All Your Railfanning Pain in One Video

Railfanning is very fun, but it can also be quite frustrating!
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Check out my photos on Instagram! / the_central_texas_railfan
Check out more videos on my second channel! / @thecentraltexasrailfan2
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Music is by Kevin MacLeod.

[@maplesyrup_railfan]

I can relate to all of this stuff but seeing it all in one meme/video is just amazing because some people who may not be a railfan or are new to the hobby just don't realize the challenges and things that you have to do to get a video or catch one train.

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

Yeah sometimes it feels like everything works against you lol.

[@NorCaliRailroading2023]

​@@TheCentralTexasRailfanexactly, every time I go there is not as much action as there should be

[@KCDash4400cw]

What really grinds my gears is when I get to head out somewhere I've been really wanting to go for a long and time and ofcourse nothing comes that day and I have too leave, a absolutely devastating feeling for sure.

[@pancakefish]

its like going fishing and getting skunked (catching nothing)

[@Obi_Wan_Kenobi_027]

And then you hear a train off in the distance after you leave

[@MetraUPNWproductions7202]

0:46 my local railroad crossing is a no horn zone and I do hear inbound horns like every day Edit: the horns there sadly got resilenced as of 12/20/23

[@MetraUPNWproductions7202]

(Hintz rd, wheeling IL, CN Waukesha sub)

[@harrisonofcolorado8886]

You forgot one thing: When you try to catch a train and no train comes for hours, but when you leave, a train comes.

[@albanyrailfan]

That would be very upsetting

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

Very relatable.

[@LotusbandicootRR]

@@albanyrailfan Oh, it is. I'm highly experienced in that department

[@SouthernRailProductions.]

Happened to me and there was a CPKC leader on a NS southbound 💀

[@ilovebusesandtrains7777]

Oh that happend to me before with both busses and trains

[@AbelG8781]

To me, my biggest frustration is when a CTC signal is clear and it's been that way for hours already....like.....where the hell is the train lmao

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

Yes. Has happened many a time to me on BNSF lines. On UP lines they stay dark till something is close. My favorite system for sure.

[@gamingwithlukeJToH]

you missed one: leaving your perfect railfanning spot and then on the way home seeing train cars moving right through that spot. (this has happened way too many times for my liking)

[@TheBCRailfan]

Exactly. Railfanning can certainly be a pain to do, but sometimes good effort leads to good outcomes, and maybe not…

[@MetraTitanicWTC]

Relatable. My railfanning experience is some of these -Train ties down right in front of me -People talking/making noises behind my shot -My hands getting distracted and cam not steady -Rain -Snow! -Signal lined for something but then nothing ever came -A location close to me got the better shot than where I was standing at -SD Card not scanning properly in my cam -Cam gets blurry/loses focus -Train block the other train/could’ve stand at the other side of a crossing -Train came earlier than I thought -Damn Quiet Zones -Foamers

[@YourLocalRailfan]

I’m in a no train horn zone, yet can still get good salutes

[@milesoftrains]

I've been trying to catch an SP Patch Unit for the past several months. The first time the unit came through just as I got close enough to the tracks to see it, but I couldn't get out my camera in time. Another time I had to leave to go to work before it came, and other times one passed by during the middle of the night. One day I'll catch one... one day...

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

That's how it usually is with special stuff in my area. Add to the list: other railfans not bothering to tell me!

[@chamberlainman1012]

You don’t know pain until you’ve waited trackside seeing a green signal change to red with no train

[@SouRwy4501Productions]

Honestly, I feel pain in every one of these except for the weather-related ones. In my eyes, they just add to the scene. Additionally, if you can find a tripod with anchor holes, it would fix the problems with it falling over. I have a tripod that I personally modified with anchor holes. I’m going to give it its first field test when I go to Dollywood on December 21st and 22nd.

[@spcraleigheas]

i can relate to the headlights.. At selma theres a NS Yard and in the yard was NS 911 First responders unit, we waited HOURS for it to move and once his headlights turned off we went home, but then at 10 pm my mom had to get my sister and as she was getting her, NS 911 was on the move.

