Foamer "logic" 💀

[@BNSF1458]

I only know this because of firsthand experience (as the foamer 💀) www.bnsf1458.com Thanks for 16,000 subscribers!

[@Seaboardsystem-t7e]

First

[@PArailkid]

bro some 8 year old autistic foamer sometimes sits at my favorite spot with his ipad and foamed like heck because a local stopped to work the co-op

[@Bart-sk9nm]

500 or so more and you’ll have more subs than CSX 💀

[@Comeng_]

Cool

[@BNSF1692]

Hi

[@squatch253]

When I was still a Conductor with BNSF we were just happy if we could operate trains when the sun was ACTUALLY up - they flat out told us at the hiring event that for our first 5 years on the Railroad with zero seniority, we wouldn't even know that trains could run if it wasn't dark outside lol 😂 Fun fact though - not once in my years on the rails did the conversation of what model our locomotive was ever come up - we were so consumed with making sure our identifier numbers matched our paperwork, keeping up with dispatch, speed, yellow flag restrictions, mile markers, delay reports, signals, hazmat, detector reports, inward facing cameras - and trying to tell if the Trainmasters and/or FRA were secretly ops testing us somewhere in the middle of it all that the only things we noticed about the power were if the toilet made the cab smell like a porta-potty and if everything still worked. Despite all that, I'm still a bit of a train enthusiast, but I know all the reasons why train crews are often rather unfriendly - there's just a lot of BS that makes that job suck more often than not. We did have a running joke about the old "jeeps" though, when we did locals like the Rapids Turn we used to say that we could either have windows that all closed, or doors that still had the weather seals in them, but never both at the same time lol - I actually rather liked those older, smaller units though because you could often tell how heavy you were by how hard the floorboards vibrated, the engine noise could drown out the radio in a hard pull, and it actually felt more like authentic railroading 👍

[@BNSF1458]

You ran Rapids turn, huh? How did you like that train?

[@squatch253]

@@BNSF1458 It was a nice gravy run, guaranteed out-and-back in around 9 hours unless something went really wrong. I only got to run it when I was still a Conductor Trainee because all the seniority held those jobs - once I certified and marked up I never touched it again. I ran it around ten times though, back then (2015-2017) it was an afternoon shift job that departed around 3:30pm. Leave 28th St in Superior and first stop was always Carlton, we'd spot all the set-outs at the Sappi plant, then put the train back together, brake test, and go on. Where the rail line followed the St. Louis River was beautiful scenery, next was Brookston (they called it a yard, but it was pretty much just siding with a road through it) then on to Floodwood and through those huge swamps where it's just cattails and tamarack trees for as far as you can see. We started seeing civilization again as we neared Grand Rapids, there was this one spot where this old guy had a clearing next to the tracks and he'd sit out and wait for us to go by, wave then get up and walk back to his house lol. We'd spot our train at the Rapids Yard, usually it was a simple split between two sidings, then run the power back around on the main, change operating ends, hook up to the new manifest that had to go back to Superior, and depart. Usually the return run was pretty quick, only twice did we have to pick something up a Brookston, but about half the time we had a second stop at Sappi to either set something out again or make a pickup to take back to Superior. My favorite part of the Rapids Turn was watching the engineer handle that train though - J.R. Knudtsen. He was about to retire, spent his whole career on the railroad and could run those Jeeps like nobody else. The Rapids Turn always had lots of crappy track, usually several yellow flag restrictions in place at all times. We'd come up on one and he'd just lightly throttle down, bunching the slack but was so smooth you could miss it if you weren't paying attention. He'd go into a slow decel mode about the time we could first see the flag, and knew just when to engage the dynamic brake to really start slowing down. The engine roared up and you could watch the speed indicator tick down 39-38-37-36 and if it was a 35 limit, he hit 35 right on the mark as the nose hit the flag. We'd pass though at 33-34 to be safe, but when the nose crossed the second flag he'd peg the ticker and start counting the feet, throttle up just enough to run the slack out, and when the ticker said our tail end had got out of the flags, throttle up and pull like hell to get back to full speed. That guy was smooth and he never wasted any time. On one run, a new locomotive showed up, it had a junky looking old red and white paint job and still carried the "CREX 6006" identifier on the sides. We didn't like it because it rattled, had walkways so narrow you had to walk sideways to get into the cab, and the horn had an air leak somewhere and sounded really weak but Knudtsen loved it because it pulled really strong. The first trip out with it, dispatch stopped us a Chub Lake (Carlton siding) because our train had started 3 fires. I walked one side of it and the brakeman Bailey walked the other side, checking for hot journals but we didn't find anything - turns out old CREX 6006 was blowing hot carbon out its exhaust after not being in service for however long, and the embers started the fires lol 🤣 We reported back that nothing was hot, dispatch let us continue but we must've had it all cleaned out because we didn't have any more issues after that. Sorry for writing a book - but I had a pretty good time on the Rapids Turn 👍

