How close...?

[Geezertronic]

New link to the video here

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepag...xclusive&vxClipId=1347_SUN45056&vxBitrate=300

Just watched it again, I am still amazed how this guy didn't either get hit or get his coat caught on the passing train. I feel sorry for the driver, he must have realised he could have hit the prat!

 

[flymo]

OK Devil's advocate shirt on....

First of all this guy is an idiot who was too engrossed in what he was doing to realise his surroundings and what danger he was in. Way too close for comfort and I hope he realises how close he was to meeting his maker.

However, as OL Leigh said in reply 3.

that's Thurston station which is unmanned.

So looking at Thurston Station, there is a foot crossing between the 2 platforms meaning he did not pass any prohibition signs saying he shouldn't be there.

I see there are some red/green lights on the crossing to show if the line is clear but as the kettle was passing by these lights would be red I guess, meaning do not cross. He, and many others including the video-er and the guy with the tripod over the platform edge, never realised how close they all were to death. (not you Death) I hope they all learn from this.

why dont they use this publicity to find the bloke and prosecute his backside for being stupid, make an example of him

The police are not looking to prosecute the man

Make an example by all means but prosecution will be nye on impossible because you have to cross the railway line to exit the station. You can even see the "way out" sign behind him in the video. If you were to prosecute people for being stupid then there would be very few people on the streets as more people would be in prison than out.

I hope this guy and indeed everyone that looks at this video will take a moment to see how close this actually was to a fatal event and act accordingly. At any foot crossing - look both ways and keep a sharp eye out. One lapse of concentration may well be your last. It's not worth it.

[/shirt]

 

[devon_metro]

As for the filmer, prosecute him too. Both are morons.

Erm? What the hell are you going to prosecute him for. What a stupid suggestion, he did nothing wrong, it's not his job to make sure people aren't close to the track, why is it that people in this country expect everything to be done for them.

I think the following is most apt...

i become more astounded at just how thick some people can really be

 

[the sniper]

Video has now been removed.

It'd be interesting to know whether the uploader sold the rights to his footage then took the video down or the BTP told him to take it down, and then distributed his footage. I'm not sure how these things work.

 

[ChrisCooper]

Another interesting thing from this is that these are mostly older kettle enthusiasts, wheras it's often the younger diesel and modern traction enthusiasts who get a bad name. Sadly though this sort of behaviour doesn't tend to be down to just one group. I've even seen people I know are railway employees acting stupid when in enthusiast mode (especially after a few drinks).

I think it also highlights one of the classic problems with enforcement too. Most of the time when people get trouble for taking photos it's either an individual or a small group, who under most circumstances are much less of a problem than large groups like this that to be honest *are* a problem even with the best behaviour, due to the sheer numbers. Comes across as picking on easy targets.

 

[TDK]

New link to the video here

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepag...xclusive&vxClipId=1347_SUN45056&vxBitrate=300

Just watched it again, I am still amazed how this guy didn't either get hit or get his coat caught on the passing train. I feel sorry for the driver, he must have realised he could have hit the prat!

I wonder if it was taken off youtube to sell to the Sun for profit?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Reading through these posts most of you are shocked by this mans actions, he is a railway enthusiast and should know the dangers, the only thing he was doing wrong was standing too close to the edge of the platform, he was so preoccupied with what he was doing he did not hear the first blast of the drivers horn from the on coming train. To be honest I do feel for this guy, OK he is a nut for what he did but to be published over the whole country as being a knob is sad. All this will do is give enthusiasts a bad name across the country. I think there were at least 7 people on that platform at risk and the highest was the idiot with the tripod if that train been earlier he wouldhave copped it for sure. It is down to you enthusiasts to police these risks as you are the only people there, I hope it has opened up all of your eyes!!!!!

 

[transportphoto]

I have just edited the YouTube Box out of My First Post on this Thread due to the Video Being Removed By the User.​

 

[the sniper]

I wonder if it was taken off youtube to sell to the Sun for profit?

Yeah, that was another presumption I pondered, though I decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and not post that.


I wonder if the subject of this video even knows anything about all of this fuss?

 

[Mojo]

It's made it to the BBC as well: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8683750.stm?ls

 

[EM2]

Was just on the 6 o'clock news!

