I have had a love affair with trains all my life. I grew up watching steam engines pulling passenger cars down Elesian Fields Ave. in New Orleans, and riding Texas Pacific and Southern Pacific trains from New Orleans to east Texas every year. Back in "those days" trains took passengers almost everywhere.

This love affair led to modeling trains. This is a hobby that requires patience, a steady hand, and learning about construction, electricity, and how to do crafts. at some point you want to photograph your efforts, so you branch out into photography.

Then someone gave me a camera. At first, it was just my models. Then as we went on vacations, I wanted to take photos of trains. While waiting for the train, you observe the things around you, you appreciate the natural setting, the great natural things we have been given. You want to have a railroad scanner (radio) so that you can hear railroad radio traffic. By now you are a dedicated railfan.

Then you observe the insane things people do. In 2005, while taking photos of trains, I several near misses people trying to beat the train to the crossing, and one fatality where someone climbed over the coupler of a then stopped train. A few months later I had an opportunity to learn about Operation Lifesaver. This organization is dedicated to informing the public as to the dangers of trains. While they are beautiful and romantic, they are massive, unforgiving, and deadly.

Trains are not the noisy chug chug click clack things that I grew up with, todays welded rail and quiet locomotives can be right upon you before you realize it. And, just like airliners, their size and speed are deceptive,

By using railroad tracks for portraits, you are sending a message that it is all right to be on the tracks, this is not true. Train tracks are private property - they are the property of the railroad, not the public. You can be arrested, you are trespassing.

For more information about Operation Lifesaver, see their website http://www.oli.org
or their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/operation.lifesaver

SEE TRACKS..........THINK TRAIN