[@Baconbs718]

Railway

[@Baconbs718]

Bnsf sucks

[@sch_ilis9928]

@squatch253 Fascinating, thanks for telling us that

[@JETZcorp]

As Chief Foamer of CSX, my first action will be to retire all the mainline power and return immediately to coal-fired steam traction. My second act will be to reinstate the 20th Century Limited, kick Amtrak in the balls, and say, "Hey! You don't tell me, I tell you!"

[@Thunderbolt_1000_Siren]

To tell you the truth your perspective on the hobby as well as how you view foamers change when you start working on the railroad. Sometimes positivly, neutral, or even negatively. Judging from my experience I don't mind em and I'd love to see how the shots turn out but I do dispise those who obviously have no idea what the hell they're talking about like people who think a locomotive's poor reliability (Usually an old school GE) is because "oh they dont take care of it" when in reality it's an utter pile of junk that either A had a hard life or B is just by nature an unreliable locomotive. Even though I have a personal bias to EMD still (namely GP7/9s) I do understand locomotives excel in different kinds of service or companies like how GEs are better for Class 1s and EMDs are great for the shortline/regional market. Not gonna go into specifics cause otherwise this would turn into an essay but you probably get the point. Also I gotta say the people you meet that work on the railroad are sometimes just as nuts as foamers outside of work XD their humor reminds me of that of first responders.

[@handheldrailfan]

A lot of the CN crews Hate the new AC44C6Ms since they rattle so much inside. I've talked to a few crews and they call the C6Ms "Rattlecabs". They prefer the Dash-9s over the rebuilts

[@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis]

It sounds like build quality took a nose-dive recently.

[@TheRealRajo6466]

As much of the gevo is, but remember though. The gevos won't last forever, the gevos will eventually be in the deadline like the SD40-2s, SD70s, etc. Its a cycle that for most part unavoidable, however i do understand and agree that gevos could be way too repetitive beacuse the same exact designs, it's understandable cuz it feels kinda life less while back in the day there many different locomotive designs that it gives a lot of personalities Gevos could be more interested if there is like a passenger variant of the gevo, standard cab gevo [which obviously might never happen], 4 axle yard switcher gevo, and maybe 4 axle road switcher gevo. Multiple possibilities of how to make gevos more interesting but that possibilities might be impossible now I expect some people disagree but, that just my thoughts

[@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis]

A passenger variant seems the most likely, and would probably get used in Mexico for long-distance trains.

[@RAtheGoodRailfanner_888]

Yeah. If the GEVO had more paint styles and body types it would be more interesting. The older Gevos look cool.

[@Baconbs718]

Sd40-2 sd70 your both grounded

[@Cab_Productions]

Me: Absolute Foamer Expect with no screaming

[@AmtrakFan6905]

SAME I call myself a silent foamer 🤫

[@TexasSoCalRailfan9021]

@@AmtrakFan6905 i am somewhat

[@ninyaninjabrifsanovichthes45]

@@AmtrakFan6905 Same

[@randomtrains-z7x]

Me to

[@The_everythingrailfan]

That is sooo true

[@BNSFrailfan01]

The iron range crews probably aren’t actually that happy about the new AC44C6Ms because from what I’ve heard, the AC44C6Ms rattle like CRAZY and are a pain for crews to operate. The crews also actually WERE friendly (heard from other visitors to the range as well as my personal experience), loved what they did, and enjoyed seeing railfans living their dreams, and quite a few of them were sad to see the older EMDs go. (Also, I caught the iron range fever this summer, and even though every train to and from Two Harbors had solid C40-8 sets and nearly every other ore train had ancient EMDs, it was still incredible).

[@devernepersonal3636]

i mean solid C40-8 sets pretty much only exist up there now. that's a luxury item.

[@BNSFrailfan01]

@ The last of them were filtered out in the last month, with them now being stored in Homewood Yard near Chicago, or having already been scrapped.

[@Rails-Of-Illinois]

​​​@@BNSFrailfan01CN has scrapped a few back in early 2021, although the ones they currently have are js being stored in Homewood. SD40-2s will also leave the Iron Range. Man, 2024 is a roller-coaster.

