Questions about railfanning

Hello,

I have been a moderate railroading enthusiast since I was about 3 or 4. It's funny because I've mothballed my Lionel trainset while I'm in college, and my dad once said we would have to get rid of the table and tracks to clear up space; every time I've resisted it.

I started with Brio trainsets, some of which I still have, and there were actually 2 Brio stores in our area, but one closed down for an Apple Store and I don't know what happened to the other. I got into Lionel trains and Train Simulator, which the former I maintained through high school. Today, I'm interested in taking high quality images and video of trains in my area but after reading some of the warnings, I feel caught between a rock and a hard place.

Firstly I know some places where I think I can film. There's enough rails and places to record, but I can't tell the difference between public and private land and trespassing. I also want to have minimal or no contact with law enforcement if possible, which I don't think is possible. Can anyone fill me in on tips and advice, what not to do, etc.?

Also, I am pretty concerned about scanners. I saw the NYS scanner thread and I'm confused as to whether you can or can't use them.

Sorry if I sound like a beginner but I have to start somewhere.

you can not use scanners in cars in NY, transport it out of sight, second you can listen to scanner but you can not divulge what you hear to others.

as for railroad stay outside cleared area or about 35 feet from nearest rail, crossings and stations should be fine. but again stay clear.

A common sense approach is best. Even though it's your Constitutional Right to observe, record, & report any type of news from public property, you will be confronted from time to time by misinformed police or over zealous security. My advice is even if you feel you're in the right, it's best to leave. Make note of who, what, where, why, & when, in case you are right, you could take it further later, but you won't risk arrest. Don't be belligerent or rude. Kill 'em with kindness, don't give them a further reason to hassel you. It's part of the hobby, no way around it. I like to try to use public property like parks, sidewalks, parking lots, etc. Tresspassing is to be avoided, but sometimes you might be & not even realize it. If confronted while doing so, just apologize & leave. It never hurts to bring an envelope of photo prints to hand out like candy & I always have a business card with my web site & contact info to show people so they see it's a legit hobby.

Photographer's rights:

http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

DutchRailnut wrote:you can not use scanners in cars in NY, transport it out of sight, second you can listen to scanner but you can not divulge what you hear to others.

as for railroad stay outside cleared area or about 35 feet from nearest rail, crossings and stations should be fine. but again stay clear.

I checked the law, and have gotten questioned by police about my scanner before, and it basically says you are legally allowed to have it as long as there are no police frequencies on it in use. Every time, the officer has let me go, as he sees its apart of the hobby. This has only happened 3 or 4 times in my years of railfanning though.

One of my favorite places in New York to go to is Mine Dock Park in Fort Montgomery,NY. Very secluded area, and you have both passenger and freight. The police regularly patrol there, but they are cool about it. I've only gotten stopped twice there, and they were nice about it. As long as you stay on public property (sidewalks, public parks, parking lots, etc..) you are good to go

Railroaded's comments are spot on. Always have a camera with you, Buffaboy. I have had a couple of police officers ask me if I was attempting suicide- showing them train pictures on my camera convinced them I was safe and harmless.

NYS law requires a vehicle be parked at least 15 feet from a RR crossing, as per several defensive driver courses I have taken. Typically, there is 6 foot easement along the edge of a road for the shoulder... where you can legally stand without trespassing.

Bridges, such as Tifft Street and Harlem Road, are a great and safe location to shoot train photos. (I'm assuming Buffaboy is from Buffalo.) Bayview Road in Hamburg and Lake Avenue in Blasdell are a couple other spots I enjoy when railfanning in greater Buffalo.

I was once parked about 15 feet from a crossing and was told by a Trooper that the distance should be 50 feet, although he was fine with what I was doing. There are spots like Savage Rd. in Churchville where this is clearly not possible but the only person who shows up there is during deer season when the property owner who lives down the road shows up looking for hunters, although he is fine with railfans. (He has everything off the road posted.) And, oh yes, I too have been mistaken for a suicide. At the time, I was standing on a bridge and wondered why a Palmyra policeman showed up and stated inching toward me with his hand out asking if I felt OK. It turns out a "helpful citizen" with an over active imagination had reported I was contemplating suicide. To be fair, this was during my pre-digital days and my film counter had just broken and I may have looked a little bummed out. Again everything was fine and ended with "have a nice day."

as for police frequencies, NY law states any device capable of receiving police frequencies.
http://www.fordyce.org/scanning/scannin ... nyslaw.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I won't say exactly where I would be shooting, but some of the locations do interest me. I know one thing, going to the side of a rail yard (like Frontier or the Buffalo Creek yard) likely would be trespassing, right?

Thanks for the advice so far, it's pretty helpful. The one thing I notice though is that areas like Depew and Cheektowaga have more public areas against their rails while Lackawanna and Hamburg has a really thin path next to the rail. I would use that if I knew it was safe.

" NY law states any device capable of receiving police frequencies."

Unless you're a ham

Have all or most of the Police agencies in NY changed over to digital radios? Thanks.

Dick H wrote:Have all or most of the Police agencies in NY changed over to digital radios? Thanks.

I can only confirm for the southeast part of the state that most agencies are still using VHF which is now narrowbanded. Some agencies, mostly in the city areas are UHF and some places are starting to go trunked, or at least have some trunking capabilities.
As far as the scanners go, Dutch is correct by what he wrote, however most police are not going to just write you for having a scanner. We see plenty of people with scanners especially if they're in the fire dept, ems or tow operators. Discretion is the key.... However if you are breaking the law then all bets are off and you'll likely get charged with that too...
As Waldwick stated, Fort Montgomery is a good place along with Manitou Station, on the exact opposite side of the River. Property next to Manitou is owned by Scenic Hudson or some other open space group. You have a good vantage point of the River line and Hudson line.

Old & Weary wrote:I was once parked about 15 feet from a crossing and was told by a Trooper that the distance should be 50 feet, although he was fine with what I was doing.

I still have my booklet from the class and you are correct. A vehicle should be parked 50 feet from a crossing.

Most Railroad agents will ask that rail fans please keep to a 50 - 100 feet away from the tracks at the most part. In the Yards the property lines are not always marked Park where you see other railfans sitting by the tracks if they have not been told to depart from the area then it's safe to say it's ok to be there.
I don't carry a scanner anymore now that the crossing gates have bells on them The signals also stay on if there red nothing coming if they change get ready. But If your into emergency medical services I don't think you'll get hassled. If not I would not worry much just have the scanner turned off and in the back seat when going from A to B most cops don't care and are not going to stop and see if you have one in the car or not it will be vary clear to them that your there watching the trains roll by.
Security Guards been hassled on public property a few times. Most often A quick call to that security officers employer changes that problem real quick when you tell them you plan to file a harassment complaint with the local police department.