Dear All; I see a common theme developing. Hard hats, safety shoes, hi-vis vest. Many have seemed to discover the "telephone repair person" or "visiting trainmaster" disguise which works at an amazing number of industrial facilities.
Bayview Junction, near Hamilton Ont. has been a railfan favorite for decades. The local police and the railroad keep a watchfull eye for fans wandering too close to the tracks. I stay above the action in the trees which form part of the adjacent botanical garden. The authorities know to look up there (there are makeshift benches at some locations) but do not bother you. Last time I was there, a person who I assumed was a CN signal maintainer was wandering around. I kept my distance. Finally, he approached me. Turns out he was a New York railfan and a Metro North employee. Whenever the police were around, he would look interested in a signal bungalow. One problem, what happens when a real maintainer shows up ?. I'm going to continue using my " middle aged tourist disguise who made a wrong turning into the service road looking for the State Park ". However, I do have saftey glasses, hard hat and steel toe boots. The best is to actually be a person in uniform when entering railroad property to railfan. I know of at least one well known railfan photographer who took pacing shoots of a Prarie freight train from a Canadian Army truck with himself in fatigues. I watched a fire truck pace the famous three D&H PA's excursion in New York state in the late seventies. The neatest "pace" vehicle was a black stretched limousine being delivered to a customer out west by some eastern railfans who dressed like the "Blues Brothers" (yes, the limo had Illinois plates). Phil Mason -> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects -> Web Site: http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/sporrs -> Message © SPORRS® 1998 - All Rights Reserved
