Well, we've gone wacko off in both extremes again, and somewhere in the middle is common sense.
Trespassing in the railroad yard is obviously wrong, but until railroads learn to deal with public relations (again), there will be problems. The railroads run through public places. Only a moron would expect those of the public that are interested in trains not to photograph them or to acquire interest in them. The railroads can create and enforce a sensible written policy requiring liability releases, and restrictive conditions, in exchange for becoming better informed about who is interested in their property, and why, but for the most part, they choose not too. Until each railroad buries each ROW in a tunnel so that it is not visible to the rest of the world and so that it is crossable by pedestrians everywhere, they will have problems. Their only alternative is public relations, whether they like it or not, and whether they realize it or not. Of course the morons among us that are making the bad examples because they are not using their common sense are making the railroads take a more hard-nosed approach which we all pay for, when the railroads go above and beyond what is practical (and legal), and they 'overenforce' without using their own common sense. Common sense (and understanding) helps on both sides of the public/railroad relationship. I can't help but think that if the railroads made more sense, then so would the majority of the railfans (if you are a fan of trains, you are a railfan - sorry John). For those of us that just don't care about common sense, the law and safety, we deserve to be arrested by the special agent. On railroad property. Dave Cohen Photographer Action Photographic Webmaster [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/home/ -> SPORRS: Serious Photographers of Railroad Related Subjects -> Web Site: http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/sporrs -> Message © SPORRS® 1998 - All Rights Reserved
