trains. Where is the fun?
2007-09-23 11:56:24 · 26 answers · asked by Lee Lee 5 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Rail
Calm down, calm down!!! I was just wondering what the fascination was
2007-09-23 12:06:01 · update #1
I see trainspotters a lot when im travelling on the East Coast Mainline.
In fact - its fun to spot trainspotters - they look so funny! Sometimes I announce when I spot one so the other passengers can share my joy and know that I spotted them 1st!
I might start making photos of them.
Does that make me a train-spotter-spotter?
2007-09-23 12:27:27 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 9⤋
I'm an occassional "spotter" or rail-fan.
I commute via the local train, and do my "spotting" as part of my hobby of Model Railroading... I take pictures and notes to gather details to use on my RR (The Yamson-Shepherd Stockton Pacific)... an N-scale layout filling a 10'x12' bedroom.
The FUN ? Watching a half mile long coal train pass through the area... the almost endless DTXX container stacks coming out of Oakland Ca and heading across the country... the careful balance of freight and local commuter and Amtak... and once a year, the Ringling Brothers Circus Train.
I can see where "rabid-spotters" could be annoying, disruptive, and even dangerous... but I do get abit angry hearing some of the anti-spotter comments. ALOT of US are the ones who, in the USA particularly, write to State and Federal law makers to KEEP the rails... damn the truckers unions, screw the SUV drivers... lets build MORE rails and put the trains to WORK !
2007-09-24 04:33:24 · answer #2 · answered by mariner31 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Where is the fun in your fun? Why not question stamp collectors now?
Its whatever gets your gander going.
I think it gives them a personal fulfillment
I think you would like train spotters better than the train robbers, train hobos. More worse to take care of. And the worst people are the idiots who try to beat the train over the track crossing.
2007-09-24 13:12:55 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
As an ex train spotter, in the times when we had proper trains ie steam locos,which were magnificent pieces of engineering and lovingly cleaned and maintained by the crews, they were a joy to watch, however, todays engines are just functional, all look the same. All right they have names, but they are not the same as the old steamers.
I live by a crossing and it`s suprising how many people leave their cars to photograph the trains as they pass.
2007-09-23 12:25:16 · answer #4 · answered by firebobby 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I've been fascinated with trains since I was a kid. Watching one on a track that isn't used very often or an engine from an obscure railroad is the best.
2007-09-25 03:01:04 · answer #5 · answered by Gorilla 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
OK, I admit it....I'm a(not yet former) train spotter. But truth be told, I really don't get as much joy from it as I used to years ago. Things just aren't as they used to be when I was younger. If you're not a train spotter now, trust me, you're not missing anything.
2007-09-23 16:11:31 · answer #6 · answered by Mike M. 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You know, it's funny, kids love to watch toy trains, even though they don't see trains much in real life. A lot of kids who love trains never see a train in real life at all. How is that possible? I have no idea. I just know that something is fascinating about how a train moves.
Some of us just don't ever get over it.
2007-09-23 16:52:40 · answer #7 · answered by Firebird 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Its a hobby for him.
It is no where near as fun as what it could have been, and some of the more fanatical ones can be a pain, but its just the same with anyone who has a collection bug inside of them.
After all its not as bad as Bus Spotting, yes it does exist.
2007-09-23 22:40:02 · answer #8 · answered by Kevan M 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Indeed, some train spotters/railfans are down right rude or disobey rules/laws to achieve whatever they are after (such as getting that perfect picture, etc.) but most are good, law-abiding citizens just interested in a particular hobby, which railfanning/train spotting includes everything from photography to studying/preserving railroad history. In any event, while some people find it odd/different, the hobby is really no different from any other, people who take an interest or have a passion in a particular subject.
2007-09-23 12:05:36 · answer #9 · answered by Alco83 4 · 3⤊ 3⤋
Trains are big, noisy, greasey, and smokey. They have all the qualities that attract guys in things (excepting women, of course.) Guys are naturally attracted to big things that make noise and move, such as big excavating equipment, airplanes, and so on. It might be genetic :-) With trains, there's sort of the thrill of the hunt too. Unlike earthmovers, they go fast enough to chase.
Kent in SD
2007-09-24 02:38:36 · answer #10 · answered by duckgrabber 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I sometimes switch my television on and see all these men, dressed in shirts with other men's name on the back, and getting terribly excited about other men kicking a little ball around on some grass. What is the fun? Each to his own, in other words. What works for one, doesn't for another. It would be a boring old world if we were all the same.
2007-09-23 22:24:22 · answer #11 · answered by rdenig_male 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