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Dear Mr. Wagner:

Thank you for your e-mail and bringing Saturdays incident to our attention. We have looked into the matter and clearly there was a misunderstanding between you and one of our employees, which was regrettable. The employee is relatively new, and was not fully aware of the companys position on photography and scanners. She has since been counseled on these matters. If any blame is to be assigned, it should be on our training programs, and we are in the process of correcting that.

Unfortunately, while you were at the McDougal Street crossing, a train approached and activated the warning device. When this occurred, you chose to remain between the tracks and the dropped crossing gate to continue to take some pictures. There was at least one moment when you were fouling the tracks while the train approached. At this point, our employees concern was not about pictures or scanners, but for your safety and the safety of the train crew. This was certainly a contributing factor to the tone of the situation. To put a positive spin on this, perhaps we can chalk this up to a learning experience for everyone involved.

With regard to photography in general, on the corporate level Norfolk Southern understands that you have the right to photograph our trains as long as you are not violating any laws in the process. But there is a challenge for us in railroad public relations and for railfans (who are willing to acknowledge the following facts): the great majority of our employees view being the subjects of photographs as an invasion of their privacy and some of those employees are very protective of their privacy. In short, they dont want their pictures taken. Additionally, people standing in close proximity to our right of way even on public property create a level of anxiety with our employees because they dont know what their intents are. Photographer or the next suicide statistic? I dont know how all the interests involved can been reconciled to everyones satisfaction. So, while taking photographs of railroad operations from legal vantage points are fine, you should be aware that your hobby creates a level of discomfort with many of our employees.

I hope this adequately addresses your concerns, but please feel free to give me a call or drop me an e-mail if you would like to discuss further.

Rudy Husband
Norfolk Southern Corp.
610-567-3377

rudy.husband@nscorp.com

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,1741191

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I wonder if this foamite got such a nice letter from CSX?




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After all this time looking at that pic, just how the fuck did he get over there? I don't even see a fucking road anywhere!

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FOAMERS.giffoamy.jpg


The fanaticism displayed by foamers and railfans are UNPARALLELED
even by religious zealots.


Few things will never be understood. One such entity is the FOAMER.

Foamers rarely have any self respect. They have no sense of fashion, or in most cases, common sense.  I have seen them place themselves in dangerous situations to get a photograph of a train.   I have seen them wait for HOURS in a steady downpour for a few shots of a train.



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Actually, it's McDougall Road, Blair Yard, Fostoria, Ohio.  Here's his original.

Went on a bit of a road trip today. Went to Bellevue, stopped at the museum for a while, railfanned around some, and then went to Fostoria. That's when I had something happen to me that I've read about online but never thought would happen to me, especially someplace like Fostoria. Anyways, here's the letter I sent to Norfolk Southern, CCing the City of Fostoria, detailing what happened:

To Whom It May Concern at Norfolk Southern:

I have been a railfan practically my entire life, ever since my parents gave me a Lionel train set for Christmas when I was two years old in 1976. On the afternoon of Saturday, August 16, 2008, I had an experience with one of your employees in Fostoria, Ohio, that has cast a dark shadow on my wanting to railfan in the future.

Prior to this past Saturday, I had last gone railfanning in 2004 when I took a four-day trip to the Altoona, Pennsylvania, area. Since then, I have wanted to go out railfanning again, but I haven't had the time or opportunity to do so until now. This past Saturday, I had planned on going on a road trip, going to Bellevue, Ohio, to see the Mad River and Nickel Plate Road Railroad Museum and railfan the area. On the way home, I had planned on doing some railfanning in Fostoria and Marion, Ohio.

At approximately 5:00PM, I was at the McDougal Street grade crossing at the east end of Norfolk Southern's Fostoria yard by the yard offices. I had my radio scanner and 35mm camera with me. I had parked my Jeep in the parking lot of a closed business on the north side of the street. I was taking some pictures of the yard area, staying on the street's pavement, not even stepping off onto the shoulder. I was also keeping off the tracks and Norfolk Southern property.

After about five minutes or so, a female employee sitting in a chair on the porch on the north side of the offices began to shout over to me. She was white, in her 20s or 30s, with light-brown or dark-blonde hair (possibly in a ponytail) and wearing a white or light-colored shirt.

I couldn't hear what she was saying due to traffic going by on the street. I asked her what she said, and she said, "Are you listening to our radio frequencies?" I told her that I was. She then said that it was "illegal." I know what she said was not true, but not wanting to get into an argument, I turned off my scanner. I was about to take a couple more pictures when she shouted to me, "You can't take pictures of our trains." I asked her, "Why not?" She then said, "Because I can call you in for being a terrorist." I was completely blown away by that. Again, I didn't want more trouble to be made. I simply told her "OK," got in my Jeep, and left.

After that incident, I seriously thought about leaving Fostoria and canceling my plans to visit other areas of the city. Instead, I went to the site for the future railfan park on Columbus Avenue. Thankfully, I had a much more positive experience there and at the former B&O station on Main Street.

