Re: So Stop Being a Railfan
Author: Bruce Kelly
Date: 07-19-2012 - 21:14
Ditto what Mark said above. In fact, so many fans seem so focused (pun intended) on getting the most creative and mind-blowing pictures posted at that other site (and don't get me wrong, I really enjoy many of those photos), that there's fewer and fewer of us who are doing what amounts to photojournalism, historical documentation, business reporting, etc. Heck, it's gotten to the point that rail magazines themselves don't even know the difference between "cacti" and joshua trees. Sure, I miss a lot of what railroading used to be 20 or 30 years ago. But I'll take the snouty face and big flares of SD70ACe's over ubiquitous and boring Dash 9s any day. Passenger/commuter railroading alone is more widespread and offers much more variety in terms of equipment than it did in my youth. And between the new operations and facilities and service lanes being developed in this country, and the amazing examples of railroad engineering and operation, old and new, that can be found overseas, I feel there's way more cool stuff happening right now than I'll ever be able to see in what's left of my lifetime.