[@Baconbs718]

Ac44azes

[@redzmvt]

SD40-2s are considered the"cockroaches"in the locomotive realm.Straightforward maintenance,can handle deferred maintenance far better than any GE model.PSR wanted them sidelined because they used more fuel than the newer models.

[@NewEnglandSpottings]

Wait a second… in like 20 years, foamers will be the workers in the railroads, and they might get promoted to some random high rank, or maybe even CEO. OH GOD PLEASE HELP US ALL!

[@BNSF1458]

I was thinking the same thing 😭 we're cooked

[@ninyaninjabrifsanovichthes45]

Wallahi

[@Baconbs718]

Railway

[@joshthetrainfan]

oh Jesus Christ we are cooked. I would love to work on my local shortline, the SJVR, but I'd actually take the job seriously more than the modern generation of foamers, (while still being totally enamored with the engines lol)

[@NewEnglandSpottings]

Okay to be honest I didn’t even realize that BNSF1458 commented lol

[@louisvillerailfan]

PSR is good when done properly. FEC is a great example of properly run PSR

[@joshthetrainfan]

Yeah, they know what they're doing. Before their plunge, BNSF also did really good with their own version of it before total acceptance of regular PSR.

[@amtrakp4242]

@@joshthetrainfan your here???????????????????

[@joshthetrainfan]

@ No way bro’s here

[@TheWinnipegRailfan]

Jim 'The Door' Morrison

[@Rickybnsf]

Petition to get George an executive position at BNSF

[@TheConfluencePArailfan]

Agreed

[@BNSF1458]

I'll take the salary i guess

[@signalupproductions]

Foamer as a CEO would also pull out all those Safetran Vaders and re-install B&O CPLs, Searchlights, and Semaphores! In a more serious note, there are several class 3 shortlines that were started and run by some of the biggest foamers. And believe it or not, they are quite profitable!

[@TrainsAreReallyCool]

Look at the Reading and Northern. That is literally one of the most successful Railroad Companies in the country, if not of all time.

[@Michiganrailfan]

There's already plenty of B&O CPLS. Ever heard of the Toledo sub?

[@Animalcrossingrailfan]

4:42 HE SAID IT!! HE SAID THE THING

[@jason86295]

I've operated old BNSF and UP equipment when I worked at the mines and yes junk equipment is the best term for them I operated one new engine and I never saw it again. There was one notable time when the lead engine crapped out on us and we had to play musical engines on an already busy track with a load of empties waiting to go into the silo. Needless to say that one incident delayed everything.

[@Hopen111YT]

I get excited even for gevos at this point because every railroad line in Iowa is fricking dead

[@Samstrainsofficially]

Yeah there's a reason why people really into trains are not hired much by railways. Do not mention your passion if you get an interview for such a job it will be viewed as a negative you'll be easily distracted, you'll be less objective in decision making. Also look at you owning a chair like a big time youtuber 😂 I'm 35 sitting cross legged on the floor. I OWN ZERO CHAIRS LOL

[@TrainMedia00]

I just a Railfan who loves all different types of locomotives in no matter what location, but when I read some Foamer comments and people said "Oh PRR is is better" or "Nah EMD is better" and I just sat behind the screen watching a whole goddamn war of Foamers fighting each other of thier opinions is its if there having a civil war or something. Thank god I didn't join in.

[@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis]

Well, reading Montana Rail Link engineer Al Krug’s writings, while newer GEs (1990 onwards) have good cabs in terms of ergonomics (button and console design and positioning) and general comfort (heaters, seats, etc.), they are not as reliable as SD40-2s, which are his preferred power. It seems to me that the ideal consist from an operations perspective would be modern GE leaders (or locomotives with cab interiors rebuilt to equivalent standards), with 40 series EMD power in the middle. While the fuel efficiency is not quite as good, they still beat trucks handsomely, and it doesn’t matter how much fuel is saved when moving if the trains keep stopping due to locomotive failures.

[@SalmanMentos]

In my country the foaming is so absurd kids are claiming a steam mallet locomotive (spesifically CC5019) as their "waifu"

[@Baconbs718]

Train spotter

[@SCFIII]

and all of this comes on the heels of BNSF announcing a layoff of brakemen lmao

[@LakeErieProductions_39]

I think if this generations foamers could take control of the railroads, the first thing they do is replace the diesels with steam engines again

[@Xander_Zimmermann]

LOL. I was kind of thinking the same thing.

