Understanding Spotting and Enthusiasts

[TDK]

A bit controversial but I am trying to understand some of the actions of spotters and enthusiasts below is a list of observations from a rail staffs point of view who isn't a spotter:

1. Why are enthusiasts excited by trains that spew out copious amounts of smoke and fumes when it is clearly bad for the environment?

2. What is the attraction of steep gradients?

3. Why do you dwell on the past?

4. What is the point in being hauled by a different loco within the same class?

5. What is the attraction to the drivers sounding the horn and doing the up and down movement of ones arm?

6. What is the attraction of travelling over a length of line for the first time in the dark?

7. Why do you smile at a train when it pulls into a station even when it is a 153 and late?

8. What do you do will all the photos you take?

9. Do you all use the terms hellfire and my lordz

10. What is the reason for marking off train numbers in a book?

I can understand being interested in the infrastructure and how it all works and also interested in the engineering of steam trains but the others to be fair I am at a loss what the attraction is. Please don't take this as a wee wee take I see a lot of spotters and am just trying to understand why they do it?

 

[DarloRich]

Not being a spotter I can’t really help but I will have a go.

A bit controversial but I am trying to understand some of the actions of spotters and enthusiasts below is a list of observations from a rail staffs point of view who isn't a spotter:

Not being a spotter I can’t really help but I will have a go. My view of them is less charitable than yours!

1. Why are enthusiasts excited by trains that spew out copious amounts of smoke and fumes when it is clearly bad for the environment?

No idea – I perhaps sadly think of the increased stress on the engine and the cost of fixing it!

2. What is the attraction of steep gradients?

Perhaps it produces item 1?

3. Why do you dwell on the past?

Don’t know – although many of our older trains seem more comfortable than our new ones!

4. What is the point in being hauled by a different loco within the same class?

Don’t understand this needed for sight/needed for haulage stuff. For me the journey is the important thing. Although not by Voyager!

5. What is the attraction to the drivers sounding the horn and doing the up and down movement of ones arm?

I really don’t understand that – see wibbletastic you tube videos- the horn is a safety feature for the benefit of track workers and others and not a toy (unless you are 4!)

6. What is the attraction of travelling over a length of line for the first time in the dark?

None – you cant see anything. The journey is the interesting bit most of the time.

7. Why do you smile at a train when it pulls into a station even when it is a 153 and late?

I don’t. I frown, tut and tap my watch

8. What do you do will all the photos you take?

THAT I can help with – I wang mine on Flickr

9. Do you all use the terms hellfire and my lordz

Only if you never want to kiss a girl
Such silliness drives me mad

10. What is the reason for marking off train numbers in a book?

I don’t, but each to their own. Some people collect records, others football programmes, other bottles or model cars. Everyone does something. Mainly men though! I have rarely met a woman with an alphabetised cd collection

 

[ComUtoR]

I posted a similar thread a while back and got some good insight from the chuffer nuts good people on this forum. It was refreshing to hear from their perspective.

From a staff perspective I still find it a little weird. Not the collecting aspect or some of the photographic elements. The same generic, identical, boring, cut and paste design of the modern traction unit. They all look the same; to me.

Steam was gorgeous and still is. The sheer engineering was a marvel to behold so I tend to understand that aspect. I look to the future and certainly will not be looking back with rose tinted glasses about Networkers; possibly because I play trains for a living. I look forward to ATO and my robot overlords and I would love to see a maglev floating about the UK at high speeds to those t'up norf.

Personally I've never had an issue with "spotters" but some Drivers have reported minor altercations where they tend to encroach upon the railway environs and its workers.

 

[theblackwatch]

Please don't take this as a wee wee take I see a lot of spotters and am just trying to understand why they do it?

Because they enjoy it. It beats going to work (well for some, one woman I worked with once said she'd come to work even if she won the lottery for something to do - she clearly couldn't think of anything else to do with her life!).

One could as a similar question in that:

11. What is the attraction in spending a lot of time sat in front of a computer screen typing out questions for other people to answer?