[@buzzcuttsshorts]

0:03 [RAILFANER] YES ITS COMING [MOM] TRAIN COMING [RAILFANER] SHHHHHH

[@nolantherailfan5048]

0:22 that's happened to me once while railfanning on the CN fulton subdivision

[@PlyingKibbles89]

This is gold. I’ve had many of those issues before.

[@TrainTrackTrav]

Ugh geez, so freaking true.

[@freebrickproductions]

The wind issues are why I got a good heavy tripod, lol.

[@CoastalOCRailfan]

Same here lol.

[@jacksonsdrones]

0:20 When that happens, it triggers me so bad

[@BrokenFootRailfan]

Yep! I understand.

[@AustinTheRailfan]

Last one happened to me next to a 50mph or higher train. My tripod literally hit my head. Anyways that entire video is relatable.

[@WendyMangels-uv9lo]

The first one I can relate to when I went with my friend. Now I railfan alone to not have a argument with my friend in the video

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

Yeah railfanning with others often leads to arguments.

[@WendyMangels-uv9lo]

He literally said “awww he toted a lil song for us” and ruined a good hornshow. Sad momentos be like:

[@CTR82]

Kids at a NO TRAIN HORN railroad: NOOOOOOOO I WANTED TO HEAR THR TRAIN

[@MetraUPNWproductions7202]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂🤣🤣😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 but my local Waukesha sub dosent have lots of horn zones and same thing my local UP Harvard sub

[@JDTTrains-1]

This vid is so hilariously accurate 😂 also i literally pay my little siblings so they don't talk while i record trains 🙄

[@LotusbandicootRR]

PFFFFFFF, I felt the one of the headlights going from bright to dim in my soul

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

For real.

[@Theonewhoistointerestedi-zo1ls]

I hate when you go look to see if the train is coming and as soon as you look the signals activate

[@OliverrandontheRails]

you forgot the pain of living in a town with no train tracks.

[@user-mp2tk3pw6j]

You think that’s a pain? I live on an island with no trains!!

[@GoldM4official]

A few years back i recorded a freight train. But my stupid brother said my name during the recording and spoilt it by going in front of my camera!

[@DiamondMaster20]

That was awesome. I feel that pain! Thumbs up for the great editing job that you did on this video.

[@buffalo716railran]

0:05 definitely pisses me off when people talk when you're recording

[@AustinWesternRailfan]

SAME DUDE

[@ThatGothRailfan21]

Yeah

[@MetraUPNWproductions7202]

If that happened in my shots I would say “no way really😐”

[@TheLakeshoreSpotter445]

I can 100% relate to this

[@TrainSpotter-ym5go]

The "NO TRAIN HORN" zone pisses me off A LOT...😠

[@zearfossrailfan]

This is so accurate and relatable! Love it 😄

[@everettrailfan]

I usually go out of my way to avoid busy crossings, it's such a pain to get the perfect shot there and I just prefer more natural areas anyway. In western Washington we basically never have to worry about snow. Rain can be a son of a b sometimes though. Probably one of the worst things about railfanning here is either the limited light in the winter (we get around 9 hours of total daylight in the winter, and only 6-8 of those are good enough for taking pictures without flash) or the ability for there to be not a single train moving within 50 miles of you for like 4 hours, and then right as you're about to leave all the crews come online and the whole sub gets flooded with trains in each direction. In particular, Everett is an absolute PAIN in the ass to railfan, because you have to decide which lines you want to see trains on, because the through freights heading north and south crew change on the west side of town, but Delta Yard, the main classification yard, is on the east side of town. You have to constantly get in the car and relocate unless you're fine with waiting 3 hours for the next train lol

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

Everett sounds annoying to railfan honestly. Haven't yet done it (although I have fanned in Burlington, Seattle, and Monroe).

[@everettrailfan]

​@@TheCentralTexasRailfan Yeah, and the worst part is that you can barely see what they call the "roundhouse" at Delta Yard. The roundhouse tracks are buried behind multiple BNSF buildings and deep into private property, so it's hard to see what's sitting in the yard. They do most of the switching on the north end which is relatively easy to see from a lookout point, but the view is obscured by some trees and a small hill.

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

Yeah, that sounds annoying for sure.

[@RoyalKingOfTheRails]

Very accurate lol. The snowfall although is not a problem for me. I always enjoy getting snow shots

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

They are fun to get. We just aren't used to snow here in Texas. The clips you see were a freak event. No one was prepared and I sure don't have the clothes and gear for filming in the snow.

