Other Railwayana

A railfan or rail buff (American English), railway enthusiast (Australian/British English), or (often with a more specialized meaning, described below) trainspotter (British English), is a person who is strongly interested, in an amateur capacity, in railroads. more...

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Railfans can be found worldwide.

Other names

Excessively enthusiastic railfans are sometimes referred to pejoratively as "foamers", especially by American railworkers, in reference to the joking notion that they foam at the mouth in their excitement over train operations. "FRN" (for "fucking rail nut") is a similarly-used term in the American rail industry. The UK equivalent is "crank", which has been taken into enthusiast usage.

In the UK, railfans are sometimes called "trainspotters," "grizzers" or "gricers" (the latter especially by railway staff in the Midlands). In Australia, they are sometimes called "gunzels".

Activities

The hobby extends to all aspects of railroad systems. Various people have one or more particular concentrations of interest, such as:

Railroad locomotives and cars; Still-used or disused railroad lines, bridges, tunnels, stations, and other infrastructure; Subways and other local rail transit systems; Railroad photography;

Railway photography

Train photography is a common activity of railfans. Most railfans do their photographing from public property, unless they have permission to use a specific private property owner's land. Occasionally, they run into problems with law enforcement, especially after 9/11, because they are sometimes viewed as suspicious. In fact, in 2004 the New York City Subway attempted to institute a photo ban. This was met with fierce opposition, and was ultimately scrapped. Railroad companies also sometimes dislike railfans, considering them a nuisance. Railfans respond that their presence makes the railroads safer, since they typically know what is normal behavior and can spot someone who is up to no good, or something that appears to be out of place or unusual. Some railroad photographers have become well known in their own right for their works. Many railfans are very familiar with the works of H. Reid, Pseufighter, Otto Perry and O.Winston Link.

Connex Melbourne now require any railfan wishing to take photographs to apply for and obtain a permit. Permits last for 90 days, except in the case of some select stations in which a permit only lasts for 7 days. This system has been met with resentment from the railfan community, and many refuse to apply for permits. In November, 2005 one railfan was issued with an infringement notice simply for holding a camera on a platform.

Radio scanners are common equipment for listening in on railroad frequencies in order to know when trains are about to arrive. Model railroads including model trains are common hobbies for railfans when not out watching trains.

Read more at Wikipedia.org