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>You know you're a Railfan When...

>1. You shop for a house next to the tracks instead of away from them!

>2. When planning your next vacation, you choose your travel route based

upon

>the location of active railroads and railroad museums.

>3. When you blow your truck's horn two longs, a short, and a long through

>every intersection.

>4. Speaking of intersections, you call the signals as you go through them.

>5. You call your local zoning commission to ask if you can use a boxcar for

>a shed.

>6. You wonder why automobiles don't come equipped with couplers.

>7. While engaged in intimate relations, you suddenly find yourself mentally

>debating the relative merits of Genesis vs. F40s.

>8. Your wife tells you her water burst, and your first reaction is, "My

God,

>her boiler will be ruined!"

>9. When you end every phone conversation with "Roger"

>10. When being served dinner, you say, "Easy, easy, that'll do!" as you've

>gotten enough.

>11. When riding with someone who's backing into a parking space, you say,

>"two cars -- one car -- far enough."

>12. When you get a shopping cart with a bad wheel, you tag it and set it

>aside for the shops to repair, or park it in an aisle and put up a blue

flag

>in front of and behind it.

>13. You curse the dispatcher when you're held up in traffic.

>14. While driving your car, you put your arm on the windowsill and wave

your

>hand and blow your horn to all kids standing on the street.

>15. Your wife opens her wallet to show the relatives photos of the children

>while you open your wallet to show them your latest rail photos from last

>weeks fan trip.

>16. You install a pedal operated bell in your car and ring it while driving

>across railroad crossings.

>17. You open your refrigerator door only to find it full of film for the

>next fan trip.

>18. You find yourself looking for old locomotives and color schemes during

>the obligatory chase scene through the rail yards when you're watching old

>cop shows and movies on TV.

>19. The efforts of Hollywood to re-create an earlier era using trains is

met

>with your derisive snort, "They didn't have GP40-2s in 1970! Can't they get

>it right?"

>20. You're on Amtrak, you find out that the guy across the aisle is a

>Railfan, and your wives look at each other, roll their eyes and sigh.

> >21. You're in your car and you come up to a railroad crossing. The

crossing

>lights are not flashing and no trains are coming, but you slow to a crawl

>and look up the track both ways in hope of seeing a train.

>22. You are on a rail facility tour and start talking to one of the

>mechanics on the shop floor only to find out that you know more than he

>does.

>23. You rent certain movies at the video store because you know there is a

>very cool train scene in it.

>24. You refuse to cross the tracks until your favorite train has passed by.

>25. You barbecue using tie butts -- for that special flavor!

>26. You tell your wife you're going down to the corner bar to have a few

>drinks with the guys, however, you go to your favorite train watching spot

>to take a few photos.

>27. You are on a highway overpass at 60 mph and you suddenly shout, "That's

>the Seaboard down there!" and you can't believe the others in the car

didn't

>recognize it by the color of the ballast.

>28. You tell your wife you would like to take a nice ride to look at

scenery

>and she asks, "Should I bring something to read while you look at the

>'scenery' in the rail yard?"

>29. You can't understand why everyone else doesn't understand what

"approach

>diverging" means.

>30. It would not be to your advantage for the railroad police to come to

>your house and look around.

>31. You get tired of explaining to people that just because you have a

>scanner you are not a fireman.

>32. Your relatives think of you when they see a train.

>33. You get irritated whenever a train wrecks because non-railfans "invade"

>your special train watching spots.

>34. The train crews know you by first name or you know them by first name.

>35. When all your friends rely on you to tell them when the morning train

>comes through -- so they can avoid it!

>36. You stop at all railroad crossings and pray for the gates to come down.

>37. You are happy to be at a grade crossing when a long freight passing,

>while those around you fume.

>38. You see a headlight approaching at a grade crossing, and you slow down

>when everyone is speeding up.

>39. You take your date to a railroad yard, just to check on what's

>happening.

>40. You're watching a movie and you say, "New York? How can they be in New

>York when there's a UP freight going by?"

>41. You show up trackside to film the fantrip passing through and you have

>so much camera equipment that the locals ask you which TV station you're

>with.

>42. You're reading a book about "choo-choos" to your kid and you stop to

>explain that they've got the side rods drawn all wrong.

>43. You can find the rail yard in a strange city within 5 minutes or less

>leaving the Interstate.

>44. You find yourself telling the scanner what it is going to say next.

>45. "TRAINS" and "PLAYBOY" arrive in the mail the same day and you open

>"TRAINS" first.

>46. You're driving near some tracks with your non-railfan buddies and you

>see a train and shout, "A matched set of SD45s!"

>47. You go to your closet and there is no room for clothes because of all

>the slide files and model railroad boxes.

> >48. You love to eat microwave dinners because they remind you of the

meals

>you had on your recent Amtrak ride.

>49. You work for the railroad, try to act cool and ignore it all while at

>work. Then, when you get home, watch how your blood pressure rises to

>extremely high levels as you relive it in all it's glory to anybody who

will

>listen.

>50. Your doorbell sounds like a steam engine whistle when someone pushes

the

>button.

>And Finally You Definitely Know You Are an Honest to God True Railfan

>When...

>You're reading this list and not only understand every word of it, you have

>said "Hey that's me!" more times than you'd like to admit! >>