So WHY are you a rail fan?

I guess I am kind of weird. I'm not the biggest person who enjoys trains. Sure its fun to see freights go by, but I enjoy the stations and the sites of because of the historian in me.

Just for example, some railfans earlier this year were at Duncannon Station in Duncannon, PA to see freights, I was there to photograph the PRR depot.

I grew up spending a lot of time around my grandfather who started working for the DL&W as a signalman in the late 1930's. At some point he switched departments and became a catenary lineman. He retired under NJ Transit shortly after they took over passenger operations Conrail.
As a kid I always heard endless railroad stories. I remember being very little hanging out in the Dover freight house and switch tower with him while he visited his friends. Riding in the cab of a GP40 from Hoboken to Dover and standing next to the engineer at the head end of a Lackawanna MU blowing the horn. So I guess I just grew up with it and always had an interest in railroad history.
Several years back I was forced to change careers because of the economy. A very strange and coincidental chain of events led me to a job as a signal maintainer.

Roadgeek Adam wrote:I guess I am kind of weird. I'm not the biggest person who enjoys trains. Sure its fun to see freights go by, but I enjoy the stations and the sites of because of the historian in me.

Just for example, some railfans earlier this year were at Duncannon Station in Duncannon, PA to see freights, I was there to photograph the PRR depot.

I can totally understand this. As far as being a railfan it's more about the history of it all that interests.

I grew up in Gillette, NJ and our nursery farm backed up to the DL&W Gladstone Branch. My first memory was hearing a steam engine about a mile or two away. I walked out of the house and down through the property to go toward it (about a third of a mile). I heard my parents yelling my name but I wanted to see the train. My father found me, about half way to the tracks, picked me up and took me back to the house. But, I remember turning to see the that train. It was a freight going eastbound, engine running backwards with the tender first (the turn tables were taken out by then).

I also remember when very young how my mother always knew what the time was. I asked her how she always knew, and she said it was from knowing the schedules of the trains. A station agent friend of my family (in Stirling) gave me a timetable and I was fascinated by it. When I was about 12 he gave me an employees timetable, and my railroad "world" expanded -- I now knew that some of those trains were "no passengers" ones. To this day I can recite that schedule.

This industry really gets into people's blood. And, it also is connected to hobbies like history, photography, and maps. My sixth grade teacher said several times that I seemed to know the geography of the United States and Canada like no other. That same station agent gave me an out of date Railway Guide which pushed the hobby boundaries even more in my head. I was fascinated by the routes, regions of the railroads, distances that through sleeping cars went from one railroad to another (New York to the West Coast, Montreal to Vancouver, etc.).

Getting a cab ride age 5 on a GTW steam loco in Battle Creek began my days as a fan. Later on, the B&A still running at Camp Meade, riding the Silver Comet B'ham to Richmond, riding the B'ham Al PCC cars,
moving to the midwest and watching the ICRR steamers with long coal hauls, and the wonderfully colored and sleek IC Panama Ltd, City of New Orleans and City of Miami. Riding the Illinois Terminal end to end ...under wire. Riding the Wabash Blue Bird, the C&EI Meadowlark. All those things, and much more, began and sustained a lifelong interest.

Because of this face! Took my son to see the CP Holiday Train in 2012 in Pa and we got to go into the cab. But my dad was into trains which got me into trains which got my boy into trains. Its a vicious cycle.

I think this image just about says it all; priceless photo, hazmat........

