Railfan Significant Others' (R.S.O.) Support Group
"My Girlfriend Did WHAT??!!"
Here are some stories shared by railfans about how much (or how little) their significant others love their railfanning ways!
- Eric of Ohio: (THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES!! ~Railfan_Girlfriend)
- "Well, one evening after a date, my girlfriend (now wife of 5 years) and I were on our way home. We saw a train stopped because of a broken coupler knuckle. It was a cold night in early December...and I stopped to offer the crew some assitance. After a bit of chit-chat, the engineer invited her and I up into the locomotive. I was grinning ear to ear watching her grab those hand rails and ascend up the steps without hesitation. A little voice inside my head said 'Well, if she is the one that I am to marry, I guess this is the sign!' about that time, a star shot across the sky as if to confirm my answer.
Inside the warm cab, we were given the grand tour. Once the train was re-assembled, she was given the honor of "running out the slack" and even got to blow the whistle. She was thrilled... Our visit ended and we thanked the Engineer and Conductor for their hospitality...as we walked out, the engineer shouted: 'I want an invitation to the wedding!' and smiled from ear to ear...With that...we were married the following Summer."
- "DNatureofDTrain" of Wisconsin:
- "Well.. um... Being the only "Girl" who loved trains in my area. I did not have many significant others. I did have one boyfriend in middle school that used to leave railroad spikes in my locker... and use to help me sneak out of school to watch trains. He also used to keep me updated on what was going on around the area."
- Jon of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio:
- "I've been married for 10 years and in the spring of 1999 we purchased a house trackside. This was more for me to have a lifelong dream come true to railfan without ever leaving home. I have become the lazy railfan now never wanting to leave the house. My wife always knows where my son and I are at too. There is no fighting when you learn the fine art of comprimise :P"
- Carrie of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio:
- "The purchase of our home was absolutely no sacrifice for me. I actually enjoy hearing the trains and watching out the window to see if I might be able to report something unique while home during the day. My news is often uninspiring but is received with open ears. I do sometimes worry about things falling off the walls sometimes when the trains linger behind the house rumbling for too long. It hasn't happened yet though."
- John of Wind Gap, Pennyslvania:
- "My wife has to be one of the most understanding people I know. Not only does she like my hobby (model railroading included), but likes to go along. Suggests trips to take and motels to stay. Holiday Inn, Cumberland, Md track side is her favorite. Say Altoona and the answer is 'when do we leave?'...... The overhead bridge at Gallitzen is one of her favorite spots too."
- Tammy of Port Clinton, Ohio:
- "What I do know is Henry. I said it somewhere else on these forums and it is true. Henry is railfanning and railfanning is Henry. You can't 'see' a persons soul even though most of us believe people have them. With Henry, railfanning is part of his 'soul'. It isn't only railfanning, it's all of it. It's the historical significance of the railroad industry. It's knowing and understanding that without the early railroads our country wouldn't be what it is today. The man is a walking encyclopedia. Viewing railroading and railfanning through his eyes and his words would make anyone who is conscious (I would have said had a pulse but decided there are those ignorant few that let him get away!) want to take a part in it all. His website Railfan.net is a testament to his devotion of railfanning. That is his way of giving back to the railfan and showing his devotion to the way of life. Much like these forums. It certainly isn't to get rich! *lol* Anyways, that's my Henry. It's a very simplistic and short version of what makes him an extreme railfan but to share it all would take me writing a book about him."
- Henry of Ohio & New York:
- "I think Tam likes seeing me enthusiastic and I do get pretty hyped up chasing trains sometimes. I get the impression she likes the middle of the night railfan chases as much as I do sometimes. We've got scanners running upstairs and down and we're usually ready to go on a moment's notice if need be. I'm looking forward to the warmer weather and more late night railfanning. We walk the dogs after midnight on purpose because that's when NS traffic gets heavy around here. We're two blocks from the main. Amtrak 30 and 48 are also due through here after then. Sometimes toward the end of the walk we'll hear a train calling a signal on the handheld and then another one from the other side of us and we'll hurry home to get a car to try to beat them to a location where we might get a meet. We have great luck for rolling meets when we're with each other. Of course it's always dark so I don't get any shots, it's just for the jollies of watching hem go by. Maybe I'll get a Lumedyne setup someday."
- Neil of Fremont, Ohio:
- "I had left my girlfriend upstairs with my model RR as I went to get a snack. When I came back she was moving all of the cars playing with them, racing them down the streets, shuffling them all around! Now, to her, this was nothing. However, to the model railraoding nut, those cars are put into exact spots to maximize the layout's look, and now, my layout looked.....like a child's play area. Maybe it's just me, but that drove me nuts. It had taken me about two or three hours just to set up the downtown. I placed a car, then viewed it from all the angles, and if it didn't look good, I moved it. Now I had to do that all over again.
However, there was a time when she did show appreciation. We were in Fostoria, and I was sitting in the car getting a bite to eat. She was looking out the window at the NS line. I was looking down and heard a horn, figuring it was the local (which I had photographed a minute earlier) coming back down the line, so I blew it off. (I know, I know, I shouldn't have done that, but I was thinking with my stomach.) Anyway, she stopped talking for a second and asked me if I was going to picture that train. I said no, it's just the local. She replied by saying that the engine didn't say Fostoria anywhere on it. (She was still a rookie.) But instead one said 'Illinois Central and the other Wheeling & Lake Erie.' I quickly looked up to see the train approaching, dropped the food, and ran out to picture it. Although the picture didn't come out I was glad she was 'rookie' enough to tell me that the engines didn't say Fostoria. She's come a long way since then, and I couldn't be happier."
- Chris of Baltimore, Maryland:
- "By going camping! For years, my wife didn't understand the fascination with trains, and I got tired of explaining it to her, so we just had an agreement that if that was my thing, it was fine with her. But then, she started going camping with us trackside, and now she understands the fascination. She is not a railfan, and probably will never be one, but she now understands the hobby and enjoys going. She won't ever go out with me for the day to do the Capital Sub, but she enjoys the whole camping thing. She'll even tell me what was leading on which trains that she saw before I got up while camping. That is a big step for my wife."
- Jay of West Virginia:
- "How has my wife most clearly demonstrated her undertanding (of railfanning)? When the World Trade Center and Pentagon were attacked last September 11th, my wife and I had one flag in our house. We had acquired it a number of years before but had never used it. She wanted to display it outside our house. Instead, I took it to Grafton, West Virginia and hung it from the top of CSXT's sanding tower. She didn't have to ask why."