Safety whilst railfanning.

[simonmoore]

Something thats i've been thinking about recently is a trip to the states for a family holiday & of course squeezing in some railfanning but how safe is it? There are areas in the uk which can be quite rough & i class as a no go zone. We have a problem with knife crime & certain areas of the country are quite bad. Areas in Glasgow up in Scotland are terribly bad with knife crime & guns becoming more common. Once me & my wife we're visiting friends in Manchester & returning home we stopped to fill up with gas & there was a gang fight in the gas station. Both me & my wife were very shaken by this & because we didnt know the area we was in we wasnt aware of what can happen.
With all this in mind how safe is it in the states because gun crime is common place & certain areas are no go zones what so ever with gangs shooting each other daily. How as a tourist can you know that the area your in is safe & also enjoy railfanning without the worry of being attacked or having cameras etc stolen. Maybe the things we see in the uk are over the top to what it is like in the states but i think that this is something worth asking so you can enjoy something without worry.

Cheers

Simon

[steinjr]

Might be a little easier to get specific advice if you give a wee hint about what places in the US you would like to visit for railfanning.

Smile,
Stein

[simonmoore]

We've been thinking of Los Angeles, New York & Florida

[faraway]

We've been thinking of Los Angeles, New York & Florida

This forum <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.westcoastrailforums.com">http://www.westcoastrailforums.com</a><!-- m --> is all about rail fans with a specific focus on the LA area. Just yesterday joined a fellow from Luxembourg and starts asking about rail fan in LA. I did read frequently hints and tips where to go and where not. The RR staff is also very different. Some are helpful some try to protect their RR from everybody. 9/11 changed a lot for rail fans.
Russ, from this forum, lives in the LA area. I am sure he will be very helpful too.

[ocalicreek]

Every city has it's part of town you'd rather not be in after dark, so let us know where you're thinking.

We have our share of gun, knife, etc. crime and gang related violence and many areas near the tracks are such places where that occurs. But there are many beautiful locations that are clean, well lit, even regularly patroled by police where a railfan can get great pictures. Of course sometimes it's the police who cause more 'trouble' for railfans in our post-9/11 litigious era of heightened 'security'. Big Brother is watching you watching trains.

And I could see where you folks on that side of the pond would think we're a bunch of gun totin' shoot-em-up cowboys. This sentiment was obvious in the most recent season opener of Doctor Who (I'm a big fan). "I wear a Stetson now...Stetsons are cool..." says Matt Smith, moments before his hat is shot off. Throughout the entire episode and into the second part, us 'mericans are portrayed as trigger happy...something the Doctor has always been against.

All that to say, don't let perception ruin a perfectly good reality.

Galen

[Sumpter250]

" Los Angeles, New York & Florida "

Of those, Florida permits concealed carry, and has therefore, become one of the safer places......unless you can be " clearly identified as a tourist ".....even at that, with the State of Florida honoring "carry" rights of other states that have it, even tourist related crimes are decreasing.
Some areas of New York City , are still "don't go there", and I know very little about L.A.

[steinjr]

We've been thinking of Los Angeles, New York & Florida

What part of New York (City?), and Florida are you thinking about? What kind of stuff are you looking for?

Smile,
Stein

[Brakie]

Simon,Here's my rules when railfanning..

1.Find the railfan hot spot..This is where the local railfans gather and is usually in a safe area..

2.Don't be flashy.I wear jeans and pocket T-shirt.I don't flash cash when I buy lunch,a snack or coffee.I avoid looking like a tourist.

3.Look assured of yourself...In other words don't have a frighten deer look.

4.Avoid rough looking areas..Again find the local hot spot.

5.When in doubt leave the area.
---------------------
I have railfan for years and never had problems other then having a scanner stolen..When I stopped at a service station for water and restroom break I got careless and left the windows down,car unlocked and the scanner on the seat..This was in a small Ohio city that is well known for its low crime rate.

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Something thats i've been thinking about recently is a trip to the states for a family holiday & of course squeezing in some railfanning but how safe is it? There are areas in the uk which can be quite rough & i class as a no go zone. We have a problem with knife crime & certain areas of the country are quite bad. Areas in Glasgow up in Scotland are terribly bad with knife crime & guns becoming more common. Once me & my wife we're visiting friends in Manchester & returning home we stopped to fill up with gas & there was a gang fight in the gas station. Both me & my wife were very shaken by this & because we didnt know the area we was in we wasnt aware of what can happen.
With all this in mind how safe is it in the states because gun crime is common place & certain areas are no go zones what so ever with gangs shooting each other daily. How as a tourist can you know that the area your in is safe & also enjoy railfanning without the worry of being attacked or having cameras etc stolen. Maybe the things we see in the uk are over the top to what it is like in the states but i think that this is something worth asking so you can enjoy something without worry.

Cheers

Simon

It would help to know specifically WHERE you're going. when you say LA, New York, or Florida, those are all HUGE places, and one cannot really tell you where it it safe or not without actually knowing what you want to see.

I don't know many good spots WITHIN New York City (in fact, there isn't much in the way of "heavy rail" in places like Manhattan, other than Penn Station, and its all underground). However, the suburbs around it have many picturesque spots. On good spot to see variety is in Bound Brook, NJ. Here, there is a junction between NS and CSX, where freights travel between the port of New Jersey & New York for destinations in the west. Literally right next to these lines are NJ transit tracks hosting regular commuter Push-pulls, with some of the diesels operating there being the oldest regular passenger power in the country.

[Russ Bellinis]

I just got to this thread. I hope I'm not too late to the "party." If you just want to see trains run by, the Fullerton Amtrak station is a great spot. A north and a south bound passenger train, either Metrolink commuter train or Amtrak San Diegan will be by about every hour. In addition the BNSF mainline goes past the Fullerton station and then turns east toward the Santa Ana Canyon just south of the station at the Fullerton wye. There are usually a bunch of railfans hanging out there, so it is a pretty safe area. North east of Los Angeles is the Cajon Pass. I think the railroads typically run @ 100 trains a day through the pass. If you a heading east out of Los Angeles on the 60 freeway, the 10 freeway, or the 210 freeway, transition to the 15 north and follow it up to the junction at the end of the 215 where the 215 joins the 15. Once passed the 215 junction, the next off ramp will be to the right. The name escapes me right now, but there will be a sign saying "Old Route 66 Next Right" or "Historic Route 66 Next Right." Take that off ramp and it will wind down parallel to the tracks on the other side of a valley until you make a sweeping right turn. At that point you will be next to Cajon creek with the railroads running just the other side of the creek. There is a picnic area under some cotton would trees just up the road a few hundred feet (that area is called "Blue Cut"). I generally park under the trees and walk a few hundred feet back down the road to a spot across the creek from a small bridge. At that point you are less than 50-100 feet from the tracks. If you follow the road around back toward the north end at the 15 freeway there is a nice wide spot in the road just before the road turns to the right to the on ramps where you can park just south of the Sullivan's Curve area. If you get back on the freeway and drive to highway 138, get off and go left there is a gas station on either side of the road just after you cross over the freeway. There is a side road where you can get off, get snacks at either of the gas stations and you are near the tracks and near Sullivan's Curve. Cajon pass has the BNSF double track mainline as well as the old S.P. track going toTehachapi. The U.P. has trackage rights over the BNSF and of course they now own the S.P. tracks, so you will see both BNSF and U.P. freights as well as the Amtrak Southwest Chief and Desert Wind going through the pass.