[@RoyalKingOfTheRails]

@@TheCentralTexasRailfan Yeah I completely understand lol.

[@TheTexasTrainMaster]

I've experienced some of those things I don't care if any because I can't afford to really go anywhere or drive because of visually impaired I wish I could but when I do go out in the real fan with friends or other events yeah some of this stuff has happened that is literally every rail fans pain in one video nicely done😂😅 and God bless you

[@Jaytherailfan]

The no train horn is the worst of them all, I hate quiet zones there’s no point if the train is going to be loud in the first place

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

Agreed, quiet zones truly suck and if I could, I would abolish almost all of them.

[@MetraUPNWproductions7202]

The only quiet zones I would keep are where the wayside horn is… UP HARVARD SUB HAS NO QUIET ZONES NOW LES GO

[@ChiapetPNW]

Awesome! Thoroughly enjoyed and made me LOL.

[@MetraEverythingProductions]

Ive gone through all of these scenarios, relatable

[@KororaPenguin]

The music's all Grieg to me. ;þ

[@Railfantastic]

Yeah that hi rail thing happened to me about a week ago, which also helped what is usually 3-4 trains in 2 hours go down to one train in 2 hours. At least I caught an SD70M-2 leading.

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

Yeah it's very annoying. Cool, what railroad was the SD70M-2 on?

[@BalloonBugle88]

there used to be a hi-rail every time i went railfanning for like 5 times, and i saw no trains most of those times

[@Railfantastic]

@@TheCentralTexasRailfan Sorry I am really late to reply, it was a Canadian National train on CN trackage.

[@Northeast_Railfan]

I hate it when my little brother or other people start talking during the video! Such a painful video!

[@SydeLeaderRay]

My biggest frustration with railfanning are the weird looks, stares and harassment from rail employees. It's so annoying and triggers my anxiety.

[@albanyrailfan]

I've had that happen to me once

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

Yeah, some of them are really friendly but many aren't.

[@nocontext4463]

@@TheCentralTexasRailfan because the ARR considers it “terroristic activity”

[@SydeLeaderRay]

@@nocontext4463 Yeah and that sucks.

[@jacobdubielak]

That has happened to me alot of times but I'm used to it now

[@CoastalOCRailfan]

Running out on battery or storage is surely my worst fear lol.

[@crfan4232]

Oh lord the hi rail trucks. I saw one when I was in Montana railfanning the Montana rail link and it really put me in a bad mood.

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

They almost never mean good news!

[@therailcat9790]

1 first one feels like the most relatable

[@oklahomarailfan2010]

So much pain!!

[@albanyrailfan]

Here's a list of bad Railfanning things that have happened to me A train blocks the crossing A train beats me when I got to the railfanning spot (it's happened to me with rare catches) I left a train station and a train came right after I left and it had foreign power My camera didn't focus on a train I didn't get a train on camera Rain gets on my camera (I was railfanning while holding an umbrella, and the wind blew it off) A train got blocked by a stopped Amtrak train Red signal for 2+ hours with no trains My camera stopped mid train during a great catch

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

All of those have happened to me too. They all will if you railfan enough

[@IvanTimber]

Was using a tripod to catch a BNSF local last week, and when I tried to turn it, it got stuck. In desperation to save the shot I lifted the whole thing off the ground and turned it. It was already too late and my shot was ruined 😭

[@Greatdome99]

If anything can go wrong, it will. Best to avoid RR crossings altogether and assume that if there's anything that can get between you and the train, it will. By careful planning, you can get a good clean shot, but seldom at RR Xings.

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

Yeah, I do like getting shots away from RR crossings. However a lot of the videos I take feature the crossing signals themselves, so I am pretty well-versed in avoiding the issues with them.

[@UnionPacificRailroader]

This is the most accurate video I have ever seen

[@MikeLarryII788]

Just how unlucky are to get these clips we can relate to 🗿🤝🗿

[@gevoface]

This is great

[@UPandBNSFrailfan6907]

you forgot the getting called in for no reason part lol.

