10 things I've learned about railfanning

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© George K 2023, All Rights Reserved.

[seanlockhart]

Hey 1458, if you can, search up the Battle River Railway. The crew LOVES railfans, as they invite you in the cab, wave, and give horn shows. They also run only SD40-2 variations. Thanks!

[jmg_videos]

One thing I learned while railfanning is that you have to be flexible. You can’t catch everything, but you can catch anything. I used to be so upset whenever I missed something rare or interesting, but I realized that being upset and thinking it’s the end of the world isn’t the answer. In addition to this, you just have to realize if you miss something rare or interesting, there will always be more chances in the future. Another thing is that you need to stay out of drama. People in this community nowadays think they are perfectionists and know everything and start drama if one person says something wrong. Same goes with posting photos on platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Railfanning is CLEARLY not a hobby to determine who is the better railfan just because they have better gear than you, it’s about enjoying the sights and sounds of the train whether it’s just a boring pair of CSX GEVO’s or an colorful lashup of fallen flag locomotives.

[OG-Productions]

The first thing I learned was you always miss heritage units

[jacksonsdrones]

As a railfanner of 2 years, I can say this is all EXTREMELY True. Nice Video as Always Man!

[SoCalHighIron]

Trains are awesome. I'm a dude. And as a dude, I'm required to like large, powerful machines. Not only are these locomotives a full 16 feet tall and and 75 feet long, the horsepower isn't even the impressive performance number, it's the TORQUE. I'm talking about 60, 000 foot pound from the enormous twin turbo diesel, and 200, 000 pounds-force of tractive effort. My friend it is SCARCE TO BE BELIEVED.

[MichiganRailfanEnthusiast]

I've been a railfanner before I started a channel, but I've never really met other railfans then. When I met a new railfan in March 2023, I started my channel. Ever since, I've met new railfans and I've gotten lots of support on my channel. It feels good and well appreciated!

[NorfolkAnd]

Hands down best railfanning spot:

3 lines intersect at a diamond
50-60 trains a day
Amtrak traffic in the morning
Actively used line
A lot of special and interesting Locomotives come threw
A lot of forien power
Owned by Norfolk Southern

[warthog]

One thing that i learned about railfanning is the history between railroads & subdivisions. For example, I found out that the CSX Abbeville Sub was originally owned by the Seaboard System till the 80s, until CSX bought it from them in the early 90s.

[BNSFBishop]

Another great vid GK! You definitely nailed it on the mark about to don’t rely on scanners. I made a trip to Louisiana back in September and it recorded a defect detector for 100 axles but nothing even came! And I accidentally left my scanner there lol, so I gonna get another soon. And yeah it’s definitely an excuse to get out of the house, I’m looking to go out more often when I get a car. Happy railfanning GK

[AdamnSarah]

I ran across your vids looking for something else, but I watched a few and enjoyed them. I’ve worked on the railroad for 14 years with several different companies and been a rail fan since I was a kid in the 1980’s. You make a lot of valid - and humorous - points. I enjoy seeing rail fans when I’m working. Many of the guys I work with complain about them. I’ve yet to get a good answer when I say there are very few jobs, other than being a professional athlete, where people want to take pictures of you working.

[CDROM-lqiz]

As a railroader myself, a couple things I want to mention:

1: Even if you do know someone who works for the railroad, there's an extremely high chance they aren't allowed to share any information about train schedules. It's considered a huge security risk.

2: The line about EMDs becoming rare always makes me giggle. Not because it isn't true, (at least on class Is) but because the railroad I work for literally doesn't have anything other than EMDs in their fleet, so for me, seeing an actual wide-body come into the shop is a fun experience.

[human]

A lot different from Europe. Here in Germany we just go to a line and even on very less frequented single tracked side lines there is a train at least like every hour. On mainlines there are trains like every 3 minutes and a wide variety of them from local commuter, to high speed all the way to cargo.

[Morgan-Owen]

As a british trainspotter (what us brits call railfans) We have an app which tells us when and where a train will pass. What type of train. What stations it will pass and how late or early it is. The number of the loco and other things. So i can’t imagine the frustration of not knowing when a train is.

[JTSKWPentertainment_]

1:36 Loving these SD’s
2:09 Loving the GE’s
I’m a GEVO fan

[BoomerOnLostPrairie]

Loved those short mashed up clips with the horn blasts. Very creative editing, made me smile

[TwinLitz]

How do I become a dedicated fan? You are my favorite railfanner on YouTube I am also a railfanner, but most of the time I can’t get out often because of school but you’re always what makes me want to go out to the tracks.

[brycehill]

Makes me happy that I still have my pair of heritage livery MAC's working with an old BN caboose and the ancient high hood SD9 working a local yard.

[iancampbell]

I started out railfanning in my hometown catching local freights with GP40-2s and GP38-2s so the first time I caught a GEVO, I flipped out. sadly, that'll never happen again. though since seeing a train is a rare opportunity, I'm not usually disappointed even if it's a boring lashup.

[amtrakfan]

For #3, I can relate to. When I got my camera in 2022, my parents have been driving me to getting good photography and videography. I thought since trains run on scenic routes too, it would prove that I'm good at photography and videography.

[RailfanKnexified]

Dude I can so relate to the first reason that was said. I think it's been twice now I was at the tracks for an hour or a bit more with nothing until literally the last minutes before I leave! Which is usually not normal in my area. And my area is a sort of busy line with a good amount of trains each day. And I agree with the unpredictableness of trains