Warning - Here We Go Again !!!!

This week is Fleet Week here in San Francisco. Think about all the people who will be taking pictures of the Blue Angels and the other military jets on display. Not to mention they're giving out free ship tours to anyone who shows up, of actual Navy ships.

But God forbid someone takes a picture of a train, madness.

 

Photography is quite welcomed at the National Air Force Museum, which basically has one of everything, including those still in service. Now, some parts of the F-22 are covered, especially the inlets--no peeky there!

 

Common sense often calms these types of situations. People are usually acting on what they believe is true. Given that, a smile and a calm explanation has always solved any problem for me. People have seen that their information might not be as true as they believe.

 

Wow, this is the first time I saw this thread, I had no idea of the restrictions placed on taking photos of trains until just recently.
I got an opportunely to climb aboard a Norfolk Southern SD9 M and I wanted to take some pictures for my scrap book, but was told that I could not even have a camera on my person. Actually that’s how I came across this thread because looking for a photo.
I also tried to check out an old round table that wasn’t even in operation anymore and got stopped immediately by railroad security. I was told later that it was a good thing I didn’t have my camera out or it would have been confiscated.

 

Yup its official I am scared of my Government.So anyway I guess I need to worry about shooting vids from the cab or even better cab shots.Hmmmm Oh well.

 

Unless you are on private property, or have committed a crime (and trespassing is a crime), no one can confiscate your camera. Even on private property, confiscating a camera is very iffy. If you are going onto private property and your escort says no cameras are allowed, then you can't bring a camera--that's common sense.

Generally, if you are on public property, you can shoot photos onto private property. But there is a catch here. It was very apparent to me near North Pole, Alaska, where a public road runs parallel to a runway of an Air Force Base. All along the fence are prominent notices that you can not shoot photos of the base. How do they get away with this restriction? The public road is ON the AFB. You are told you are entering the AFB while traveling on the road, and that photography is prohibited. Now, you would have to be pretty blatant about your photography to draw anyone's notice: the AFB there is not especially active. It might have been a base for the then-secret Blackbird (SR-71) 30 years ago, hence the restrictions. No one has thought to remove the restrictions, or spend the money to tear down the notices.

When i worked for the TV networks, we always had to obey civil authorities; crossing them meant an immediate dismissal. I've never had an episode where a polite smile and explanation of what I was doing resulted in any type of confrontation. I tend to think that confrontations with railroad police or private security guards are very overstated, or the result of a photographer looking for trouble in order to sue the railroad. I've been thrown the bird by engineers while shooting trains in Abo Pass; but that's once in fifty times. I've been approached by railroad police twice, but only to make sure my car wasn't broke down.

 

Perhaps Napolitano should be more concerned about who's entering through our borders and not whose clciking a few pics at a rail yard. :thumbs_down:

 

Well I guess that explains why I still have my camera.
I have noticed signs on certain military installations warning that cameras, binoculars, and recording devices will be confiscated, but I can’t say that I’ve ever seen them around railroads, YET.

 

Brother

Big Brother Is Out To Get youmad:

 

Actually, they rarely confiscate cameras and recording devices, or cell phones. They usually scowl a lot, call in a security officer, and maybe take the film or tape, or make sure the digital info has been permanently discarded. And then they scowl some more, and make the hosts write voluminous reports. They will confiscate a CD or DVD that is read/write, but not read-only. Most violations are unintentional: people forget the cell phone in their rain coat. But some are due to a person misunderstanding what his/her security level really is. DOE headquarters folk were famous for believing they had such high security clearances they could bring in anything they wanted. The opposite was usually true. Most people think that Washington bureaucrats are entrenched old fogeys--when many of them are young, recently appointed and full of themselves. The older ones have put in their 20 years and departed for industry and better paying jobs.

 

Quick example:

I had a DARPA Ph.D/program officer bring his cell phone through a security gate, immediately realize it, and walk immediately out. He could not have been in the secure area for more than 10 seconds. I spent a day filling out forms and being interviewed.

 

I've never once been approached by railroad police, or given any scowls by the general public. On the other hand, due to my location, most everywhere I railfan ends up being rural or the town too small for anyone to care.

I've also been on the other side of the camera, so to speak, as a track inspector and have had nothing but positive encounters with railfans. So far they all have been friendly, respectful and asked permission before shooting. I would go as far as to say we tend to accomodate the railfans from time to time if they get in contact with our office personnel first. The benefits of shortline railroading!

It is sad that the world we live in has degraded to the point where everyone is "supposed" to be suspcious of anything even remotely out of line. Responsible railfans armed with railroad emergency numbers can be another layer of protection against property damage/theft and equipment issues (overheated roller bearings, derailment, broken rail, etc...)

 

This just in: don't expect Napolitano to apologize. Not for one second, or even a nanosecond. According to sources, this issue is not on her radar. Not even close to being on her radar. She will just ignore it. She had no political reason to address it. She is, of no one noticed, a politician.

I'll continue trying to create a stir, but that won't work very well. Politicians say stupid things every day, and their PR folks bury them every day.

 

Eric:
Fear is what the terrorist wants us the feel. If a bridge or tunnel is destroyed many people would be fearful of crossing one. Or of driving at all. They want to spread fear, and fear alone will effect the way we go about our daily lives.

 

I contacted the tiny class III railroad I am modeling. They allowed me to use their logo and images off their web site but discouraged me from photographing. Telling me that this is not the current climate to be photographing our nations infrastructure.

 

If you're standing off their property and taking photographs of things you can plainly see without trespassing I don't see where they can really stop you. Of course, you'll have to judge for yourself whether you feel comfortable doing so and whether what you are doing is legal in your area.

I somehow don't think a tiny Class III railroad is a major terrorist target.

 

You are right. They want us to be fearful and the best way to do that is to kill Americans. What I'm saying is that it would take quite a bit of resources to kill Americans by blowing up a bridge or collapsing a tunnel. They would be wiser to use those resources on something that will have a greater impact. For example, five pounds of high explosives wont do much damage to a bridge of any significance. But five pounds of basic TNT placed in a backpack and detonated in a line of kids waiting to see Santa Clause will have a greater impact on this country.

I hope this explains what I was trying to say a little bit better.

Eric