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Hi Steve, > I was photographing trains at Houlihan's curve this past Saturday > (5/16). I was there Sunday evening, and I was east of you Saturday morning just east of the I-39 overpass near Toluca. I also spent time in Naperville and Lisle Saturday evening and Sunday morning. >Although the fence is annoying, an acceptable vantage > point is still possible. >The spot I always like is next to a > utility pole which is now at the fence line at the south west > corner of the big fence rectangle. I presume that you mean with your back up to the corner of the fence at the utility pole, with the ground running down hill fairly steeply? This is the spot that I spoke of. > As railfans we need to respect people's private property. > At the bridge over the tracks at MP136 so many railfans > parked their cars on the bridge, now signs are posted > prohibiting parking on the bridge. Unfortunately, when an > area like Edelstein Hill gets popular with railfans, our > presence becomes increasingly resented. This is very true, however, it doesn't have to be that way. I ran into a bunch of fans at Rochelle, IL Saturday, that I refused to associate with. Several of them were crawling all over the rails, one in particular, that not only ruined a shot I was taking by jumping out in front of me onto U.P. rails as a CN westbound was approaching on BNSF rails, but he dangerously compromised his own safety, and the reputation of fans. They are actually building a railfan park at Rochelle, I just hope that people can decide to stick to the area, rather than run amuck all over the place. I was hoping to gather some information from some of this group. but after that incident, I figured I better keep my distance. I have run into this happening on many occasions, and I sometimes have to wonder if these people even realize they are doing something wrong, and dangerous as well. I try to be as polite to them as possible, but the blank look or the "I don't know what I am talking about", usually stops me from making an effort. When I published the St. Louis Regional Railfan Timetable, I made a point of putting safety slogans in the book, for two-fold reasons. One, hopefully some of these fans would actually read them, and heed their message, and two, to take some of the sting out of the railroads reasons to keep fans away. I wanted the RR's to understand that there are safety conscious as well as property conscious railfans out there, and that an effort was being made to spread the word. Unfortunately, most of the 'fans I spoke with thought it was cute, but had little or no merit. In future editions, I will continue to provide these messages, I just hope that people will take them to heart, not as a cute joke. Maybe we can restore a little faith in the railfan community with a little effort. Rick Newton ======================================================= -> SPORRS: 'Serious Photographers Of Railroad Related Subjects' -> Web Site: http://www.anet-stl.com/acphotog/sporrs/ -> Message © 1998 SPORRS® - All Rights Reserved =======================================================