 

[DarloRich]

Because they enjoy it.

One could as a similar question in that:

11. What is the attraction in spending a lot of time sat in front of a computer screen typing out questions for other people to answer?

i am sad, have few friends and live 200 miles from my girlfreind

 

[SPADTrap]

How odd, it sounds as if you're trying to learn about some different kind of species or something! They're just people with an interest and that interest happens to be trains...next!

Thought you were more savvy than that, TDK!

 

[cf111]

Horses for courses I suppose, I've no interest in writing down numbers, taking pictures and videos or standing at platforms for hours on end but if you enjoy it then fair enough. I did once hear someone shout 'MY LOOOOORDZ', which made me and the others on the platform laugh, that didn't go down too well!

I'm interested in the way the whole system works, as for older trains some of them are beautiful pieces of engineering and trains like the HST and Deltics are great bits of design, but that's about as far as my interest goes on that side of things.

I like train travel, I think it's a great way to see the country.

 

[theblackwatch]

I don’t, but each to their own. Some people collect records, others football programmes, other bottles or model cars. Everyone does something. Mainly men though! I have rarely met a woman with an alphabetised cd collection

That's because all their CDs are probably by one singer who they are obsessed with. Oh, I've just realised - they have a collection...

 

[Tommy1581]

7. Why do you smile at a train when it pulls into a station even when it is a 153 and late?

I don't, usually because I don't travel by rail often, and Metros are always delayed.

8. What do you do will all the photos you take?

I store them on a memory card, which I have to buy from a shop.

9. Do you all use the terms hellfire and my lordz

I don't, no.

10. What is the reason for marking off train numbers in a book?

I only do that as I am so forgetful and can't be bothered to upload the photos.

 

[RichmondCommu]

i am sad, have few friends and live 200 miles from my girlfreind

Then get your girlfriend to move south! It isn't such a bad place to live and it tends to be a bit warmer.

 

[DarloRich]

Then get your girlfriend to move south! It isn't such a bad place to live and it tends to be a bit warmer.

i can afford a house at home. I cant here!

 

[civ-eng-jim]

Then get your girlfriend to move south! It isn't such a bad place to live and it tends to be a bit warmer.

I assumed the 200miles was because of a restraining order.....

 

[83G/84D]

Bus spotting, train spotting, plane spotting, birdwatching or whatever I see no harm in it although it does attract a few ecentric types from my own observations.

I also get the impression that it is regarded as strange but as it is taking place in view of other people they are bound to be curious at times.

Some people just want to know what you are doing and are friendly then you get a few who just take the p*#s.

Whatever just enjoy it.

 

[Taunton]

9. Do you all use the terms hellfire and my lordz

Doesn't anyone shout out "Cop" any more? (and it doesn't refer to a policeman).

 

[Agent_c]

I suppose it's not that different from birdwatching... Except in this case it's an artificial animal rather than a biological one. Mating ritual, migrating patterns, and the like. Twitchers like to share and compare photos and experiences, but I guess trains can me a more intimate experience as you can see, touch, and be a part of it.

 

[sprinterguy]

I will turn my mind to some of the more general queries, as a number of them are valid across essentially the full range of possible hobbies and interests, and are in no way limited to the pastime of trainspotting.

1. Why are enthusiasts excited by trains that spew out copious amounts of smoke and fumes when it is clearly bad for the environment?

It’s a visible manifestation of a machine that is being worked hard – linked to point 2 below. I would wager that it is a throwback in some small way to the days of steam, and an appreciation of the human exertion of the fireman and driver on the footplate of a steam locomotive being worked hard, that has become generationally ingrained.

2. What is the attraction of steep gradients?

A desire to see trains being worked at their limit, potentially for the sound and visual effects that this produces (see point 1 above). The spectacle of a powerful item of machinery “shaking the ground” or similar potentially producing a youthful or childlike thrill.

