trans europe . . .nevermind.

February 5, 2003 6:16 PM

Welcome to the European Railway Picture Gallery. The monthly archive is a nice place to begin.
posted by four panels (12 comments total)

Oohh... pretty. Golsdorf 310 in Austria, by the way, is one of the locomotives in Microsoft Train Simulator.
posted by PrinceValium at 7:11 PM on February 5, 2003

As is the "Flying Scotsman."
posted by PrinceValium at 7:13 PM on February 5, 2003

Being Scottish is shite!
          (name that film, duh!)
posted by ArcAm at 11:28 PM on February 5, 2003

That's a lot of train.
posted by Dick Paris at 1:18 AM on February 6, 2003

Are trainspotters purely an English invention (speaking as a closet one myself)? Are they regarding with the same disdain in other countries?
posted by jontyjago at 1:31 AM on February 6, 2003

Thanks for the great link. Could someone explain what trainspotting is?
posted by ParisParamus at 5:02 AM on February 6, 2003

yes.
please explain.
at length.
posted by knutmo at 5:10 AM on February 6, 2003

Whilst I can explain what it is, you'll have to forgive me if I can't explain why it is.

Trainspotting: Spotters record the names and serial numbers of trains they have seen. Whilst this used to be carried out just with notebook and pencil, this has progressed to include the tape recording of the sound of the trains, photography and then filming. in the UK spotters can frequently be seen on the ends of platforms of railway stations at large junctions, wrapped up warm and with thermos flasks.
As a personal anecdote, the library in the quite small UK town I grew up in had a whole room dedicated to books about trains and audio cassettes of them in operation.
For the record: No, Never.
posted by biffa at 5:38 AM on February 6, 2003

Biffa is correct but "gricing" as the 'spotters themselves call it can cover the whole spectrum of rail activity. Not content with only noting down the numbers of passenger and freight locos, many make it a mission to travel on as much UK track as possible even to the extent of there being specialised passenger train excursions on lines or loops only normally used by freight trains.

I have not been on one of these excursions, nor do I stand on platforms. But I know someone who does. No, really I do. Not me.

Trainspotting has now engendered many offshoots such as lorry spotting and bus spotting. Now, that's just silly...
posted by jontyjago at 6:50 AM on February 6, 2003

Trainspotting has now engendered many offshoots such as lorry spotting and bus spotting. Now, that's just silly...

Not to forget planespotting as with the mostly British idiots who got nicked for it in Greece. (MeFi'ed before but this gives the final story a year after that thread)
posted by biffa at 8:23 AM on February 6, 2003

Railfans are now personas non grata in the U.S., thanks to Operation Don't Stand Out.
posted by PrinceValium at 8:32 AM on February 6, 2003

err.. let's try that again
posted by PrinceValium at 8:33 AM on February 6, 2003