Children and railway tracks.

[wmoore]

What is it with photographers and railway tracks....I know leading lines...This has been done to death..But putting children on tracks makes me shudder. Found these on Facebook thanks to You are not a photographer .com .
I'm sorry but having kids on tracks no matter what is a big no in my book.

[Mark von Kanel]

ahh but you didnt leave a comment! I DID!!

[wmoore]

ahh but you didnt leave a comment! I DID!!

I liked your post

[Shadowman]

ahh but you didnt leave a comment! I DID!!

Did you read the other comments, 50/50 on safety and cuteness?

[Polar01]

Well in the defence of the photographer, it is a single bed track, look at the age of the ties, and the rust on the rails. This is not a heavily used line. The photographer is for Virginia which has hundreds of miles of almost unused track, or track that only gets used once a month. So setting up to do a photo shoot be no problem, she may have checked to see the track schedule to make sure that nothing was running. However I would say that the children should have been made aware that this was a one time special event and at no other time were they to play on train tracks which may have been done.

Cheers: Allan

[benm]

Well in the defence of the photographer, it is a single bed track, look at the age of the ties, and the rust on the rails. This is not a heavily used line. The photographer is for Virginia which has hundreds of miles of almost unused track, or track that only gets used once a month. So setting up to do a photo shoot be no problem, she may have checked to see the track schedule to make sure that nothing was running. However I would say that the children should have been made aware that this was a one time special event and at no other time were they to play on train tracks which may have been done.

Cheers: Allan

Sorry, can't agree with any of this.

A train can come at any time in either direction. The schedule may be out of date, train could be late. There are plenty of unscheduled trains, maintenance, etc. Freights don't publish schedules. If you are photographing then you are not paying attention to train traffic. If you think you can get out of the way of a train in time, well maybe you'll get lucky. And, in the USA at least, entering a the railroad right of way is trespassing.

I am on railroad property fairly regularly as part of my work and we never go out without railroad flaggers, etc.

[Dave Humphries]

Initially, from reading the replies here only, I was with you Allan, but then I looked at the pictures - I soon changed my mind ....

On the day, it may have been safe (e.g. if a disused line), but those kids are just too young to appreciate it as a "one time special event" and they were clearly left to play for sometime and be comfortable there.

I fear that in 10 years time they'll most likely be out on their own and happen across some tracks somewhere and consider them safe to play on - and they won't be looking at the ties and rails, far less a timetable

At face value: I do see this as irresponsible behaviour by the parents and/or photographer. However, the 'damage' is now done and I don't intend to tell the parents the errors of their ways, in my experience that is never appreciated and often leads to even worse behaviour by the parents

I just hope they don't regret it in years to come.

[jcuknz]

Mind you the driver wouldn't go without the guard saying AOK and he wouldn't have said that until everybody was on the train BUT.....


There was also a very serious photographer with DSLR and tripod who was definitely irritated at these people wasting time and he couldn't get his shot of the loco

[Mark von Kanel]

Its not the fact that in this instance it was probably safe for the children to be on the tracks, so much that despite the fact that the parent will have said that this wouldnt normally be allowed. the children will not remember the warning only the fun they had. the front part of the brain that handles reasoning doesnt mature until aged 25 thats why people under that age tend to make rash decisions!

[chauncey]

I would submit that the danger aspect would depend on one's location...I grew up in a rural, no indoor
plumbing, area of USA where playing on the tracks was quite normal, a right of passage so to speak.
Carping about the location of the shoot seems rather trivial compared to the other dangers our children
face on a daily basis.

[Shadowman]

Found this article related to photographing on train tracks.

http://www.ppmag.com/web-exclusives/...hy-danger.html

[Dukatum]

What is it with photographers and railway tracks....I know leading lines...This has been done to death.

I see..... One of yours I do believe:


I can not comment on the kids since I (a) don't know if its even a used railtrack (b) I see many parents doing worse such as kids on little tricycles riding along the side road with cars passing by.
But I do think that if you have a problem with it, then maybe you should have raised it with the person concerned rather than coming to a forum and slagging them off behind their backs where they don't get to defend their own actions.

[Shadowman]

I see..... One of yours I do believe:


I can not comment on the kids since I (a) don't know if its even a used railtrack (b) I see many parents doing worse such as kids on little tricycles riding along the side road with cars passing by.
But I do think that if you have a problem with it, then maybe you should have raised it with the person concerned rather than coming to a forum and slagging them off behind their backs where they don't get to defend their own actions.

Rob,

In the article I linked, there is a group called Protect the Line (never heard of them before) and they supposedly dedicate themselves to policing railroad lines by photographing and documenting trespassers and passing the information along to the authorities.

http://www.protecttheline.com/

[chauncey]

I need some help here...spent some time perusing that all encompassing source of information, the internet, for a list of children being killed as the result of playing on railroad tracks.
While there seems to be a fair number of unbalanced adults having met their doom on tracks, I found
no corresponding information as to children playing on railroad tracks, aside from twisted ankles.

[Shadowman]

I need some help here...spent some time perusing that all encompassing source of information, the internet, for a list of children being killed as the result of playing on railroad tracks.
While there seems to be a fair number of unbalanced adults having met their doom on tracks, I found
no corresponding information as to children playing on railroad tracks, aside from twisted ankles.

Chauncey, those unbalanced adults were children at one time.

[flashback]

This just strikes me as a tempest in a tea pot. Google 'children killed crossing the street nyc', or children left in locked cars in the summer, or kids finding a gun in the home (or prescription drugs).
So kids on a RR track with parent(s), to me, just doesn't rise to the level of concern of the aforementioned dangers.
However if one believes that this one time, one off experience on the tracks will lead a child to his or her doom later in their teens or twenties then I'd strongly suggest unplugging the TV, internet and staying away from the movie theatre (and probably away from some of the old fairy tale books.) Oh and NASCAR and hockey could also have some telling impact later in life.

[Shadowman]

This just strikes me as a tempest in a tea pot. Google 'children killed crossing the street nyc', or children left in locked cars in the summer, or kids finding a gun in the home (or prescription drugs).
So kids on a RR track with parent(s), to me, just doesn't rise to the level of concern of the aforementioned dangers.
However if one believes that this one time, one off experience on the tracks will lead a child to his or her doom later in their teens or twenties then I'd strongly suggest unplugging the TV, internet and staying away from the movie theatre (and probably away from some of the old fairy tale books.) Oh and NASCAR and hockey could also have some telling impact later in life.

Jack,

Your examples (children left in locked cars in summer, guns in the home, prescription medicine) does seem to run full circle with how we are taught as children. If the values/safety concerns are taught at a young age then as adults they will behave more responsibly with their own.

[Shadowman]

Mind you the driver wouldn't go without the guard saying AOK and he wouldn't have said that until everybody was on the train BUT.....


There was also a very serious photographer with DSLR and tripod who was definitely irritated at these people wasting time and he couldn't get his shot of the loco

Don't you just hate that.

[dubaiphil]

But putting children on tracks makes me shudder.

My thoughts exactly - the first time my 2 year old escaped from his straps in his stroller was on a platform as a train was approaching.

We both needed a new nappy after that moment!

[LocalHero1953]

I found no corresponding information as to children playing on railroad tracks, aside from twisted ankles.

It didn't take me long to find this:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...lled-them.html
I know this line - it is a quiet one.

I was actually looking for a reference to this case, which has had a lot of publicity in this region:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elsenham_railway_station
The latter case is not related to playing on the tracks, the track is busy, and the rail company were prosecuted; however, a lack of awareness of the dangers of railways may have been an element.

A sensitive issue.