Are Train Enthusiasts "Dying out"?

[CoastStarlight99]

Yeah, Amtrak is a railroad that uses employees who are just like the ones for BNSF and UP (ie: conductors, engineers). When you train for a position in the railroad industry, you are capable of working for any railroad. Amtrak enthusiasts that you may have met, would attend those same "RR schools" to hold a high position at the National Railroad Passenger Corportation (Amtrak).

[Conrail1990]

Its a yes or no question.
Yes rail entusiasts are dieing out do to some types of music and the fear of being made fun of.

But as long as the railroad is around the enthusiast will still be here.

[IC&E6565]

I am Not a teen, an old man of 30 years!. Anyway, I have a My Space page and I have found more young rail-fans on there, the biggest surprise is I have found several young female rail-fans even, that was a shock[NO OFFENSE EVER MEANT], just going by what I have encountered in my personal in "the field" experiences.

I think that one problem that I know I encountered when I was just getting "into" it in about 1990 was that every "regular age" rail-fan I met sort of couldn't stand my enthusiasm for the railroading of today. They would sort of give Me a funny look when I would excitedly talk about going out and rail-fanning the CSX and that CSX was the coolest railroad around, one thing they didn't like is that I actually called it the "CSX" not the "L&N" "B&O" "Monon" or some old company name of a road that I never saw in person, that still pisses Me off to today how rail-fans refer to today's Class 1 super railroads by their pre-merger predecssor names, especially those[this is Me] that refer to the part of the BNSF Railway[my favorite now] as the "Santa Fe", I could not stand that railroad because they thought they were "God's Railroad", at least that's the impression I got. The red & silver "Warbonnet" is ugly as hell!!!

Other issues are that some fans I still meet can't grasp onto that us Younger rail-fans don't shoot slides, even if they cost $7.99 a box!, all these negative attitudes caused Me and probably others to consider not following the rail-fan "hobby".

Don't detach yourself from older rail-fans, they can teach You lot, especially about old lines that are now abandoned if your interested, etc. But the best thing is if You can find a group of younger people in your area or region and try to start a group that gets together to go out shooting once a month. just my Idea.

[stevo]

i agree with you in most of what you said. CSX is not the B&O, L&N, monon, or anything else. it's the result of their failures. it's CSX. refer to it by its real name! and it's not a sin to like the newer railroads. i get that impression too from older railfans. the older railroads were God's gift to the industry and the newer railroads are basically, well...it's a sin if you like them. but i personally don't see what's wrong with the newer railroads. my opinion is, if you don't want to railfan the newer railroads, then stop railfanning, because it's your only choice!

but the warbonnet paint is not ugly. i'm not one of those people who goes around and worships it or anything, i've personally never seen it, but i don't think it's ugly.

[COEN77]

i agree with you in most of what you said. CSX is not the B&O, L&N, monon, or anything else. it's the result of their failures. it's CSX. refer to it by its real name! and it's not a sin to like the newer railroads. i get that impression too from older railfans. the older railroads were God's gift to the industry and the newer railroads are basically, well...it's a sin if you like them. but i personally don't see what's wrong with the newer railroads. my opinion is, if you don't want to railfan the newer railroads, then stop railfanning, because it's your only choice!

It might be called CSX, but when someone is hired on their seniority still falls into the former railroads. Even the new hires consider themselves C&O, B&O, Conrail, L&N, SCL ect... Until system wide seniority is established only then it would be considered that someone in the crafts is totally a CSX employee. Your not wrong, but then your not right.

[umtrr-author]

Given that there are fewer places to railfan than there once were, there is the risk of a declining population of people who "like what they see" (I think this is also true for Model Railroading).

However, this could be balanced by the ability to positively share ideas and information over the Internet (note the stress on the word "positively").

[Darien Red Sox]

No, railfans are not dieing out. There are still plenty of people who are into trians but who do not have the time go out train watching. Most people work all the time now and are raley at home and don't evne have enough time to spend with there kids.

[mrconductor55]

We arwen't dying out. I just visited the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Museum in Baltimore. And it was funny how the old guys volunteering would think I was there with a field trip or something and then I would ask them a question that only a railfan would know to ask like does this E-unit have a winton prime mover? or does that engine have a booster truck. THen they would take me all over and we would talk trains.

[joecop509]

its funny because metra police just wave to me and smile. One time even i thought i was in a area i should not have been in, but a metra police officer came by and said its a nice day to photograph. Boy was i surprised

LOL THAT IS PHUNNY ANYWAS WE R NOT DYING OUT

LONG LIVE THE RAILRODE

[Chessie GM50]

That is funny anyway, we are NOT dying out

long live the railroad

(Grammer Improved)

I'd say that it is on a decline with My generation, and those younger (those born after 1992)

[ckwwestshore]

There are tons of POTENTIAL railfans out there, but only some will really get into it. A friend of mine from school saw some of my photos once, and he told me that once in a while he rides his bike to the tracks and watches the trains. At the time he didn't know anything about them. 6 months later now, we railfan together a lot and he has learned a ton about the hobby. Point is, if I hadn't stepped in, the interest probably would have died off, or at least not grown, and what are the odds that he would run into someone else that would be able to nurture the interest, so to speak.