When getting #90 hot for the first trip of the day, a patron asked, "Is this a steam engine or a deisel engine"?

After crawling out of a hot firebox to replace a broken grate and plopping onto the engineer's seatbox to attempt to breath air that was less than 200 degrees, a railfan (who hadn't seen were I just came from) said "I'd give anything for your job".

I like to help flip the seats over when we get to the end of the line at the Western Railway Museum.

Last weekend I was asked why I was doing it; while the motorman was out turning the trolley pole.

And when asked why I am doing it my reply is that it is is easier to turn the seats around then the whole car!

Ted Miles

And to add one for the steam side this was reported in a recent issue of the Colorado railroad Museum's Iron Horse News

Little boy to Mother," What is that big round thing?"

Mother to boy, "That is a water tower"

Boy to Mother, "What did they use if for?"

Mother to Boy," Back in the steam engine days they used to burn water instead of Diesel fuel."

We can only wonder!

Ted Miles

Not a classic in the stupid-people sense, but my all-time favorite obvious reaction to typical railfan mentality:

The giant lettering chalked/painted on the boiler of N&W 475 as it sat in plain sight along Pa. Rt. 741 during 475's overhaul years ago:

"DON'T ASK WHEN!!"


I have a feeling the same letters should probably be on a dozen or more projects out there--CP 972, C&O 614, Reading 2102, PRR 1361, GTW 4070, NKP 763.......

Upon chasing the URHS "Erie E-8s" to Port Jervis, NY many moons ago overheard one fan saying to another;

"I am not taking any photos of that unit, because it only has one engine in it."

Guess he didn't care that neither were originally Erie units.....

And the other ones when a photo line of 100 people are wainting on the side of the road;
1)

Passerby: "What are you all standing here for"

Fan: "To look at the empty track"

2) Fan in car: "Has the train passed by yet?!"

Fan waiting: "Yes, we waiting for the next one."

This event happened back in the summer of 1996 when the Union Pacific ran the 844 from Proviso in Chicago to Butler in Milwaukee. It was a great trip, but a very hot day. There was one guy that was dressed in a dennim overcoat, scarf, leather gloves, cap, steel toed work boots, the whole uniform. He sat there barking orders to everyone. He sat in one of the open vestibules like he was glued there, and when someone asked him if he worked for the railroad, his harsh bark was "You're *** Da** right I work for the railroad" Of course he didn't, we just started to call him "The Imposter". What a nut!

While watching 4449 on the last Bend trip in 2006 about 100 foamers were on a hill top to get photos of a runby. Two guys pull up in a Ford Focus like bats outta h--- and run up with cameras and ask:

"Has the 4449 been by yet????!?!?!?!"

To which I replied calmly after looking side to side:

"Yeah, we are staying to get some photos of that garbage train thats following it... I hear its pretty tight....."


OR a different incident in December of the Chelatchie Prairie Railroad.

I was firing and look over to see some guy telling our engineer that he has to paint the smokebox black again so that it will match his HO model. To which the engineer replied:

"I moved the rear headlight too, what you going to do about that?"

I love these moments, it gives me such great joy...

Steve Lee always enjoys it when somebody asks (and somebody always does) "When ya gonna do a Big Boy"?
When we were first restoring 1522 we were asked at least 50 times per workday "Whatya doin". Favorite reply was "This is a work release project for these prisoners from the state pen".
I was working on something in 1522's cab one time and had great fun with one guy who walked up to the fireman's side and said "excuse me" just as I walked over to the engineer's side. He walked around the engine and did it again, wherein I walked over to the fireman's side. We did this about 5 times until he got tired of walking around the engine. After a long very hot day, my paitence with questions was gone.
I know, I'm a bad person and will probably go to hell, but anyone in the business knows when you reach that point.
On our first trip, the first runby, three of us were standing back about 50' to watch it back up, etc, and some pudgeball foamer walked up to the area in back of us where he shouldn't have been and yelled "Would you please move, some of us have waitied a while for a picture. I"m 6'3" and about 260 and swung around and told him that we had worked our asses off for 2-1/2 years rebuilding this thing so you could take your pictures. He said in a very small voice "And you sure did a good job" as he slunk away. We got a good laugh out of that one.
There's always a bigmouth in the crowd who wants to control the whole trip, who usually didn't buy a ticket but is chasing, always wanting to lead the motorcade, jumps in front of the other picture takers and by day's end has at least 100 people ready to stomp the crap out of him.