I started liking trains at about 3. I had a book called "Choo Choo" The Little Switch Engine" that was my favorite. At that same time I saw E-L trains in Washington from my aunt's front window near Railroad Avenue. I saw L&HR action in Belvidere when we would go to old Doc McDonald's office. I also remember a L&HR train pacing us along Rte 46 in the pouring rain on our way to Great Meadows cemtery.
In 1974 I fell in love with the CNJ. My mom's sister lived right along the main in Hampton. I saw a couple locals and the nightly passenger trains from her third story back porch. At that same time my grandparents moved to Solitude Village outside High Bridge. From their front porch I could see trains going over the arches in the distance. While driving into the tunnel I saw a few trains sitting up on the bank,including the Red Baron 3067. I loved when Grammy did her laundry at High Bridge Laundromat right under the tracks at the station. The mid-day passenger trains stopped there and they looked huge to me.I kept a vigil waiting for trains most of the times I was at my grandparent's house. On more than one occasion I would hear the trains heading up the branch as I lay in bed.I also recall seeing the Freedom Train on a cloudy fall Saturday in 1976. I believe this was after the tour was over and Ross was taking it west along the CNJ.
On some Saturdays or Sundays we'd go for car rides with my dad and saw the cars stored at Washington for BASF Wyandotte. We'd also drive along the Bel-Del near Foul Rift. I can remember hearing trains blowing for the crossing in Broadway on the E-L from my Grammy's(mom's mother) place. I also got yelled at by the baseball coach for not paying attention to the game as a grimy GP 9 went by with a box car and caboose not far from the ball field in Broadway. I heard trains a hundred times on that line but only saw them a few times before Conrail.
My first train ride was on the Black River as a class trip in second grade.How many on here have the same story?
In 1976 my aunt moved from Hampton. At that same time Conrail closed the High Bridge Branch. I still saw occasional freights and the commuter trains until my grandparents left Solitude Village in May 1977.
At that time I got into racing and trains seemed to slip into the back of my mind. I did see the two nightly commuter trains in Glen Gardner when i worked after-hours with my dad at Rudl Fencing.Later, I moved only a few blocks form the old E-L tracks in Washington. I heard trains everyday but never really payed attention until one night. We were siitng in Hill's Diner,our hangout. I swear I saw a steam passenger train go over the bridge on Rt 31. My friends all thought I was crazy. Two days later I fell asleep in the afternoon. I was awakened by the sound of a steam whistle. I jumped up and got into the car and flew towards the Broad St. Tracks. It was the BM&R 425 and E units with a fan trip. I wasn't seeing things!!!.About a month later I moved to Phillipsburg, right by the old CNJ/DLW station.I saw trains all right. In fact I had to turn up the tv every time they went by on the old LV. Still, it wasn't until 1989 I really got back into trains.I'm not as "into it" as some are but I still get excited by the rumble of diesels approaching or the whine of a steam whistle.

Thanks RailsEast. He's a good kid.

Because of this face! Took my son to see the CP Holiday Train in 2012 in Pa and we got to go into the cab. But my dad was into trains which got me into trains which got my boy into trains. Its a vicious cycle.

Hazmatmess - BEST photo. That's what it's about. I like to think we adults get that look when we see something special too. Hope my son gets into it when he gets older (he's not yet 1, but he's been on with daddy a number of times...

This past Sunday was one of those days that makes me glad to be a rail fan. I caught NS 212 in Bloomsbury. I stopped at the truckstop and used the facilities before heading east. When I got to Bound Brook there were some dedicated hearty(crazy? ) souls out railfanning.I walked over just as 212 was approaching. I wonder if the crew recognized me and wondered how I beat them there. I hung around with the young guys and older guys for a while. We swapped stories about the old days and where we were from. The big buzz was the PRR heritage unit on I5T that was detouring up the Trenton line. It backed up to the signals at Bound Brook and was there for probably an hour or more. Unfortunately the PRR unit was on the other end of the train. It departed a little past noon and I figured I'd stay put for the tank train headed our way with 2 BNSF units.
Long story short I caught a bunch of trains and made some new friends at Bound Brook. The cold air didn't seem to matter. Incidentally, I still caught the I5T at Phillipsburg and got the PRR heritage unit. A great day of railfanning if there ever was one.

I'm a rail fan because i'm third gen. railroader. From PRR to CNJ to Conrail. Pre NJ Transit. So its in my blood. I only worked for 10 years in rail roading (1976 to 1986) before I moved on to a goverment job. I've worked passenger cars to freight. from sweeping trains to pipefitting to supervisor. Even drove an engine a couple of times. Talk about a cool factor! Spend a few years in elizabeth locomotive shop to passenger yards and even traveled working with the B&B division. I was young and enjoyed myself and would do it all over again. I even took a train to work when I work in passenger yards. Get on the train and fall asleep untill it pulled into the yard and the conductor wakes you up. Thats why my screen name is deadhead.

Not really the traditional railfan, just a history buff with a particular interest in transportation history. I've also lived within a football field's length of various rail lines all my life, and I'm a mechanic by trade so the sheer size and power of diesel locomotives really impresses me.

I know it's not politically correct to discuss this on here, but I also grew up hopping freight trains- never long distances but just 20-30 miles at a time on the porch of a grainer- and I still do it when time allows. I know the law and the risks and there is no need to berate me for this- I'm a responsible adult with family of my own, not some kind of transient or crackhead, and I don't care about anyone's opinion on the matter anyway. Riding freight is one of the best ways to see the world around you- it gives you a view of what's real and not always what's pretty. I've encountered plenty of train crews while doing it, and not one of them ever seemed to care- they normally just pretend to not see you or give you a quick nod and walk on by.

Got to be friends with Ken Francis. One afternoon, we met in New Egypt and he took me to his Union Transportation engine barn. I joined him in the box cab and started the two old Cats. We went down the line, rocking from side to side, and brought back a box car from a feed mill. One time at the controls and I was hooked for life. I still remember the joy he gave me and I hope his soul knows this.

A hearty "Welcome Aboard" to all three of you relative newcomers to the site!

Charlie