by mick
I know that the weather is getting nicer and more people are out photographing trains, and also posting them on the internet. But please , just Always remember one thing when you are out there. The train crews are generally easy to get along with and will chat with you and share some info about a train with you, but please, don't take our picture and post it on the internet without asking. If you are photographing a train, don't get the crew in the picture and post it on the 'net. There are so many rules on the railroad it would make your head spin. It is impossible to go a day without breaking at least one in the course of working. When fans take pictures of crews, they may not know they are actually breaking a rule, maybe a minor one but still, if you don't know, and you put it on the 'net, you could get them in trouble. There was one on NERAIL today, and I have seen a few more in the past. So please, if you want the crews to have a good attitude toward railfans (and I know many are railfans themselves), let's not have a "guess what rule they are breaking" picture-post, don't put the crews on the 'net.
let me just add,"text" about train crews activities to what Mick said. Such things as,"stopped for coffee,took so much time to switch this.....",can get crews in trouble,especially if they have a control freak in the front office!