Utah_Bench Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 Today was the first time I got noticed and "checked out" by the railroad. There was a lot of activity in the yards today and I was shooting in a couple of visible areas and got out of my car to get better shots and know I was seen by some rail workers. I also wanted shots of a couple of cars that were blocked by trees so I got out of my car again parking it in a lot behind a strip mall. Got my shots and as I was going back to my car I saw a rail worker truck coming up to my car. I keep walking to my car as he slowly passed by parked car and drive by me very slowly. I gave him a "hey how you doing" wave and he only eye fucked me as he passed. Got in my car and left and as I was leaving saw the truck pull back into the yard and stopped and watched me until I was out of sight. Don't know if my tag number was taken or anything like that but I'm guessing they will know my car from now on? I'll post some of my flicks in my Utah Beanching thread later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Man Banned Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 Welcome to the wide world of benching! You will meet all sorts, I have overall been quite fortunate. Some workers don't appreciate foamers/railfans, which is what they assume everyone with a camera is. Others don't like it if you have your camera in their face or you're shooting in their direction. Some will not like it if they see you're shooting graf. (As an aside, railfans, particularly the foamer types, can be a real nuisance too). Otherwise, as long as you respect the property boundaries, right of ways (ROW), etc., they will learn your car and then either be friendly or standoffish. Some of them have really been drilled on "see something say something" so if they've never seen you before they might approach and ask what you're doing, or call you in to RR or local police to come and ask what you're up to. If that happens just tell them you like trains and are out taking pictures. If they ask, tell them you haven't gone on RR property. Do this long enough and you'll have some of these adventures. I was in buttfuck Midwest at a sanctioned location, wearing a USA t-shirt, and some do gooder called us in to the police as suspicious. Not like I was in any trouble, but it's an interaction I try to avoid. On the other hand a few weeks back I was road tripping, had a worker ask if I was photgraphing graf, then he showed me a whole car he took on his phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah_Bench Posted March 19, 2017 Author Share Posted March 19, 2017 I guess it had to happen sooner or later and I do make sure to stay on public property and not on RR owned land. I'll try to keep from pointing my camera at any of the workers to keep that hassle to a minimum. I was pretty much prepared to be truthful and tell them I was just taking pictures of the trains and art. I guess we'll see how this all works out this summer. Thanks for the tips One Man Banned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CILONE/SK Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 I have been stopped before taking pics on their property and had conversations with them. Not really much of a hassle. I was honest and told them what I was doing. Some small talk and I was back to taking pics. I wouldn't worry about it. Pics aren't illegal. Even if you get a visit from police, just tell them that you were taking pics and keep the conversation short. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah_Bench Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share Posted March 20, 2017 I have been stopped before taking pics on their property and had conversations with them. Not really much of a hassle. I was honest and told them what I was doing. Some small talk and I was back to taking pics. I wouldn't worry about it. Pics aren't illegal. Even if you get a visit from police, just tell them that you were taking pics and keep the conversation short. Will Do CILONE, good advice. I would love to be able to walk around the yard and take flicks but, I understand the liabilities the RR works under. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Man Banned Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 Let them get to know you 1st and then see what you can get away with. Some RRs like BNSF or UP can be aggressive in trying to prosecute trespassers for numerous reasons. If you're not far onto their property and are just taking flix they'll probably think stupid foamer and kick you off but you never know. You have some bonus points as a veteran so don't be afraid to play that card if you need to. EDIT- just saw your bench update. If you were noticed by the RR taking those flix I can assume it's because you're on the border of their ROW. Nothing wrong with that, but it will draw their attention until they know who you are. If you DM me I might be able to give you some other info that could help your benching that I would not want to put out online. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah_Bench Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share Posted March 20, 2017 How do I send a PM on this forum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enteruncreativename Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 Go to http://forum.12ozprophet.com/conversations/ and ???. Edit: I have had mixed encounters with rail road workers before. Back in the day when I first started out painting them I talked with one of the workers and he was openly positive about people painting freights. Then I have heard stories with conductors calling the police when in a bench as it went by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One Man Banned Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 Top of the page click forum navigation on the right, select your account, on the left go to conversations and click new conversation, start typing in my screen name and select it, then type your message and start the conversation. It's a DM/PM. Note that the forum currently does not alert you if you get a new message so you'll have to check back later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah_Bench Posted March 21, 2017 Author Share Posted March 21, 2017 Ok thanks, I have a very busy day tomorrow so it may be Wednesday before I can get back to you One man Banned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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