Taking photos on train tracks: ‘A mistake you can’t undo.’

p51 · **Posted:** Tue Oct 06, 2015 3:15 pm

EWrice wrote:

Just Friday night I was doing repairs on our sw9. When I pulled out of the engine house to run some tests, there was a photographer and her victim on the tracks. They quickly moved, then as soon as I passed, jumped right back on the tracks behind me. As I switched out onto our main, they moved over to a caboose parked on the opposite side of the main from the engine house, backs to me, and began taking photos. Keep in mind that they were standing between 5 or so parked cars and our mainline., with a building on the opposite side. No where to go if they did not see me in time, or I did not know they were there. You should have seen them run. She was a local photographer that had been talked to multiple times, yet when approached friday, had no clue that she was in the wrong.

And this, boys and girls, is why so many RR cops come across as jerks and photographers along the high iron get hassled so much!

Howard P. · **Posted:** Tue Oct 06, 2015 3:24 pm

EW, any thought of calling the cops on this repeat offender? Have her cited for trespassing?

Howard P.

p51 · **Posted:** Tue Oct 06, 2015 6:39 pm

Howard P. wrote:

EW, any thought of calling the cops on this repeat offender? Have her cited for trespassing?

My initial thought, exactly...

EWrice · **Joined:** Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:14 am **Posts:** 367

I thought about it, but was running behind and had enough drama for one week. If I see her out there again, we will definitely do something about it. One big problem we have is that we are in a small community, so you have to be careful who you upset (I don't like it and I am not the kind of person who puts up with it, but I am also not at a position in the organization to make those decisions). So for now, I will just wait for my upcoming date with the governor on the old 567B. I have a nice box of parts for her and hopefully she will be good to me. We will see if our photographer friend shows up.

p51 · **Posted:** Tue Oct 06, 2015 8:07 pm

EWrice wrote:

One big problem we have is that we are in a small community, so you have to be careful who you upset

I'm assuming you equally have to be careful who you kill on the rails.
Just sayin'... but I get your point.

Howard P. · **Posted:** Tue Oct 06, 2015 9:39 pm

EW, I hear ya. We've been going thru a similar situation here (trespass and other charges), in fact, the perp's court date was today. A "local boy", he went to grade school with half the town cops, etc. It's a tough call to make.

Still, "stay off the tracks if you're not a train" seems to be a difficult concept for people to understand.

Howard P.

EWrice · **Joined:** Wed Jan 15, 2014 9:14 am **Posts:** 367

To take some negativity away from this subject, we have some very talented and respectful local photographers and videographers in the area. They are always welcome as long as the respect remains, and we are as accommodating as possible. The bad tends to mask the good, and ruin it for those who play by the rules.

hamster · **Posted:** Tue Oct 06, 2015 10:40 pm

EWrice wrote:

To take some negativity away from this subject, we have some very talented and respectful local photographers and videographers in the area. They are always welcome as long as the respect remains, and we are as accommodating as possible. The bad tends to mask the good, and ruin it for those who play by the rules.

Sounds like the best approach would be to talk to the "respectful" photogs and get them to do some arm twisting with the offender for you. Something on the order of "you are screwing up and are affecting OUR valuable relationship with the RR. Knock it the hell off!" The photography culture is fairly close and I am sure that they all know each other.

nickbnwd · **Posted:** Thu Oct 08, 2015 7:36 pm

Perhaps this is the start of a backlash against the most egregious examples? Two bits of stupidity for the price of one here.

My apologies if the website gives you fits, it's a bit wonky from time to time.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3264260/Woman-performed-risky-yoga-poses-middle-DC-Metro-subway-track-arrested-charged-trespassing.html

Nick

Alexander D. Mitchell IV · **Posted:** Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:42 am

In Britain as well:

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-derbyshire-34632229

Bad Order · **Joined:** Sun Jun 23, 2013 1:16 pm **Posts:** 231

Was in the yard office talking to a Kansas City engineer the other day about a fellow employee who got ran over while working in the Neff Yard bowl as a remote control engine operator. Stepped into the path of an adjacent track being shoved and was killed.

Discussion turned people getting ran over. The engineer said he was on a train up in the city and ran over the photographer who was taking group photos of some school age kids. The guy had kids posed and was backing up to get a different angle and stepped into the danger zone and got killed...

Can you imagine the impression that made on those kids... seeing the guy get hit?

p51 · **Posted:** Tue Oct 27, 2015 11:46 am

I'm on a photography forum where non-RR-related photos are discussed. I just read of a photographer taking photos of a young woman on the tracks wearing high heels and a smile and nothing else. Train came by and they leaped out of the way just in time. What was the discussion in the cab after that? "Hey, did you see what I think I just saw? Naaaahhhh, couldn't have been..."

Bad Order wrote:

Can you imagine the impression that made on those kids... seeing the guy get hit?

I'd bet you they never walked on a RR track after that!

Kelly Anderson · **Joined:** Tue Sep 14, 2004 7:52 am **Posts:** 2477

p51 · **Posted:** Tue Oct 27, 2015 1:12 pm

Kelly Anderson wrote:

p51 wrote:

I'm on a photography forum where non-RR-related photos are discussed. I just read of a photographer taking photos of a young woman on the tracks wearing high heels and a smile and nothing else.

Forget the discussion, I want to see the photographic evidence. Strictly for legal and safety awareness reasons, of course...

I know you're kidding, but a Google search (NOT from the office computer, though) will find you oodles of such photos, I'm sure. I've read that it's a very common background.
In the past, I've taken similar shots of models, myself. But never on RR tracks. I don't take photos like that anymore but I'd never use any RR backgrounds unless it was at a museum with static stuff or on a used line with permission of the RR.