[@TexasSoCalRailfan9021]

1:03 I would somewhat remove PSR Reactivate some older locomotives like a handful and if its to expensive i would put them back into storage

[@TrainsAreReallyCool]

PSR (at least the way the Class I's do it, especially NS) is a terrible policy. It's inefficient, stupid, and frankly, extremely dangerous. Rebuilding older locomotives is far more cost effective when looking at profits, as it can be so much less expensive to rebuild and overhaul older previously used locomotives and get another 15-20 years of use out of them.

[@TexasSoCalRailfan9021]

I mean I will only take one standard Cab Dash 8

[@jackanderson3940]

SD70Ms suck, they either put the PTC right behind the conductor chair, or the ice box so you are stuck at 90 degrees the whole day. UP engines also have the baseline of smelling like piss in the cab. (If you know you know). Early NS C6Ms also suck, however they isolated the cabs, they did it poorly, they rattle like crazy. I’d say those are probably my least two favorite engines to work in. CSX AC44s would be a runner up because I’ve had two now where the engine goes into full service while in first service.

[@WLERailfan339]

We cannot let foamers on the railroads. They would start flopping allover the floor if they got to drive a heritage unit lolol

[@Baconbs718]

Railway

[@markderham9949]

How can you not love the happiness of the man kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJ3YpYF7eLSNfNk

[@Baconbs718]

@@markderham9949 f9 sucks

[@SignalMan9292]

There was an Omaha to Chicago train with a UP SD40N lead and I’m sure the chiropractor was horrified by the back damage on the crew members

[@gemcofoamer]

Are SD40N 's rare?

[@SignalMan9292]

@ yes. More common on UP but still worth going out for.

[@NorthWARail]

Im friends with a CN Conductor and talk to people who work for WATCO, And the guys on CN were so happy for the Dash 8's to be gone because He trained on a C40-8 Standard Cab and they canned that thing 4 months later. He has a love for GEVOs for Comfort and etc and Favors SD75M's for no Cameras and being Comfortable and Reliable. Add in that He has ran a Dash 9 LHF on a Road Local so he hates dash 9's lol.

[@SouthernRailfan01]

As uncomfortable as some seats can be on certain locomotives, I promise you we prefer it a lot more than walking and working on the ground! Some I’ve been in don’t even have built in seats and there’s often random plastic chairs in them lol.

[@southerncsxvlog]

This just fits perfectly of what you describe as foamer’s “logic” I know we always want certain power and keep it for a while but can’t get what we want because like you said, the railroad would go bankrupt completely if they made ungodly lashups that people would make on Roblox

[@ApproachLimitedProductions]

southerncsxvlog speaking facts rn

[@RAtheGoodRailfanner_888]

Well I understand we can’t always have what we want these railroads need money. Money is important.

[@yourfellowpancake6335]

0:19 I recently redesigned BNSF’s logo (for a graphic design class) and I used 1833 as a reference, cool to see it here lol

[@schudder1623]

I halte being called a trainspotter because in Germany, this term is the same thing as foamers in the US

[@kodachromerailroadvideos6571]

Nah I'd electrify the lines then rebuild the SD70s and Dash 8s to make them electric locomotives

[@lorthathmerthy]

You forgot one: Filming a conductor in the act of switching / working would bring you lots of views, but would also most probably get that conductor a Start letter for not wearing his safety glasses or some other profound "infraction"..

[@theventuracountyrailfan]

I hate how snobby these people are. I am happy to see any of the quad weekly mainline locals with 4 gevos and 3 boxcars

[@Island_Line_Rail_Productions]

I will say, running towards the sun, even on my notorcar, sucks. Doing it for 100 miles from Newport to White River Junction is definitely a challenge when you cant even wear a hat because it will blow off at 30 mph. Yeah i wear sunglasses but its still harder to see forward so takes a lot more concentration to make sure you don't run into someone ahead of you or blow through a busy crossing

[@GRS504videos]

I'm so glad I work jobs at night on the railroad versus daytime, until winter hits. Then it absolutely sucks. I'd also rather have an AC44 or ES44 over an SD70M-2 any day. Sure, comfy seats all around, but the SD70M-2 series are absolutely terrible and electrical nightmares.

[@Ventek_OFFICIAL]

Hear me out chat immediately starts speaking foamer logic

[@BettyAcheampongthirdchannel]

I was a former once in 2020 I railfan in the northeast region and then I saw ns12a with a trio of ac44c6m’s running elephant style and I raged and then I quit and I haven’t railfan trains until January 19 2021 when i venture in to Csx rails to catch q731 with a one of the early dash 9-40cw leader.