However, I am still not happy with the way I was treated by your employee, and I even feel a bit insulted at being called a "terrorist." Would a terrorist be out in the open with a radio scanner and camera while wearing a T-shirt with an Erie Lackawanna SD45 and the EL logo on it?

Also, how can one of your employees be working in Fostoria and be so oblivious to the fact that Fostoria is such a railfan hotspot that the city is putting in a park for visiting railfans to watch trains, including those operated by Norfolk Southern?

Two railfans that I met on Saturday got into a discussion with me over the incident. We began wondering if she was even really a Norfolk Southern employee. With the shock on my part when this happened, I had not asked for her name or to see her ID. She just seemed to want to stay in her chair and shoo me off. I assumed she was a Norfolk Southern employee since she was at the yard offices and by how she said "our radio frequencies" and "our trains." If she was not an employee, then you have a serious security/safety issue in Fostoria since this is somebody on your property and representing your company to the public.

In regards to my activities, I was on public property the entire time I was there. Never at any time was I on Norfolk Southern property. I have also never heard of any laws stating that railfans are not allowed to listen to railroad radio frequencies for the sole purpose of finding out when and where trains or going to be to see them. If it is illegal, why are you allowing the park at Horseshoe Curve in Pennsylvania to broadcast Norfolk Southern's radio frequencies on speakers for visitors at the park to hear? As far as taking pictures of trains, this person was in extreme error. I could understand it if I were sneaking around, trespassing, or tampering with equipment. However, I was doing none of those things. I believe your employees should familiarize themselves with the truth about photography laws (http://www.krages.com/ThePhotographersRight.pdf).

As a railfan, I am doing more than just taking pictures of trains. I am also watching for issues that may cause a problem or hazard for your trains and their crews. I also have the 800 emergency number from Norfolk Southern's website stored on my cell phone in case I should ever need it.

While the incident in Fostoria may be over now, I am still upset and insulted by what happened, and I am demanding that this be looked into. I am also sending a copy of this e-mail to the City of Fostoria. Since they invite railfans to their city, I fell that they should know how your company treats their visitors.

Sincerely,

Kevin L. Wagner


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Cy Valley wrote:

After about five minutes or so, a female employee sitting in a chair on the porch on the north side of the offices began to shout over to me. She was white, in her 20s or 30s, with light-brown or dark-blonde hair (possibly in a ponytail) and wearing a white or light-colored shirt.


Sincerely,

Kevin L. Wagner



Could it possibly be......??

IRON THONG

Snippy's heart is racing at the thought.........!!



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Force Majeure

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Hey, Kevin Wagner dude -- would you hit it???



-- Edited by Snippy at 20:31, 2008-08-20

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6-20-99_trip_Bellefonte_1.jpg
Two railfans that I met on Saturday got into a discussion with me over the incident. We began wondering if she was even really a Norfolk Southern employee. With the shock on my part when this happened, I had not asked for her name or to see her ID.


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As a railfan, I am doing more than just taking pictures of trains. I am also watching for issues that may cause a problem or hazard for your trains and their crews. I also have the 800 emergency number from Norfolk Southern's website stored on my cell phone in case I should ever need it.



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There's several female employees in that vicinity, including a TM. No, I think Snippy's favorite TM is working for Target.

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Troll wrote:

As a railfan, I am doing more than just taking pictures of trains. I am also watching for issues that may cause a problem or hazard for your trains and their crews. I also have the 800 emergency number from Norfolk Southern's website stored on my cell phone in case I should ever need it.



Phag...

 



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Cy Valley wrote:

There's several female employees in that vicinity, including a TM. No, I think Snippy's favorite TM is working for Target.




 The latest word I heard about Iron Thong is that she's getting a divorce.  However, I cannot confirm this.  Snippy, it may be worth looking into.  Not sure what the ststus is if her friend, Tractor Ass...



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BlackDog wrote:

 

Cy Valley wrote:

There's several female employees in that vicinity, including a TM. No, I think Snippy's favorite TM is working for Target.




 The latest word I heard about Iron Thong is that she's getting a divorce.  However, I cannot confirm this.  Snippy, it may be worth looking into.  Not sure what the ststus is if her friend, Tractor Ass...

 



I met a hottie TM about 3 weeks ago in Fargo. I didn't believe her, so she showed her ID. Yep she was hot, I mean a TM...

 



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Force Majeure

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B'head:
Pictures or she's not hot.

B'Dog:
Could you send iThong up here from NC? We're real close. NS is hiring TM's. She'd be a superintendent in a year. What kind of phag would divorce a hot woman like Ms. Thong? If Snippy had a heart, it'd beating like crazy! Iron Thong is available!!!

-- Edited by Snippy at 18:58, 2008-08-21

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Be still your beating heart, Snippy, be still.

We've got one here we could send you. She might be superintendent in six months. Not. But, no, forget it, better not say that HERE.

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