR and Analogue, not IDAS/NXDN. I realize that most of the TYT radios have positive reviews, but for railfanning, it's not for me.
Thaks for the suggestion anyway

That's Correct, you'll need separate radios for those modes. But Will work fine for railfanning.