A friend sent me a video recently of the engineer of the Big Boy locomotive chastising a photographer who, to be polite, was exhibiting some poor railfanning behavior.
While I love railroads and railroad history, I generally don’t like railfanning around too many people because of the bad behavior people often exhibit. I am surprised at how people behave around train tracks, though I don’t know why.
I think the rise of “influencers” is perpetuating some of this behavior. Everyone needs the perfect photo for Instagram, but you generally don’t see people standing in the middle of a highway for that perfect 18-wheeler photo.
(I’m sure someone has done that, though.)
Look, I can’t stop bad behavior. But I don’t want to have to fill out any paperwork, and I already have enough mishaps for my “Death on the Rails” presentations.
In other words: Be smart. Don’t be part of my next presentation. Attend it, don’t be on one of the slides!
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A Deadly Railroad Bridge: It was approaching 11 a.m. on Friday, June 13, 1947. Engineer John Black was at the throttle of engine No. 1208 as the locomotive and five freight cars approached an open swing bridge over the Cumberland River in Clarksville, Tennessee. Click here to read what happened next.
The last duel in Georgia took place in Alabama: Violence and the railroads go hand in hand, and in August 1889, Patrick Calhoun and John D. Williamson saw a war of words nearly turn deadly. The duel, if you can call it that, was fought somewhere near the Georgia-Alabama state line and went down in history as the last duel in Georgia. Click here to read more.
Railfanning Review
Read more about my talk, “People and Places of the Western & Atlantic Railroad, and How Roswell Almost Connected.” It examined the role the state-owned Western & Atlantic played in developing North Georgia, creating Atlanta and influencing nearby communities that sought access to the region’s growing railroad system. Click here to read more.
Off the Rails
An Oct. 2, 1973, Florida Today article provides a fascinating window into Walt Disney World, then just two years old. The article carried a clear message: the resort was no longer an ambitious Central Florida experiment. It was already a tourism force and still growing. Click here to read more.
One thing that struck me on visiting Belfast was the gates and the peace walls that still stand. The gates aren’t just historical artifacts; they’re still in use. Belfast remains a divided city, nearly 30 years after the Good Friday Agreement. Click here to read more.
This article was published by Tales from the Rails and is republished here with permission. Click here to view the original.