Frisco1522 said:


Does anybody else remember the jerk in the red van with the locomotive horns that used to monopolize the prime pacing spot alongside either 611 or 1218 on the NS excursions? I don't even think he was videotaping the train, he just wanted to be there watching the locomotive. Now, I don't have a problem with someone wanting to pace a little way, but this guy wouldn't let anybody PASS him either. You ended up behind him on a winding two lane road, you were stuck for getting to the next photo spot. I had the pleasure of experiencing this during the '91 Huntington NRHS convention.

Several months later, I had this "gentleman" as a passenger on the "Night Owl" out of Boston. I didn't realize who it was at first. However, like a lot of fans, he wanted to talk trains with the bartender, so in talking to him I realized who he was, and tried diplomatically to suggest that maybe he should let other people get around him for a turn at the front of the line or to pass. He would have none of it, was dismissive of anyone else's wants, needs, etc. Just a miserably selfish, classic self-absorbed sociopath. I wanted to tell him what I really thought, but I also needed to keep my job, and figuring he was probably the type who would write a complaint letter to Amtrak, I held my tongue.

I never met Mr. L, I grew up in the midwest; however, after I moved to Scranton to work for the Steamtown Foundation, John Hart, our GM after Don Ball passed was to give a talk to the Chapter in Washington. Long time SF Asst. GM Fred Bailey had prepped John on who he was going to be speaking to. After the presentation, during Q&A, David stood up, introduced himself and proceeded to ask John Hart twenty questions. After patiently answering the best he could, he then said "Now Mr. L . . . .; I have a question for you. . . . Are you the Superheater?"


Steve

I really shouldn't trash someone with a learning disability (oh, but it's so much FUN), which is the deal with David. Somewhat in defense of him, he'd occasionally, rarely, come up with some insightful comment about steam. Think of him as sort of the "Rain Man" of steam - without Tom Cruise to keep him straight.

David has pretty much dropped out of the DC area railfan scene. I hear reports from a couple of local NRHS members that he spends a good deal of time in a local library, probably on the INTERNET. For all we know, he could be reading this NOW. I understand he's discovered the joys of e-mailing public officials about steam preservation! Let's hope Steamtown doesn't get dissolved and the collection scrapped from his "help"<g>!

Oh my gosh, this thread is bringing up some hilarious memories of my teenage years in the Washington area.

I seem to remember this guy had a sidekick for a while who used to hold a giant peace sign out the window of the car while they were chasing the NS steam specials.

Back in the day a steam excursion was not complete unless in attendance there was "superheater", "willie lump-lump" and his assistant "the mole".
Superheater would often write me long letters type written in a perfect circle!!!
Them were the days!!!
Ross Rowland

Here's a couple from when 2100 was in Hagerstown -
Modeler: "That's not where the whistle is on my O scale model."
Bill B. (looking at me) - "Then buy your own f***ing locomotive and put it where you want."

During a test run -
Passerby: "What's so special about that train?"
Railfan: "Elvis is on it."

I've got a good friend that works at Strasburg that I'll ask stuff like this loudly just to embarrass him! Keep 'em coming! This is great stuff!

Back in the days when I was a conductor on the Whippany River (Sam Freeman flat out FORBID "Toonerville" to appear on the 148-), we had a guy come along and take close-up pictures of every journal box lid in the consist. "You never know when these are going to become obsolete".