3. Why do you dwell on the past?

Nostalgia and sentimentality, prevalent in many interests and hobbies. Things are often seen as having been at their best during the “innocent days of youth”, and things are perceived to have worsened since due to gaining a wider appreciation of the topic or surrounding environment.

4. What is the point in being hauled by a different loco within the same class?

Related to question 10, this is explained by the completist mentality; the “gotta catch ‘em all” attitude where the thrill of the chase is greatly lessened or even eradicated by completing a pre-established list. Again, this is evident across many hobbies and interests, be it railway enthusiasts, stamp collectors, beer tickers, munro baggers or those “collecting” football grounds.

8. What do you do will all the photos you take?

I’m having my old railway photos professionally scanned, as I am loathe to just bin them in the first instance after the money that was invested in purchasing the film and having them developed. Not to mention the time spent hanging around, taking the things! They’re being stored electronically on an external hard drive, grouped into folders by class (or groups of similar classes): That’s the completist in me coming out a bit, there. If I take any odd snaps of trains when I’m out and about travelling these days they’ll get thrown into the appropriate electronic folder, too.

10. What is the reason for marking off train numbers in a book?

The mentality of the completist, where all items in a pre-established list must be ticked off for the individual to feel satiated. See point 4 above. For the less extreme, it can also be simply down to the desire to record and be able to check back on what has been seen without any particular aim.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

In the good ol Ian Allan days, spotting was a gregarious and popular pastime with the aim of "clearing" a particular class of loco or unit.

Also in the good 'ol days, the sound of a Class 31/47/50/55/Paxman Valenta HST...etc...etc from cold was (for many) unmissible and part of the attraction to that particular loco. Some call this "clag"

Personally I like how the railway works and the old infrastructure. I also enjoy photography (not just of trains...). I photograph some of the modern scene "as is" as in time, it is all history. Especially with today's myriad of TOC's and their liveries - a contrast to the "national" liveries of yesteryear. Sadly, there is not much for me to enjoy now in terms of stock but that's just my preference.

I'm sure there are several people who love modern stock and who might get excited about the whine of a 377 or whatever noise a Pacer makes but there is still a lure with some people to jot down numbers etc and tick them off in the spotters' books.

 

[Tommy1581]

I suppose it's not that different from birdwatching... Except in this case it's an artificial animal rather than a biological one. Mating ritual, migrating patterns, and the like. Twitchers like to share and compare photos and experiences, but I guess trains can me a more intimate experience as you can see, touch, and be a part of it.

When I was at school, one of my friends requested that we went birdspotting/watching, I will never get them 2 hours of my life back.

 

[sprinterguy]

Also in the good 'ol days, the sound of a Class 31/47/50/55/Paxman Valenta HST...etc...etc from cold was (for many) unmissible and part of the attraction to that particular loco. Some call this "clag"

Isn’t “clag” the visual manifestation of smoke and particulates from a loco while “thrash” is the more commonly used term to describe a locomotives' audible ouput?

 

[RichmondCommu]

i can afford a house at home. I cant here!

I realise that buying a house in and around Milton Keynes would not be cheap but surely you would stand a better chance of doing so with a joint income? Not only that but going home to someone in the evenings always improves the mood. Just saying that all
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

When I was at school, one of my frienat ds requested that we went birdspotting/watching, I will never get them 2 hours of my life back.

What kind of birds were they? Feathered or none feathered? None feathered and the consequences could have been interesting!

 

[Trainfan344]

9. Do you all use the terms hellfire and my lordz

If I'm on my own no, usually when visiting a railway with a specific group of friends we say these things and then usually laugh at it.

 

[83G/84D]

I suppose it's not that different from birdwatching... Except in this case it's an artificial animal rather than a biological one. Mating ritual, migrating patterns, and the like. Twitchers like to share and compare photos and experiences, but I guess trains can me a more intimate experience as you can see, touch, and be a part of it.

Are you aware there is a subtle difference between birdwatching and twitching!?

