Awesome Day of Railfanning

I'm back to posting! Yesterday, I had probably one of the best railfanning days I have ever had. Of the ten trains I caught, only THREE had no rare power, and only two had nothing significant on it. What I am posting here are some of the highlights from yesterday.

I chased a train from the 59 freeway to Richmond. Unlike my grey ghost chase in April, I actually arrived in Richmond with a few minutes to spare. Unfavorable cloud conditions made this bridge shot gloomy, but better than nothing.

After getting the bridge shot, I drove down to my typical spot in Rosenberg. There was a ton of traffic there, and I got there right as a UP train with a patched CNW unit passed by. I was standing by my car when it passed, so I couldn't get a great shot, but once again, better than nothing:

The next train was a BNSF Intermodal led by all common power, but with Ex-Amtrak reefers at the end!

A few minutes after this train passed, we were treated to a BNSF grain train on the Glidden Sub led by two Ferromex units, the leader being a Diexaños GEVO.

A bunch of horses suddenly started walking on the road in between trains.

After the horse parade, a UP manifest with a CSX Tier 4 GEVO trailing came by. This is my first time catching a Tier 4 locomotive.

This train had nothing significant, but I figured I may as well post it because this train came by during the one bout of sun that there was all day.

After that, a KCS manifest came by moments later with a BNSF Tier 4 GEVO trailing:

After about 30 minutes, I caught my very first BNSF AC44C4M, leading a manifest train:

After the AC44C4M, my friend had to leave. I decided to head to my car and began to debate whether or not I should go home. While I was debating, I heard the defect detector at 34.5 go off, so I decided that I may as well capture this train. I was surprised to see this headlight configuration off in the distance:

Well, it turned out to be the UP ASPLDR, led by CSX SD40-2 8042 and CSX SD50-2 8550! It was a pleasant surprise! I did capture the photo of it...

... But I forgot to hit record!!! Well, the best I could do was chase it down to East Bernard and video it there. Chasing it was not hard, there was a brake problem with one of the cars, so the conductor had to walk the train. I got to East Bernard with lots of time to spare, and managed to get this video of it:

Thanks for reading, and be sure to check my YouTube channel later on for videos of all of these trains and more!

An Update on Everything

Hello everyone!

Just figured that I would give everyone an update on everything. I have been very inactive lately due to school and band stuff. I did have time for a day of railfanning on September 19, but I have not uploaded the videos due to the fact that I cannot find my camcorder. I also have a LOT of videos from California in July that I have not uploaded, and may not get to uploading. We will see on that.

As for the My View On... posts, I have a new topic in my head, but I have not gotten to writing it yet. As soon as I have time, I will start on it.

As for future railfanning, I should have more time as band winds down in November. I will be in Lincoln, Nebraska on 11/6, if I have time to railfan then I most certainly will. I will probably not be able to railfan the week of Thanksgiving, but maybe the weekend after I will, if everything goes right. I know that I will railfan in Rosenberg at least once more before Christmas. For Christmas Break, I will go to California like I always do, albeit for a shorter time than usual. That is all I have planned for the future!

I appreciate all the people who read this blog, and be sure to keep following!
~Matt

My View On: Controversy Against Railfanning

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/webhostingreview/3090392251

Almost every true railfan has to talk to a police officer for being "suspicious" at least once. A lot of times, the police officer is responding to a call about the "suspicious" railfan, whether it is from a crazy bystander, or a train conductor. The craziest story I have heard is when a lady called in a railfan who had brought his dog with him for "wanting to throw a dog in front of a train." In this post, I will talk about incidents on both public and private property, and who is right to do what in those cases.

As I said in the paragraph above, most cases of a police officer coming up to a railfan is due to somebody calling in "suspicious activity." And in most cases, officers let railfans go if they are on public property and it is clear that they are doing nothing wrong. No, photography is not wrong. No, having a scanner while railfanning is not wrong. No, RAILFANNING IS NOT WRONG. And a lot of police officers do understand that. I know of a lot of railfans who are completely anti-police officer. I do not agree with those railfans, and they are wrong to believe that cops are always at fault. If you are on private railroad property, for example, then they are right to kick you out. Even if you are not on private property, but somebody called you in for being "suspicious," they are CORRECT to ask for your ID. Amtrak's photo policy is very clearly stated, and while most railfans do not follow the rule about having to have a ticket on a platform (even I am guilty sometimes), if an Amtrak employee asks you to leave, then they have every right to. Union Pacific's just states that you may not trespass on railroad property, very simple. BNSF's policy not only allows railfanning on PUBLIC PROPERTY, they actually encourage railfans to report suspicious activity. I have seen way too many railfans climb on signal bridges for better views, put their cameras under a train, and even stand in between tracks while waiting for a train. THAT IS ILLEGAL. Please, don't ruin it for other railfans.

On the flip-side, if a railfan is doing nothing wrong on public property, police do NOT have the right to force you out of that spot. If one tries to, I highly recommend that you record the conversation with the police officer. I do not recommend hardcore arguing back with them, as police can go overboard and arrest you. Although they will have no legitimate way to press charges against you, it is really not worth being treated like a criminal.

The video above from SpeakerPolice is a good example of a run-in with some of the ruder police officers. They may or may not have been on CSX property, I couldn't tell from the light, but the cops were extremely rude, especially referring to hardworking train engineers and conductors as "rail monkeys." Nevertheless, these people handled their encounter with some overprotective police officers very well, they kept their cool and complied to their requests. Even though these officers were rude, they did comply with their orders, which is sometimes what has to be done to avoid being arrested, lawful or unlawful.

So some railfans think that cops are always the bad guys. While in very rare cases this may be true, sometimes it's the train crew, or sometimes, railfans are the bad guys. So if a cop tells you to leave private property, then please leave the private property.