 

[43167]

Just watched on the news. What an idiot.

The guys grumbling about the DMU. Why do some Kettle photters think the railway should only run at their conveniance. Remember last year when the Scarborough Spa was at Leeds on Platform 9 and a East Coast service was arriving in platform 8 and this bloke next to me started moaning because the 91 was going to be in his shot.

 

[starrymarkb]

Spotters getting too close is not just a UK thing
[youtube]ko4wYN-1SVU[/youtube]

 

[yorkie]

How about getting the picture of him circulated to every railway station in the country, and ban the idiot from ever risking his life and a drivers sanity again?

You'd have to ban at least a thousand kettle fans to be fair! Go anywhere where a kettle is due and you get that behaviour from a significant number of people, many of whom remember an era before health & safety rules became anywhere near as strict as they are now. It appears to have been considered acceptable to be the wrong side of a fence or down a platform ramp in the steam era!

 

[the sniper]

It feels quite funny to have been one of the first 100 people to see that video, considering it has now been viewed by millions!

Did RailUK get a plug on BBC News, by any chance? Only fair surely as it was the first major place to publicise the video.

 

[Bittern]

Spotters getting too close is not just a UK thing

Fixed.

 

[yorkie]

Oh dear, he's famous now, and has been labelled as the ultimate insult for enthusiasts, a "spotter". Ouch! Like it or not, that term IS used as an insult. There's no evidence to suggest he was spotting though as he wasn't noting numbers. "Video veg" is a term some people use to describe people who go to extremes to video. Nearly killing yourself is about as extreme as you can take it...

Also, on the subject of insults, the term "crank" which has been used to mean an enthusiast is now an insult, at least where I am. So if someone said "is he a crank?" meaning "is he an enthusiast?" a local youth would think that person is being insulted.

Also, each time I see that video I think that the person filming must be a cat. That sounds like a meow to me!!!

 

[starrymarkb]

Fixed.

Thank you - fixed it myself too

 

[Geezertronic]

It's made it to the BBC as well: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8683750.stm?ls

At least the UK knows he is a dick

 

[Rugd1022]

I've just seen the clip on the news... unbelievable, but frankly I'm not at all surprised. There seems to be a certain element amongst enthusiasts who think that their photos are more important than anything else, including their own and others well being.

Some of them just do not think about what they're doing, or just don't care.... last week I was working a freight through Water Orton, approaching the station I saw the usual gaggle of photters, as I came through the platform at about 20mph one them who was about six feet away raised his camera, pointed it right at me and his flash went off (in broad daylight) right in my eyes. Now maybe I shouldn't have done this but I shouted out of the window at him in no uncertain terms not to do it again, managing not to swear (just). He looked suitably sheepish and one or two of the other gents on the platform looked quite shocked, but it affected my vision for a minute or so afterwards (I was driving under cautionary signals at the time).

Please, any photters reading this.... do not use flash when pointing your cameras at passing trains - it's just plain stupid.

 

[Kernowfem]

Erm? What the hell are you going to prosecute him for. What a stupid suggestion, he did nothing wrong, it's not his job to make sure people aren't close to the track, why is it that people in this country expect everything to be done for them.

I think the following is most apt...

Oh dear, oh dear. You question my intelligence and at the same time think its perfectly ok for someone to take pleasure in smearing a video everywhere he filmed of a man in serious danger, and did nothing to warn him of it??

Indeed, your bright enough to know there may be no exact law to prosecute him under, and as far as im concerned its a shame. However to imply the filmer did nothing wrong makes you equally as stupid as i. Had i been there i would have put down the cam and yelled at him to get the bloody hell out of the way.

I never implied it was the cameramans job to police the platform, what i imply and stand by no matter what you wish to call me, is the fact that the cameraman is and was just as stupid as he who was almost hit. If you had chance to read many of the comments posted under this video on you tube, you'd know that a hell of a lot of people agrees with me on this point.

Stupid? possibly. Stand back and not warn a bloke he was about to be hit by a train for the sake of a film? never. Ill sleep tonight knowing that.

 

[The_Stig]

The guy is an idiot. A fortunate idiot at that.

Next time if he is so daft he may not be as fortunate.