 

[Tommy1581]

RichmondCommu
What kind of birds were they? Feathered or none feathered? None feathered and the consequences could have been interesting!

I was paying so much attention... Forgot.

 

[Controller1701]

5. What is the attraction to the drivers sounding the horn and doing the up and down movement of ones arm?

I would say that they are requesting that the driver creates a brake to permit a full brake continuity test to place

Paul

 

[83G/84D]

I would say that they are requesting that the driver creates a brake to permit a full brake continuity test to place

Paul

Nice answer!

 

[Dave1987]

I have one question. Why do some enthusiasts have no concept of safety? There was a train from West Coast Railways that came through Colchester station the other day which was all old coaches (same ones that you see on preserved line) which had no CDL. The train hadn't even stopped and people were opening the doors and getting off! About six months ago there was a steam train in platform 1 at Colchester and anyone who knows that station knows that its quite a narrow island platform. People were so desperate to get as close as they could they were right up to the very edge of platform 2 the other side. The supervisor was making repeated announcements for people to stand back from the edge of platform 2 which no one was paying the blindest bit of notice to. Two trains were delayed leaving platform 2 as it simply wasn't safe for the trains to depart with people so close to the edge.

 

[LLivery]

1. Why are enthusiasts excited by trains that spew out copious amounts of smoke and fumes when it is clearly bad for the environment?

Personally I'm fond of the smell of diesel and like the sound of a good engine (train, car, plane). I honestly don't know why I like to see a bit of smoke "clag" whatever you want to call it. Maybe its because I know that in the not too distant future there won't be any.

2. What is the attraction of steep gradients?

I don't have a attraction, but I'm guessing its to see locos, especially freights pushed to their limits.

3. Why do you dwell on the past?

Nostalgia. I was born right at the end of BR, but many would agree the 1950s-1980s period created some amazing trains (Deltics, HSTs, 91s, APT etc) and BR had a strong identity which the railways seem to lack today. Saying that, I don't bang on about the past, I wasn't there, but can understand why people miss it.

4. What is the point in being hauled by a different loco within the same class?

No idea.

5. What is the attraction to the drivers sounding the horn and doing the up and down movement of ones arm?

I don't go looking for horns but its always nice to hear one. For me just relates to childhood and the lack of sounding them at stations now. I remember being little and having trains sound the horn through Wellingborough, now whenever I go back I don't hear them. Honestly the only horns I'm interested in hearing is from a 91 or HST.

6. What is the attraction of travelling over a length of line for the first time in the dark?

Is that really a thing? I like travelling, going new places and all, but zero attraction for me.

7. Why do you smile at a train when it pulls into a station even when it is a 153 and late?

Not something I do. I often get annoyed when my train is late, especially if its Southern.

8. What do you do will all the photos you take?

Flickr, or just for memories of where I've been. I like photography in general.

9. Do you all use the terms hellfire and my lordz

Never have I said that, last time I checked its seen as quite annoying anyway! If people like saying it good on them, I couldn't care less - free speech and all.

10. What is the reason for marking off train numbers in a book?

Just to a recollection of what they've seen, I've probably seen all Southern units, but I'm not a spotter.

 

[Temple Meads]

I don't think it's any secret that railways are of particular appeal to those with autistic spectrum disorders - the patterns and numbers involved with railways (and indeed buses) are of great appeal - and thus some of the behaviours of such enthusiasts might look unusual to the casual observer.

I'd say the sight and sound of an engine working hard is something that most people interested in mechanical devices enjoy seeing - myself included - the sound of a Class 37 under load is something I find particularly special, much more than 'clag', for me.

 

[TUC]

One related question I have often wondered. Whilst one sees enthusiasts at lots of stations, there regularly seems to be a particular number at Doncaster. Why is that?

 

[GB]

I can only comment on point 8. Photos are uploaded to smugmug with back ups kept on my HDD.

I do it as I like developing a skill and although yes, things these days look the same, in 5 to 10 years etc that may not be so.