The Mobile Blog

I would like to apologize to anybody who viewed my post from yesterday on their cell phones, I looked this morning and noticed that you could not see any text, just pictures. The issue has been resolved.

~Matt

Photos from Rosenberg on August 1st

Been a while since I've posted, but I am back with some more photos! I will likely upload some Tehachapi Pass videos to YouTube soon, but until then, enjoy some pictures from Rosenberg, TX from last week!

A BNSF ES44AC, 6131, leads an ethanol train with two NS units trailing.

A one unit wonder, BNSF 5225 leads an Intermodal.

My first time catching a Norfolk Southern EMD leader, SD70ACe 1076 leads the UP MEWLD-01.

BNSF 9280 leads a coal train South on the Galveston Sub.

One of my signature catches of the day, CSX Dash 8 7876 leads a Manifest East on the Glidden Sub.

A freshly washed BNSF Fakebonnet Dash 9!!

Yes, I did see more trains, but all of those photos were backlit and had nothing really interesting in them. Thanks for reading!

~Matt

Railfanning in Humble, TX

Today, I went to Humble, which is not too far from my house, to railfan. In a three hour timespan, I caught two trains, both manifests led by UP GEVOs.

7364 led the first train.

The second unit back on this train was FXE 4647 , a Ferromex Diexaños unit!!

Leading the second train was UP 8200, a C45AH.

The videos will be up on my Youtube channel soon,

~Matt

Forum

Hi everyone,

My forum needs some traffic. If you can, please be sure to join it. The address is http://railfandiscussion.proboards.com/.

~Matt

My View On: California High Speed Rail

Source: http://sf.streetsblog.org/category/issues-campaigns/high-speed-rail/

The topic of high speed rail in California has always been a subject of controversy among not just railfans, but a lot of California residents. Being a California native, I figured it was pretty much a responsibility of mine to write a post about this highly controversial topic.

I will begin by telling everyone my opinion. I have mixed feelings about California High Speed Rail. This post will contain what I feel are both good and bad about this project.

America has been lagging behind pretty much the whole rest of the developed world when it comes to rail service. The highest speed train that runs currently Amtrak's Acela Express, which runs between Washington DC and Boston. However, the Acela Express only runs at 150 mph at its highest. With the high speed rail in California, a big void in America can be partially filled. With the speeds it can reach, it may be as fast, if not faster, than flying to San Francisco, factoring in the check-in line, the TSA line, and all of the other typical airport stuff. All that, and a one-way fare on the high speed rail from Los Angeles to San Francisco is currently projected to be $86. In comparison, a one-way ticket on Southwest from LAX to SFO is currently at $212. So a more pleasurable, scenic ride, less hassle, and more than half the price of an airline ticket comes with this high speed rail deal, as it is projected. Wow.

Amtrak is the only major passenger rail company in the US currently.

I also see some bad things about this whole project. More than good, in fact. The first point that I have is the fact that this train will run through quiet, peaceful desert and farmland. Owned land is being disrupted by this process. An argument that people make is that the high speed rail will urbanize most of the currently quiet areas that it will run through. While that will be true on a smaller scale, only naturally occurring urbanization should happen with the HSR.

Another reason that the high speed rail should be bad is the fact that California is down in the dumps economically. It is really not normal for a state to charge as much in taxes as California does. This train project is state funded. What provides the funding? TAXES. As if the gas and sales taxes aren't already enough, they will just keep increasing as the train line continues to be built. And in the eyes of most Californians, those taxes are not worth it. If you want an example, imagine if the train was funded through Kickstarter. The difference between the way they are doing it now and doing it through Kickstarter is that Kickstarter is an optional way to get citizens to fund the train, while taxes are a mandatory way to get citizens to fund the train. Was the train really going to get funded by Kickstarter? Likely not. So are the citizens likely willing to pay the taxes? Probably not. There is a point where taxes go from just regular taxes, to basically punishing the citizens for living in that state or country. In my opinion, California has crossed that line.

At the beginning of this post, I said that I have mixed feelings. Of course, I still feel that way. I feel like once this train is actually finished, it will be awesome. But until then, the cons outweigh the benifits by far.

~Matt

Catching Union Pacific 1995

Here is a photo of UP 1995 (The Chicago & Northwestern heritage unit) At Sugar Land, TX.

~Matt

Some Rosenberg, TX Photos 2/14/15

Hi!

Here are just some of the many photos I took from Rosenberg, TX yesterday with TheACman42.

One of the many C44-9Ws we saw that day

A patched SP leads a rock train!

This was my first time taking a going-away shot. Somehow, it turned out to be almost perfect.

For more pictures, go to my website.

Valentine's Day Railfanning

Hi there! First of all, check out my new website! www.railfanamerica.com

Second of all, to show my love for trains (not really), I will railfan at Rosenberg tomorrow. Some pictures will be posted here, but most will be posted on the website!

Matt

January 17th in Mineola

Last Saturday I spent the day in Mineola, TX railfanning. In 8 hours I caught 8 trains. Videos will come soon. Among the many I caught were:

Amtrak 21, the Texas Eagle, led by AMTK 55, with a K5HL-sounding K5LA.

The one manifest I caught that day, with a CSX GEVO leading

MY first C45AH leader! UP 8258.

                           

Railfanning This Weekend

Hi fellow railfans!

I am sorry for the lack of activity, there has just been nothing to post. However, this weekend that will change. I am going to railfan in Northeast TX this Saturday, including the undiscovered railfanning gem of Big Sandy. That is a high volume UP territory for those that don't know, and it may be my last railfan trip for a while.

Expect pictures!
~Matt