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

Yes lol

[@MetraUPNWproductions7202]

wdym

[@Wesley45454]

Yeah, I just passed away the pain is immense

[@ccoeltrains]

LOL! I cant stop watching this

[@Railfan9743]

Cool video!

[@nolantherailfan5048]

0:40 that just happened to me yesterday

[@canadiantracksidefan1709]

The pain is too real

[@polandball7482]

0:18 Boise valley rail road

[@AustinWesternRailfan]

Very relatable. I once waited for 2 hours on the Austin Western and then a Hi Rail showed Up, i was very mad for wasting 2 hours

[@maybenotsolittlegamingdude644]

0:06 I was at Old Saybrook CT when a surpise power move came thru and I started recording and my mom was talking through the whole thing even though i tried to shut her up dang it

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

Lol can relate. Usually it's my grandpa.

[@texasrailfanproductions8572]

Extremely relatable

[@elu0502]

Super Relatable

[@republic_8116]

I’ve had this happen to me in my earlier days of railfanning 😂

[@mackenziezimmerer7926]

Oh this is good medicine! Now you do realize that if you attempt another all day frustrating clip, you'll end up getting great shot after shot. Murphy's law never goes away

[@MetraUPNWproductions7202]

A huge pain to experience 30 minutes at a railroad crossing just to get a meme hyrail

[@JeffWeselyan]

Hassle of hassle

[@SilverThunder710]

Why'd I care if this happened to me? There's always another train on the tracks

[@Ozarkrailfanprod8098]

My camera blurred for like a split second when 8925 came on a manifest and I was pissed lol

[@StNick-xd8tx]

Hey did you film any videos in Wichita Falls?

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

I've never been to Wichita Falls.

[@TNS17]

literally explained everything in a minute

[@Theonewhoistointerestedi-zo1ls]

Life of a rail fan

[@wehearttrains8479]

lol, nice edit

[@chessiesystem]

This basically sums up all my pain in railfanning.

[@bennickss]

I hate when the GP talks loudly while you're filming, even when they can SEE that you're filming

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

It definitely is annoying. I think some people think I am taking pictures only.

[@bennickss]

⁠@@TheCentralTexasRailfanI was trying to film 46115 leaving my local station, just after it whistled some moron decided it'd be funny to scream "WOO WOOO"

[@oscaralvarezproductions2430]

Railfanning Fails Compilation

[@ns_railfanner7299]

Real..

[@RDC2003]

No train horn makes me mad

[@thunderboltmainiac]

i threw my phone across the room because of how bad these pains hurt

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

I hope that, unlike me, you have a case and/or screen protector on your phone. Ha.

[@ThatGothRailfan21]

Number one the train comes and you don't have your camera out that happen to me yesterday since I saw union pacific ocs but I was in class

[@GamingWithJazz]

my phone auto-focusing is a big one. the struggle is real lol can someone explain 0:59?

[@RH1N0______13]

Red signals usually mean no train is close if they aren’t approach lit

[@XavierTheRailfanner_]

I live by a quiet zone well don't come to downtown round lake

[@MetraUPNWproductions7202]

We do have wayside horns atleast, none on the UP Harvard sub or CN Waukesha sub unfortunately

[@trainfan4014]

Aah

[@Whythetroublemakers]

Why did you say shhh on that part

[@nolancool7591]

You forgot the phone storage problem

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

Yeah storage is quite a headache for sure.

[@independencerailfanning1073]

Lmao! Only thing I can think of thats not on here is slow drivers and speeding tickets 😂. Been there and done that, but at the end of the day its still worth it!

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

Luckily we've never gotten a ticket fanning before. If my mom ever gets pulled over she cries her way out of it no joke

[@zostrelling_]

quiet zones are the worst. theres is 0 point to having them. name me 1 reason why a crossing should be a quiet zone.

[@ryantraingamer5]

In the first clip is that your brother?

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

No thankfully, it was some random kid.

[@Theonewhoistointerestedi-zo1ls]

When you film with your phone and you shake when the locomotive honks the horn.

[@Mtrain8]

Awesome vid! I also post train content is you want to check it out😁

[@RanexzProductions]

yea its freaking pissing me off

[@CO2707guy]

No train horn makes me mad

[@TheCentralTexasRailfan]

Same

[@MetraUPNWproductions7202]

Same here. Luckily not having so many on the Harvard sub