9/11 has really made it difficult railfanning. The Madrid bombings are going to make it even worse. Like the end of the story said, "There is no safe." Frankly I'm surprised [but greatful] that there has not been any other attacks in the US. I guess our law enforcement is making it difficult to conduct operations. But, I don't think they'll be able to stop everything.
Railfans can be such an asset to this ,"see something, say something" scheme. In many cases we railfans would be the first to see something wrong and then report it. We love our rails and we'll do just about anything to defend them.
Ah, but the problem is, the cops can't tell who's a true railfan and a railfan/terrorist who is "studying" the area. We would be the first to make the call to the cops but we're gonna be the first to be thrown out by the cops too.
Hmmm, this just came to mind as I was writing this. During the strike of 1887, I think it was the ERIE RR, residence along the line from Buffalo to Hornell would take soap to the rails to prevent the train from moving. Terrorist or activist?