[@ElectroshockTrains]

4:55 CN crews do not like the CN C6Ms either because wabtec put gevo cabs on them which rattle very badly

[@EpicTrainsCanada]

If I was running the railway companies, I would put back all of the abandoned subdivisions that used to exist around my hometown! It would bankrupt the CN and the CPKC but it would be sooooooooooooo worth it

[@TheRandCrews]

If i was i would’ve finally done a grade separated project for many crossings in my cities that one railing crosses three major streets and a highway. Can finally fix some traffic and get an actual BRT going without worrying about a 10 minute inconvenience stuck in traffic

[@TheMNrailfan227]

0:47 bro casually puts in a video of GN 192 trailing on a local as if it’s just another train 😭😭😭

[@rileycoyote4924]

Even being a museum conductor, foamers are the literal worst. They always trespass in our ROW at someone's residential driveway crossing and I'm surprised we haven't hit one yet. Also, fuck your night shots, don't ever use flash photography for railfaning because it blinds the crew.

[@victoriacyunczyk]

Fellow (former) museum railroader here. Agree 100 percent on everything, I've yelled at foamers standing in front of a unit so close they were in the crew's blind spot. Not to mention all the reckless driving to catch a train that runs every hour.

[@randallellison6421]

Banning PSR would be a W, just ask anyone who works for the railroad! *Roblox railfans*: "LETS PUT A SINGLE GEEP ON A 4 MILE LONG TRAIN!" Me: "that would be replacing PSR with PSR on steroids......just saying!" Also, as someone who talks to train crews on a regular basis, yeah, the Dash 8s and 9s (and you can throw the AC4400CW and EMD SD60M and SD70MAC in the mix as well) are miserable to ride in, literally nobody likes them! The only good thing I hear about the MACs is they pull really good, in fact to quote an engineer I kmow at Thayer, "the SD70MACs and SD70ACes will keep pulling long after the GEs quit!". As much as people won't like hearing this, the newer gevos as a whole offer a much better and quieter ride quality. That said, the C4 variants aren't very popular either, but that because of issues with adhesion and stalling on hills more than anything!

[@ZombieSlayer-dj3wb]

I love how a1a trucks were thought to be a good idea on them

[@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis]

I guess the Dash 9s and AC4400CWs are showing their age if they ride rougher than the GEVOs. I’ve seen pictures (by engineer Al Krug) proving that the cab ergonomics on the Dash 9s or even Dash 8s are better than the cabs of the GP60s, SD60s, and SD70s.

[@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis]

@@ZombieSlayer-dj3wb it worked on the E units, so I guess the assumption was that it would work again.

[@RAtheGoodRailfanner_888]

Older Gevos are too so. Sd70aces are the strongest.

[@SoCalRailfan4729]

NOTICE: Most of this applies SOLEY to foamers. And from my personal experience as a railfan, most of us are NOT foamers.

[@NashRailfan]

Btw, according to several railroaders, the C6M’s are absolute shit. They’re just dash 9’s but with slightly more comfortable cabs. Other than that, they have the same exact issues and after a year or two, the C6M’s start pulling even worse than how they did as a dash 9.

[@reevesterry47]

Agreed, the only power I see nowadays are fucking C6M's back to back, next train C6M's elephant style. Its so god damn annoying, atleast save a few Dash 9's!

[@csxtrainfan319]

Like you said, the railroads would go bankrupt if foamers were in charge and it's so true. Me though, I don't care what locomotive is on a train because it's still a train.

[@MonorailDriver]

I would rather be a railran rather than a FOAMER

[@Baconbs718]

Train spotting

[@MonorailDriver]

@Baconbs718 yes

[@RitchieHarris-h9f]

Train buff. I don't foam

[@MonorailDriver]

@@RitchieHarris-h9f good for you man. I just hope that any females on twitter find out about this

[@CFRTrainSpotter]

2:45 - thats basically why i like cloudy yet warm days, cus whenever i take pics of cars, buses, etc, i dont have to worry about the angle of the sun and whats the ideal place to take a photo.

[@Herman1776]

Secret gevo fan confirmed!