 

[Geezertronic]

I wonder if devon_metro would advocate a system for trains so they could swerve out of the way to avoid idiots Common sense would dictate that you don't get too close to the track and that applies to the majority of people in that video including the cameraman and the idiot who almost got hit.

Because at the end of the day, he was doing something wrong and almost paid the ultimate price for his actions, ruining the lives of his family and friends and the lives of the driver and other people that would have to scrape him up.

And to answer the question "why is it that people in this country expect everything to be done for them", surely common sense dictates that getting hit by a train is not worth a picture or video of Oliver Cromwell so the best policy is to avoid placing yourself in a dangerous situation.

 

[Kernowfem]

As a matter of interest, just how many of you, had you been on that platform filming this, would have at least shouted a warning to the guy??

 

[37401]

Hmm I may have shouted something, the waaah from the camereaman was most likley down to shock I guess he just went into shock and trembled his speech

 

[the sniper]

As a matter of interest, just how many of you, had you been on that platform filming this, would have at least shouted a warning to the guy??

I would have!

As I think I said earlier in the thread, rail enthusiast generally aren't the most confident of people, so I'm not massively surprised that no one said anything, disappointed, but not particularly surprised. Also, to be fair to the cameramen, he probably expected that the guy would get out of the way on his own accord, the 'I thought he'd move/duck/see/hear/realise' excuse is pretty common in situations like this, we've all probably used an excuse like that at least once.

 

[Geezertronic]

They were probably too busy concentrating on Oliver to notice the DMU, either that or they'll blame Oliver for hiding the DMU behind the steam

 

[ChrisCooper]

I know I'd have said something, if I'd seen what was going on. The problem is that a lot of the others were likely concentrating on the kettle and their own photos or videos, so wouldn't have seen the train coming either (which would be fine for them as long as they were in a safe position). Even if you turn to follow the kettle through, like the videoer did, you've then got to see the train coming, see the man standing too close to the edge, and react to it, before you can shout a warning. To be honest he might not even have realised how close it was until he watched the video later.

 

[Kernowfem]

I would have!

As I think I said earlier in the thread, rail enthusiast generally aren't the most confident of people, so I'm not massively surprised that no one said anything, disappointed, but not particularly surprised. Also, to be fair to the cameramen, he probably expected that the guy would get out of the way on his own accord, the 'I thought he'd move/duck/see/hear/realise' excuse is pretty common in situations like this, we've all probably used it at least once.

Sniper, agreed But it does become clear that the guy isnt going to move while there is still time to warn him.
At the same time i wouldnt have waited to see if he did move back, i would have just yelled at him. Maybe i am judging others by what id do myself, which maybe wrong, but i cant help wondering what the guys consience would be like had the man been hit....

Hang on scrub that, the filmer would have probebly been killed too, so maybe thats irrelevent....

 

[Metroland]

Oh dear, he's famous now, and has been labelled as the ultimate insult for enthusiasts, a "spotter". Ouch! Like it or not, that term IS used as an insult. There's no evidence to suggest he was spotting though

He looks like a spotter though - now splashed all over the BBC, Daily Mail and the Sun. The shame!

I'd like to think a minority of 'spotters' do this on the lineside, but it's surprisingly common.

 

[37401]

Some of them just do not think about what they're doing, or just don't care.... last week I was working a freight through Water Orton, approaching the station I saw the usual gaggle of photters, as I came through the platform at about 20mph one them who was about six feet away raised his camera, pointed it right at me and his flash went off (in broad daylight) right in my eyes. Now maybe I shouldn't have done this but I shouted out of the window at him in no uncertain terms not to do it again, managing not to swear (just). He looked suitably sheepish and one or two of the other gents on the platform looked quite shocked, but it affected my vision for a minute or so afterwards (I was driving under cautionary signals at the time).

Please, any photters reading this.... do not use flash when pointing your cameras at passing trains - it's just plain stupid.

speaking of water orton Ive seen them sometimes standing beyond the barrier on the platform it's there for a reason, I often see the older lot using flash, smoking, I even saw one take a stroll across the tracks at tamworth HL infact tamworth is the place I see them smoking and blocking the stairs one guy in a wheelchair does this too