rodney mcgiveron
Member
G'day all . A new topic if I may and mostly due to a chance meeting with a former Tasrail driver yesterday . I was once again visiting our local Cranks and Tinkerers Museum when a rather tall chap , guessing about 6'5" plus walked in , maybe 35 years old. He was looking around as my friend , the curator was intricately adding detail to a wooden ship model in the workshop so I went and spoke to the visitor . He was checking out photos of the rail section of the museum and he mentioned he was a recent driver of Tasrail qualifying in 2011 but now worked in W.A for BHP Billiton driving ES44's ,seven days on seven days off. Half an hour or so later after dissecting all sorts of rail stuff with him (Ian had also finished his fiddley ship lodel task by then) he mentioned he actually enjoys rebuilding V8 engines for his cars and building a model railway too . He reminded me of another long time driver I met a year or so ago from N.S.W. also a visitor to Ian's museum. That day we spoke not as long but touched on a subject that annoyed him about his job namely careless railfans.
. He said that day in his relatively long career over 30 years but retired by then , the totally stupidly dangerous places people get to take photos or videos astounded him . He has no issues with people taking photos though as such provided they are at least 10 -15 metres back from the track . I asked him why and he answered it like this . Things fly off trains often and a loose strap , harness , timber , coal or ore impediments can cause serious damage . Then there is potential for drug or alcohol induced people that can decide to take huge risks or want to attempt to train hop. Being at least a reasonable distance away lessens stress for the crews.. He also added that on a daily basis they are ever vigilant at level crossings but railfans even the best intended have an effect on crews .
He made a good point for photographers ,videographers in this regard , DO IT FROM A SAFE DISTANCE for everybody's safety and sanity.
I love watching train vids on the net and now though I see some stupidly close camera set ups and it's no wonder U.S. rail companies are organising train dedicated police officers to help control errant rail fans , train hoppers , dumb car and truck drivers and such .
I know Tasrail will not give you train movement info readily . They also tell you that unsafe distances from trackage is not tolerated and trespassing on company facilities without permission is strictly prohibited but allows viewing at a safe distance .
What incidents , opinions do fellow Forum'ers have on railfanners / train spotters these days... Cheers Rod.
. He said that day in his relatively long career over 30 years but retired by then , the totally stupidly dangerous places people get to take photos or videos astounded him . He has no issues with people taking photos though as such provided they are at least 10 -15 metres back from the track . I asked him why and he answered it like this . Things fly off trains often and a loose strap , harness , timber , coal or ore impediments can cause serious damage . Then there is potential for drug or alcohol induced people that can decide to take huge risks or want to attempt to train hop. Being at least a reasonable distance away lessens stress for the crews.. He also added that on a daily basis they are ever vigilant at level crossings but railfans even the best intended have an effect on crews .
He made a good point for photographers ,videographers in this regard , DO IT FROM A SAFE DISTANCE for everybody's safety and sanity.
I love watching train vids on the net and now though I see some stupidly close camera set ups and it's no wonder U.S. rail companies are organising train dedicated police officers to help control errant rail fans , train hoppers , dumb car and truck drivers and such .
I know Tasrail will not give you train movement info readily . They also tell you that unsafe distances from trackage is not tolerated and trespassing on company facilities without permission is strictly prohibited but allows viewing at a safe distance .
What incidents , opinions do fellow Forum'ers have on railfanners / train spotters these days... Cheers Rod.