[@BNSF1458]

😧

[@goldgamercommenting2990]

Remember NEVER put a foamer in the executives of railroads

[@jacoblyman9441]

William Jackson Palmer abandoned his wife on his own honeymoon, ran around Wales to foam the Ffestiniog with Robert Fairlie telling him all the powers of narrow gauge; came back to the US and started a narrow gauge frenzy by spreading Fairlie's words like a new railroading gospel, then fought the Santa Fe for track rights in a dusty Colorado canyon. After years of his "play trains and create an egalitarian buisness with a Quaker mindset" he got fired from his own company and banished to owning the Utah side only because the bean counters in Denver saw him as wasting his time playing trains. ... and that's why the D&RG and it's successors have always been a hopelessly strong railfan magnet. It was the railroad founded by one of history's first documented foamers. Because skipping your own honeymoon and adopting an entire buisness strategy from it by being such a teaboo on a UK trip is spot on.

[@Baconbs718]

Railway

[@railroadhistoryarchives]

Unreliable maintenance nightmare came screaming into town at 3 am

[@EastboundProductions]

Shawn B would love that

[@Straight2_Official]

If a modern foamer gets ahold of CN we’re cooked 💀

[@b.n.c.v5792]

2:32 As a commercial vehicle spotter yes I do have to say yes, we do exist. And my Is recording partner is a foamer.

[@CFRTrainSpotter]

isnt that just carspotters though?

[@b.n.c.v5792]

@CFRTrainSpotter It's not regular traffic it's more like fleet owned vehicles.

[@CFRTrainSpotter]

@@b.n.c.v5792 i mean i still consider it as such even though everyone likes different things

[@lukenolts4]

3:45 I work with standard cab dash 8s and they're awesome

[@upchessbyabzolute]

if i could do anything to the railroad, i’d abolish psr

[@mr.sir.]

My biggest gripe when I was a conductor was when the GEs would kick the can due to 4 stroke prime movers just not being great. That and losing a engine on a grade was a nightmare in hell especially in winter. Thats why we went 1 extra to hold us down from stalling a 10,000 foot train on the marias pass nearing summit. I cannot stress enough how the looks don't really matter, the motor does. And four strokes that GE makes are god awful &@^#%@&! Our nickname for these things was Generally Excrement.

[@SouthernMaineFoamer]

3:20 Junk Power is something I’ll see on the rare occasion I actually see a freight train giving that my line was a former Class II so I can confirm. Even still I’m gonna be sad when CSX eventually retires them just because I find it funny I can tell people the Dash 8s are my GEVO. But if it’s for better performance and for the crew’s comfort then I understand why they have to retire our beloved Dash 8s.

[@Baconbs718]

Csex and Gevo your grounded

[@MACstuff202]

"Creating Lashups that look like they came straight out of roblox" so true 💀💀🙏

[@ghost13a7]

Foamer logic speaking here, but I did just think about BNSF and their use of the B40-8Ws. A lot of them have been fitted with radio controls for yard power and maybe short local power. Considering the lack of reliable four-axle power going around, I could see BNSF figuring out how to rebuild the Dash-8s to some kind of weird GEVO hybrid. It would be expensive as hell, and probably a maintenance nightmare trying to fit a GEVO-12 engine where there used to be a 7FDL engine. But I think it’s possible in the sense that a rebuild of that caliber could be done competently. You’d also probably change out the old DC motors for more reliable AC traction units, but I’m not sure how you would fit all of that in a B-B wheel arrangement. Of course for local power, you’d need the PTC equipment, and probably a complete makeover of the cabs and control units. It would be demonstrably expensive, but considering it might work considering there may be only 5-10 of them still actively rostered, who knows?

[@engineersmith]

Im pretty sure the new engineers wouldn't be able to do mountain runs with a SD/Slug lashup, and the old heads have all said it sucked whenever they had to run those.

[@MichiganRailfanEnthusiast]

Plot Twist: Being a foamer is bad for your health

[@BringMayFlowers]

Diesel smoke and being near active tracks seems like it would agree.

[@JacobGrimaR761]

@@BringMayFlowers not to mention the hearing loss

[@KalamazooAreaRailfan]

STRAIGHT OUT OF ROBLOX 😂

[@aloneinhardeeville]

The iron range crews like the EMD’s and older units since they don’t have cameras meaning they can use their phones, the crews do NOT like these C6M’s from what I’ve been told.

[@chrisrengo4104]

Well I do enjoy the C6M’s and I haven’t heard anyone who isn’t a foamer gripe about them. They’re pretty nice vs the stuff we had.

