Where have all the foamers gone?
Foamers, Rail Buffs, Train Spotters…. Whatever you want to call them, they were always nuts about trains. I myself am one of these people. I LOVE trains and infrastructure. But I find myself asking some questions lately… Is this just a hobby for old men? They are the only ones who I seem to be able to find who seem to enjoy it. Why am I so .. different? Why are few other young people into train spotting or foaming. I imagine part of it these days has to do with the whole ’security’ aspect. Any cop who happens to come across people taking photos of trains is likely to accuse you of plotting a terrorist act. And that may be why a lot of people do not bother with rail fanning anymore. But if that is the fact, this added security of ours, is causing a whole subculture to disappear.
Trains are special and important to us here in North America. We may not realize it today, but our nation was build with trains. Without the railways, we would be 100 years behind where we are now, technically. It is amazing to think what these otherwise insignificant lines of steel have done for us.
I would really like to find someone else about my age who is also into trains in the WNY area. Sure I don’t mind hanging around the older guys and talkin trains. But I likely wont go out foaming with someone who is 40 or 50 years my elder.
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Trains certainly aren’t getting the same amount of attention that they used to. I’m not sure if its just a phase and they’ll be making a comeback some time soon or if public interest is just gone. Either way I believe it’s caused by a few factors including the lack of media attention. I’ve been getting into classic cinema recently and trains played a large part in some of the greatest films and even television series. In the past 20 to 30 years they seem to have dissapeared from the spotlight almost entirely and its been long enough for all of the classics to be forgotten or unheard of by younger generations.
I have some idea how it feels to have something you really enjoy and nobody near your age to share it with. I would love to find an accordion player in Florida who was under the age of 60 who I could play with but it’s a dying instrument in the US. I wish you the best of luck in finding someone closer to your age. See you on the server.