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This question has plagued me for a while. I sometimes think people pick up on different things when they look at stuff, and I can't tell if i'm crazy, or if they are.
Let me set the scenario:
The local freight line travel parallel to Marne Highway, a low-traffic road with a 45-50 MPH speed limit. Frequently the train is stopped or traveling at a slow 10 MPH. If you passed this train (while driving safely and watching the road), what qualities would you notice?
Would you see the general shape and color?
Would you see only the Road number or other specific detail, and not register any other details? (I know people who can tell me the road numbers but not the color of the locomotive!)
Would you notice "spotting features" such as wheels or radiator fans?
Modeling New Jersey Under the Wire 1978-1979.
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I would miss everything, because I'm too busy texting to even watch the road. :o 
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eightyeightfan1 Wrote:I would miss everything, because I'm too busy texting to even watch the road. :o 
I'd probably just note the road name unless the loco was some remarkably older unit that stood out from today's equipment.
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Don (ezdays) Day
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I take pictures so I can remember everything 
Tom
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Don (ezdays) Day
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Invalid poll. There's no option for "everything."
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would you notice if it was a heritage unit?
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhYXNwvcl6A">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhYXNwvcl6A</a><!-- m -->
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Love the enthusiasm in that vid! Yeah, I think I'd notice the heritage units!
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Wow, well, I know I'm not crazy now. I just don't understand how some people "see" things. As I mentioned earlier, I know people who would have watched the above video, and only remembered that it was 1989, and would not be able to tell me the color of the engine.
If I already know a train will be some place and I'm ready, I can usually remember to catch not only the road numbers but basic spotting features, and I can usually ID a locomotive if I have more than a half second.
However, if I'm driving past (whether i'm the driver or passenger) and I see the engine only briefly, I might recognize enough to know its make and general type (GP, Dash-8, etc). The shape and color would stand out to me. I try to get the roadnumber since I know it will let me identify the locomotive later.
ezdays Wrote:To only have all that knowledge that those rivet-counters do... 
I'm curious what you mean by this. I'm not sure rivet counting is necessary. Besides, I'm more looking into exactly what the title says (what people remember when they see something briefly). I just picked this train example since I figure most people here would have been familiar with the scenario.
Ralph Wrote:Love the enthusiasm in that vid! Yeah, I think I'd notice the heritage units!
Thats just a tad intense! I'm pretty sure this guy ended up on the show Tosh.0 for his sheer excitement (or at least, it was another person loosing their mind over a UP heritage unit).
railohio Wrote:Invalid poll. There's no option for "everything."
Unless you have a really good photographic memmory, you probably won't see "everything". If you do, I strongly suspect you're an outlier. Our minds by their nature try to simplify the information they take in.
Modeling New Jersey Under the Wire 1978-1979.
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Notice or remember? I frequently drive alongside a former ATSF line that parallels a state highway here in Texas for over twenty miles from Alliance yard north. I used to notice road-names, types and what it was MU'd with in the years immediately after the BNSF merger. Even then I didn't remember all that I noticed after I got home. Poll doesn't have enough choices for me to answer.
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Green_Elite_Cab Wrote:ezdays Wrote:To only have all that knowledge that those rivet-counters do...
I'm curious what you mean by this. I'm not sure rivet counting is necessary. Besides, I'm more looking into exactly what the title says (what people remember when they see something briefly). I just picked this train example since I figure most people here would have been familiar with the scenario.
I guess I should have said, "rivet-counters want you to think they know". When I see a loco go by, about all I can remember is the road name and herald, giving me a hint as to age. We're close to the BNSF main line and I see everything from the old SF Warbonnet to the new BNSF design. I'm surprised when I see a CN, UP or another line, but I'll be darned if I could tell you whether it was a GP-20 or 38 or a dash-8. A rivet counter might ID that before they even notice the road name, or so I would think. It would be nice to be able to do that, which was my point.
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nachoman Wrote:would you notice if it was a heritage unit?
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhYXNwvcl6A">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhYXNwvcl6A</a><!-- m -->
I dare you to try and get this out of your head after you watch it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtrZYSPbujI
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tetters Wrote:I dare you to try and get this out of your head after you watch it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtrZYSPbujI
Yeah, you're right..... the background music gave me a headache. 
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I couldn't answer the poll because I would notice the first and second choices.
Then I would notice the train type (coal, grain, stack, pig, mixed freight).
Then I would notice car mix (and initials if its a unit train).
Several years back when I spent more time near the tracks, I could pretty much tell you which train it was by the mix of cars in the train and its direction. i have friends who can tell which intermodal train it is by the general time of day and the mix of containers/trailers on the train.
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