[@aloneinhardeeville]

@@chrisrengo4104 makes sense, i was up there a few weeks ago and they had an emd set kicking ore cars which is something apparently doesnt happen often from what other railfans from up there have told me

[@WillyGoat54]

You forgot about the most important disaster of the B40-8W: desktop controls!

[@anscrailfanner6812]

Honestly, in the modern day I try to keep it simple. All I desire is track speed with a decent-sized freight and I’m happy. Unfortunately TO (Trip Optimizer) makes that so hard to come by sometimes on NS. I used to not care what power led trains but, now I prefer EMDs with the EM (Energy Management) bc that allows for a little more manual control by the engineer, meaning better speed. At least in my area on NS this is the case. CSX loves their GEVOS, and TO is workin’ 99% of the time. When their MAC rebuilds are leading trains in my area, I try to get out every time bc those never have TO.

[@Eragor-h5n]

Considering how much the railroads care about efficiency and cost I am *still* shocked that they refuse to electrify their routes like European and Asian rail operators do. After all, even back in the 1920s the Pennsylvania Railroad and Illinois Central knew that operating trains via overhead catenary would be far safer and far less expensive in the long run than steam power, and that argument is true for diesel power as well. And of course electrified trains can travel at faster speeds and have quicker acceleration, as seen by the trains that operate on the NEC. That's the one thing about railroad companies in this country that I will never understand.

[@jjhester6586]

Cause its really expensive in the short term, and the current executives and shareholders probably wont see the profits until later, after they've left the company. These people are really short sighted.

[@Eragor-h5n]

@@jjhester6586 Yeah, you are right about it. Still, knowing that it's pretty ironic how much more innovative the US railroads were back in the 1920s than they are today. As I mentioned two different companies tried to electrify their lines. And much of that electrification is still being used. If we actually continued that traction of electrification in the Northeast instead of rolling it back, then it's possible that the entire US rail network could be electrified. And it isn't like it's impossible as the US has built high voltage electric cables that span the country.

[@Jasonk_3985]

just today, i saw the same CSX ES44DC leading the train from 2:43 to 2:46 in Howell yard in Evansville Indiana on the Henderson Subdivision.

[@victoriacyunczyk]

As someone who's been on a B40-8 (standard cab) a few times, those things suck. Horrible ride even at walking speed, seats are awful, zero noise insulation, constant computer bugs.

[@captainmorgan757]

Twelve hours on a train?? I've had a few sixteen and a half hour trips. Those seats turn into stone around the fifth hour on duty, it seems as though someone has kidnapped the dispatcher, and you've devoured your lunch three hours ago. When it rains, it pours! Thinking you'll be tied up in eight hours quickly reveals itself of becoming "tow-in" situation. [all of this is to be heard in the style of your voice, of course] Merry Christmas everyone!

[@railfanunionpacific]

I do like trains and I do get excited when I see a dash 8 but I don't scream about it like a normal foamer

[@eafd270]

From what I heard, there is one type of the locomotive that both crews and foamers hate: The Genset

[@HSETM]

Would you consider me a foamer if I see a heritage unit and go "Ooh, nice."?

[@gv4058]

Unless common sense goes out the window and you do something strange or drastic, probably not.

[@TheActualKingOfRailfanning]

I love your Channel. But as a Canadian who basically only railfans CN, I love their paint scheme.

[@LanesTrains]

My opinion that no one wants as a railfan and someone on train crew. Whatever side of the camera you're on really changes your opinion on certain things. I love photographing older engines but having been in a few, they really aren't the most comfortable. Especially ones without AC in hot TN/NC summers. I remember getting into a NS GP38-2 when it visited NCTM and the AC was a life saver.

[@Transitfan2022]

If foamers called the shots and we got lashups straight out of roblox, id hope we at least get freecam too so we can get better angles of these lashups.

[@Rickybnsf]

4:46 Chicagoland foamers feasting because all the CN dash-8's are based out of Markham and Kirk Yards now (totally not a feasting foamer)

[@superfamilyallosauridae6505]

Foamer community would be way cooler if it was constantly talking about the detailed advantages and drawbacks of all the cool looking locomotives and, in detail, how new ones are better and old ones have various flaws.

[@SalmanMentos]

The singlecelled brain cant comprehend that

[@bnsfgevoproductions]

1:12 Ive been called out bruh😭 me SD70MAC foamer, me want the back in active service

[@nssrrailfan]

I understand about the Missabe stuff, but I have a coupler friends in maintenance up in Proctor who hate the rebuilds. Apparently, they break down very often.

[@iateeat]

what are your thoughts on the union station incident of 2024

[@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis]

Now I have to look this up.

