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Be aware, heightened security concerns have resulted in scattered
reports of railfans being hassled by the authorities. We were
going to do a piece on [lie subject, when the following article,
from the Massachusetts Bay Railroad Enthusiasts' '(MBRE) publication,
The CALLBOY. was brought to our attention. We don't think one
can say it any better than this, and we thank the MBRE for allowing
us to reprint it.
Above Lower Manhattan, smoke from the collapsed World Tmdc Center
towers still fouls the air, as the list of confirmed dead and
missing grows longer each day. Close by Washington, salvage workers
struggle to shore up the shattered walls of the Pentagon. New
security tactics clog traffic in our airports. Hard-eyed officers
patrol rail stations and rights-of-way.
Since Sept. 11, there has been much talk of "war." But
what lies ahead differs from the cinema battles of "Saving
Private Ryan" or "Band of Brothers." World War
11 was as much a struggle of mass production and distribution
as of ships, planes and men. The American railroad network was
so vital to that struggle that railfans voluntarily gave up their
cherished hobby "for the duration."
Now we may face a "gray war" of stealth -one without
blacked-out troop specials or hush-hush "main trains."
At a time of widespread national tension and suspicion, the Callboy
urges responsible behavior by railfans, professional railroaders,
law enforcement officers, and the public.
To railfans: For now, railroaders may see you as a threat, rather
than a friend or even a mere nuisance. Stay off railroad property;
do your train-watching well away from the right-of way. Should
a police officer order you to "move on," even from public
property to which you would normally have access, pack up your
gear and leave politely. Taking that last picture, or being the
first to make that 'Net posting, aren't worth the short-term hassle;
your livelihood and your family's well-being don't depend on them.
Leave time for the irrational fears of the moment to pass.
To professional railroaders: Be patient with us, and recognize
that no other basic industry functions so much in public view,
with such a group of amateur admirers. Know that we support the
railroads' efforts to survive and prosper, even at a time of national
upheaval and fear.
To operating crews: We realize that each day when you report for
duty, you just want to get over the road safely and return home
at the end of your run. We will not keep you from those goals;
our hobby should never interfere with your job. But we still want
to be out along the line, reporting and documenting the railroad
experience. We ask that you not see us as enemies when we do that.
To railroad managers: We appreciate your past willingness to let
us look "behind the scenes" and we hope to continue
those educational experiences in a safe way. We understand your
heightened concerns for the protection of your employees and your
property, and we ask your equal understanding of our genuine,
and continuing, interest in your industry and its operations.
To law enforcement personnel: Where entering railroad property
was illegal before Sept. 11. it still is. But where watching and
photographing trains from public property (or private property,
with permission) was legal before Sept. 11. it still is. How you
treat railfans in these uncertain times will help define the precarious
balance between "national security" and traditional
American liberty. On Sept. 16, Linda Greenhouse, The New York
Times Supreme Court reporter, quoted Amy Gutmann, a political
philosopher and newly designated provost of Princeton University:
"The time when people are living in fear is the time when
we as a society have the most need to maintain civil liberties
- which, as we've learned to our national disgrace, has not always
happened."
[Even as we wrote this, a local TV news team was seeking help
from Amtrak and MBTA police, after a "misunderstanding"
in which the private security force at South Station had refused
to let them film on the station concourse.]
To the public: Consider railfans whose skin color, appearance
or accent may seem "foreign" as loyal Americans until
proven otherwise. And beware the reckless hysteria that can follow
war talk, such as the foolish, nearly forgotten anti-Japanese
sentiment of 1942 that led to some railroads' renaming their 2-8-2s
as "MacArthur" types in place of "Mikados".
And a final note to railfans: When you're out train-watching these
days, WAVE! Let the railroaders know that you respect what they
do - and that they still have friends at trackside.article.
NOTE: Thanks to MBRE for allowing the NRHS to reprint this.
Posted: February 19, 2003.
