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  • Maintaining our welcome

  • Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England
Pertaining to all railroading subjects, past and present, in New England

Moderators: MEC407, NHN503

 #1373949  by RRCOMM
 
I don't want to stir up any bad feelings but felt I should bring this up:

Last Sunday I stopped at the station in Ayer to observe the Pan Am action. There were a number of other Fans around, all very friendly and respectfully staying in the public areas, off the tracks and such. I had two friends with me, one an active RR employee and the other like myself, a retired RR employee. The latter happens to be a retired RR police captain.

So we all were having a nice time and there was quite a bit of action in spite of a Signal system cutover in progress when we saw something a bit unusual. One of the Fans was rummaging through a pile of Signal equipment stored in the middle of the Wye tracks behind the station. We knew he should not have been there but figured he was just looking and would exit the area, no harm done.

Well, he did start to leave but he decided that he needed a used Signal Head for his collection. At that point the three of us mentioned to him that he was stealing and should put the item back in the pile immediately. He feigned ignorance and responded with "I just thought it was a junk pile". Well we told him it may be junk but it's somebody else’s junk!

Anyway, if we want to keep our welcome and be allowed to enjoy our hobby none of us can be doing stuff like that. You never know who is watching.
 #1373962  by neman2
 
Not very smart. In today's world of wide spread security cameras and virtually everybody having a cell phone with video capabilities, it's a question of if there is a place where nobody is watching!
 #1374004  by arthur d.
 
RRcomm; My compliments on your restraint. I don't get out much. Ayer is a nice place to stop, sip coffee from the Mobil station, and see what I can see.
Had it been me, after going off on him, I would have plastered that idiots photo all over the web. Zero tolerance for trespassers, less than zero for thieves.
 #1374084  by Cosmo
 
I would have given him a "Seriously NOT COOL! People get ARRESTED for that!" :(
 #1374116  by Jeff Smith
 
Admin note: Thank you for pointing out to a railfan the inappropriateness of his actions and how it reflects on us. We officially ascribe to a zero tolerance policy on the site concerning trespassing; i.e. we don't want the liability for anything that advocates it. Posts of such nature (and it's a judgment call) are generally deleted or archived (this post is merely reporting an observed trespass, and does not violate our policy), and potentially subject to warning, suspension, or banning.

That said, we're probably all a bit guilty of it at one time or another. Our character is often on display when we think no one is looking, and whether we do the right or wrong thing. Hopefully we resist the impulse now. I see way too many "glam shots" these days of some hot mama, married couple, family, etc. in the middle of the gauge. It's one thing if you get permission, of course. And while even on lightly used short lines or OOS lines there's probably minimal risk, well, we just can't go there. For example, a few years back, on the "upper upper" Harlem Wassaic line, someone walking a dog was struck and killed, never having heard the train or hearing it too late. There's maybe a dozen frequencies a day on that line a day. A mistake in judgment (probably happens on the roads far more frequently) that cost a life and a terrible loss to friends and family. Same MNRR system, OOS line, the Beacon, emergency move of equipment due to a washout. Hasn't been a train in probably years; you ALWAYS have to expect a train. It's going to be that one-in-a-million that either wins you the lotto, or gets you killed.

I've lost members over such actions as posting videos of themselves four-wheeling along ROW's, whether or not OOS. I get the whole rant, how dare I, I'm a censor, etc., but the post still comes down.

In short: It's Railroad property: respect it. Good railfans don't let others trespass!