[@iateeat]

@@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis Pretty much the owner liked them young and union station got raided bringing it to light then the server got canned cause of it

[@LEVIRISLEY-j2i]

How railfanning triggers you

[@KouuToriProductions]

Idk if I'd bring all the SD-70 MACs back, but I would start repainting GEVOs in Executive.

[@Chescat124]

We all know I would rebrand CSX to the Chessie System and fix CN’s paint scheme

[@joshmeister4449]

Having had experiense both as a kid and an adult getting cab rides in the B40-8Ws, when they were new to Santa Fe they rode fairly decently, but as soon as those smaller 4 axel trucks wore, oh yeah, rode like absolute dog shit.

[@DSZI.ShyHunterBB]

Formers are people that count the bolts and rivets on locomotives, casual railfans do not typically do this.

[@joshthetrainfan]

Honestly, as a 2004-blt Gen Z foamer watching the absolute deterioration of the hobby with late Gen Z and entire Gen Alpha (2010+), this concept is really making me think in perspective of the crews a little bit more. I love the junk power, of course, don't get me wrong, and I love to operate it in HO scale, but this video also gives me an idea of what the crews have to put up with in these old B40s and Geeps and shid. I honestly have to give them a hand: they really put up with quite a lot, especially with this modern community and the Capitol City Rail disaster. They really don't deserve all the bullshit they get.

[@Thef40phchannel]

I would reactivate the old units, banish PSR, and only put sd70macs on intermodal or coal.

[@offtherails77]

I remember this one guy who threw a fit over a heritage unit derailment and didn’t care that the crew died

[@ZombieSlayer-dj3wb]

Getting rid of damn ebells would be a thing we would all argee on

[@susannord8256]

What if less say we took the inner working of a gevo, then the outside looks of a mac or ace, then put them together and we have a gevo but it look like a mac or a ace I don't how hard that would be to make but wouldn't that be good for foamer and the railroad worker it works like a gevo but it look like a mac or ace.

[@ZombieSlayer-dj3wb]

If looked like a dash 9 id be fine with it

[@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis]

That is kind of what CSX did for their MOW units, the ET23DCM. They took an SD40-2 or equivalent and put a six-cylinder GEVO L6 prime mover in, developing 2350 horsepower, comparable to an SD39.

[@SirensOfNC]

4:42 the iconic line

[@alexander1485]

hearing a GE makes me smile, especially when they whine at over 50

[@victoriacyunczyk]

Honestly it's an iconic sound by now.

[@Northeast_Railfan]

It is crazy how engineers and foamers experience the opposite.

[@pokechimp88]

Similar experience with foamers on the Moscow Metro. They want old trains like the Ezh and 81-717 to not get scrapped and hate the new Moskva-2020/2024 trains. While yes, it's true that the 2024s currently have issues, but it's still better for crews than in an 81-717 (which is typically extremely loud, has no air conditioning, and otherwise sucks to operate), or worse the Ezh (which had windshield wipers that barely worked, usually lacked ARS, a PTC equivalent, and had poor performance, only good thing about it was that it was easy to maintain)

[@Tommylovescsxtrains2014]

Oh crap it’s foamer Friday and 9969 is out

[@allohiorailfan6123]

Railroads are business, something “foamers” fails to understand. Playing a little devils advocate, many railfans walking the face of the earth including myself have gone through this phase at some point. But I have to agree with the point you made when the former wins, the train crew doesn’t and vice-versa.

[@Railfan513]

0:50 the disrespect is diabolical 💀

[@amtrakproductions-mx9ib]

As he says it: CN’S PAINT SCHEME IS MID

[@Leo-lt9fk]

In the UK. We don’t really use foamer. We often use spotter. (Self explanatory) or basher. The person that rides ON the trains.

[@andrewreynolds4949]

I love the NYSW SD33s for almost no reason, other than it looks like an SD45 but less smoky, and the paint scheme looks excellent. I partly wish they had more of them, but at the same time I’m also glad they kept some of the SD40T-2s (which I also love for no reason). I’m sure there are legitimate reasons why they didn’t upgrade any more, and I have no idea how the crews like them. That doesn’t stop me from being a fan despite never having seen any in person; there is no logic to being a foamer.

[@SinistersrilankanYT]

A petition for putting emd g12s for train leads

[@voidjavelin23]

fits as a road switcher more than mainline locomotive

[@SinistersrilankanYT]

@voidjavelin23 it works here why won't work in America