Tresspassing(back in the day)

While perusing PE Lynch's "Passenger Trains of the New Haven" today I was closely looking at some pictures shot in my home turf,particularly pages 100 and 102 when it dawned on me that these pictures could not possibly have been taken without trespassing.
These days trespassing is very much frowned upon in the railfan community,but how about back in the old days when these shots were taken?Was it less frowned upon in general? Were railfans more likely to have common sense and it did not need to an issue?Less railfans?
How about trespassing on private(non railroad ) property to get a vantage point?
Was it that certain photographers had permission from the railroad?
There are many shots in many books that fall into this catagory and I was wondering how this could be without trespassing.
Please do NOT turn this into a discussion of trespassing today.We've beaten that dead horse enough.
Thank You,
Edward Baclawski

My experience as a teenaged photographer in the 1960s was that the New Haven was generally extremely tolerant of railfans on the property as long as you didn't do anything stupid. If you stayed out of the way of trains, acted like you weren't an idiot, said hello to any employees you ran into, and left if asked, you'd do OK. Things were VERY different from the situation these days.

Tom is right. I also grew up next to the New Haven and often got up close and personal with never any incident. I was invited into the cab of a Buddliner as a kid, as well as given a B&M Yard tour (No.Sta.) with an escorted jump into the cab of an idling E-Unit to blow the horn. These and many more are a great memory. I shot numerous photos at trackside, above trackside, and below trackside. In a way, I suppose the more stern approach to "trespassing" that we see today can be linked to two things. In order of importance:
(1) The threat of terrorism.
(2) The fact that we have become an extremely litigous society with not only frivolous cases brought to court, but phoney and outrageous ones as well.
Like they say, "You can't go home again".

Thank you,gentlemen.I'd forgotten just how much more permissive EVERYTHING was back then.

Hi All,

Quite correct. In those days you were treated like a welcome guest. My hangout was the Sunnyside yards. That was also common to the NH RR. You got to know the people, shared stories with them, and some even would pose for your photographs, including moving an engine to provide you with a better photograph. And by the way, the coffee in the ready room shack was pretty good too.

I grew up in Southboro, MA during the 1950's and 60's with the Fitchburg Branch at the end of our back yard. Kids and adults used the right of way as a trail. I probably walked on the tracks just about everyday until I went off to college. Because the right of way was once doubled tracked to Marlboro Junction and one track was removed in 1938 you had the option of walking on flat dirt or on the tracks (the tracks were easier). I never heard of any New Haven personnel getting upset at the pedestrian traffic. I don't think locals considered it trespassing. The track conditions deteriorated so badly by the end of the New Haven that the daily freight never went over 10 mph. By the end of PennCentral the speed was reduced to that of a person walking. You could jog faster between Marlborough Junction and Southboro than the train could run. ConRail rebuilt the branch and I've seen CSX run about 35 mph on it, so trespassing has become a lot more dangerous. I can't say who walks it anymore; haven't lived there in a couple decades.

I guess I could say that I got my job on the New Haven Railroad back in
1956 by hanging around on railroad property. At Waterbury the station,
yard, engine house and various trains were a part of my life in the mid to
late 50's. I got my opportunity to get hired on the railroad in September
of 1956 as a result of hanging around the engine house in Waterbury as
much as I could. What a wonderful group of people on the railroad in
Waterbury as well. Even the local railroad police officer in Waterbury
knew me as well.
Noel Weaver

It all depends on the railroad company...back then, more so than now.

When I was a kid in the 1960s, I had friends living near the old Nickel Plate mainline...this was just a few years after the merger with the N&W. We all had a fear of the "Yellow Car," a highrail vehicle that inspectors (maybe railroad cops, too, we were too young to know the difference) that could come riding down to take names and maybe call our parents.

On the other hand, Conrail in the 1980s didn't have an agressive problem with tresspassers - I would walk on Sunday mornings along the ROW to the country store that had the Sunday paper, each week. Pleasant morning exercise when we were up visiting my in-laws (not pleasant).

Just about the same time, I was traveling through Grand Junction, CO, and had a breakdown. The car was in the shop some days, and the quickest way to get to the repair shop outside town from my downtown hotel/hovel, was to walk along the D&RGW mainline.

First time I tried it, one train passed...and ten minutes later I was in cuffs and being hauled to the Railroad Police office for an "interview." That was in 1989.

So, these things vary according to the policies of the company and their current priorities. Today, CSX doesn't have any sort of organized program to rout out trespassers...on the job, I see them all the time, and yes they do occaisonally get hurt.

Edbac333 wrote:

Thank you,gentlemen.I'd forgotten just how much more permissive EVERYTHING was back then.

Not only that, but people back then were also more intelligent, and more importantly, took responsiblity for their actions. Sadly too many people don't have those traits anymore. 15+ years as an emergency services dispatcher has shown me that too many people aren't responsible for their actions and are just plain ignorant (stupid).

I honestly believe that railfans are one of the last bastions of people with brains and common sense (even most of the cops I work with don't fit that category!).