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40-468: [REDACTED] Look up train spotting in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Trainspotting may refer to: Trainspotting (hobby) , an amateur interest in railways/railroads Trainspotting (novel) , a 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh Trainspotting (film) , a 1996 film based on the novel Trainspotting (soundtrack) , two soundtrack albums from

80-593: A campaign was launched in the mid-1970s in an attempt to improve the behaviour of such unruly railfans. In February 2010 a train operating on the Biwako Line was forced to make an emergency stop because of a trespass incident involving a toritetsu , while in June of that year another railfan was arrested on charges related to trespass on the railways. In a 2015 article the Tokyo weekly magazine Shukan Shincho compared

120-485: A child may be known as a kotestu (子鉄) or chibitetsu (ちび鉄). While densha otaku has typically been regarded as a male dominated subculture, in the early twenty-first century there has been an increasing number of female railfans known as tetsuko (鉄子). This rise has been attributed the influence of the popular manga series Tetsuko no Tabi as well as the opening of the Railway Museum in 2007. By 2008

160-539: A data book listing the locomotives or equipment in question, in which locomotives seen are ticked off. An early trainspotter was 14-year-old Fanny Gordon, who in 1861 recorded the names of locomotives passing Westbourne Park station on the Great Western Main Line . The hobby is referenced in Edith Nesbit's 1905 children's book The Railway Children . In Great Britain, this aspect of the hobby

200-490: A fantrip by road for the purposes of photography is often referred to as "motorcading" in Australia. Some enthusiasts combine their interest in trains with the hobby of monitoring radio communications, specializing in listening to radio communications of railroad operations using a scanner . In some busy rail corridors, local governments have budgeted, constructed and maintain railfan viewing platforms, sometimes part of

240-901: A park area or nearby rail museum, which they promote along with other tourist attractions. One such example is the Folkston Railfan Platform along CSX tracks in Folkston, Georgia , USA, where viewers can see regular Florida freight traffic, as well as Amtrak passenger trains, including its daily AutoTrain . In some democratic countries, such as Canada , many railfans advocate politically for expanded railway infrastructure and promote civic engagement that encourages further development of railways. Owing to their presence at stations and near other areas of rail infrastructure, railfans have sometimes been requested to aid railways and legal authorities alike in observing and reporting safety breaches and incidents of crime. Railfans in

280-479: A rural station in Hokkaido that was remaining open for the use of a single local schoolgirl until she had finished her studies. After going viral the station in question, Kyū-Shirataki , became a popular destination for densha otaku . Writing in the magazine Manga Burikko , the cultural critic Akio Nakamori is believed to have first labelled Japanese railfans as otaku during the early 1980s. Since then

320-451: A train or for covering unexplored parts of the rail network. The practice of bashing dates back to the decline of steam locomotive operations, when more passionate trainspotters wished to note which steam engines they had travelled behind. Following the withdrawal of mainline steam in 1968, a new generation of bashers took to accumulating mileage behind diesel locomotives; the variety of diesel types, destinations to travel behind them, and

360-535: A view of the track, stealing goods to sell on to fund expensive cameras, theft of railway equipment, being rude towards station staff and train drivers, physical assault , and attempting to intimidate passengers and road users for inadvertently interfering with their activities. Network Rail , the British rail infrastructure owner and station operator, has produced guidelines for the behaviour and responsibilities of railway enthusiasts at its stations. In May 2010,

400-532: A violent altercation between two toritetsu taking pictures of a specially scheduled train at Nishi-Kawaguchi railway station resulted in a victim acquiring a fractured skull and the subsequent arrest of a teenage suspect two days later. Following the incident an editorial in the Yomiuri Shimbun focused on the behaviour of toritetsu , noting that since 2018 Tokyo Metro had stopped publicising withdrawals of rolling stock in order to avoid trouble, while

440-566: Is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Railfans often combine their interest with other hobbies, especially photography and videography , radio scanning , railway modelling , studying railroad history and participating in railway station and rolling stock preservation efforts. There are many magazines and websites dedicated to railfanning and railway enthusiasts, including Trains , Railfan & Railroad , The Railway Magazine , Locomotive Magazine and Railway Gazette International . In

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480-441: Is a term to used for those whose focus is on railway timetables , a mokeitetsu (模型鉄) is a railway modeller , shūshūtetsu (収集鉄) denotes an enthusiast of railway merchandise, and ekitetsu (駅鉄) are those who are knowledgeable about stations . Other terms are used in reference to the gender or social status of a railfan such as mama-tetsu (ママ鉄) to describe a mother who has become interested in railways through their child, while

520-612: The New York City Subway attempted to institute a photo ban, which was met with fierce opposition and ultimately scrapped. In sharp contrast, the Port Authority Trans–Hudson (PATH) successfully implemented a photo ban that is still in effect (although it predated the 11 September attacks and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing); it has led to confiscations and arrests on the PATH system. A trainspotter may use

560-821: The Taishō era when children, in particular young boys, started to become interested in railways en masse. By the Shōwa era two dedicated railway magazines were being published to cater for this bourgeoning interest in Japan's railways, with the first dedicated railfans magazine Railway (鉄道) established in 1929. Streamlined locomotives such as the Pashina Class which ran the Asia Express became particularly popular amongst Japanese railfans in this period. The rise in interest in railways and steam locomotives has been linked to

600-671: The Japan Railfan Club had issued an appeal to its own members to help deal with nuisance behaviour. In December of that year the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested three toritetsu who were accused of organising thefts from stores in Adachi to the value of ¥55,000. In January and June 2023 trespassing incidents involving densha otaku occurred in Numazu and Yaita respectively,

640-917: The United Kingdom, rail enthusiasts are often called trainspotters or anoraks . The term gricer has been used in the UK since at least 1969 and is said to have been current in 1938 amongst members of the Manchester Locomotive Society, according to the Oxford English Dictionary . There has been speculation that the term derives from "grouser", one who collects dead grouse after a shoot , but other etymologies have also been suggested. In Australia, they are sometimes referred to as " gunzels ". In Japan rail enthusiasts are known as densha otaku , although numerous terms exist to describe activities falling within

680-690: The United States have been asked by BNSF to keep railroad areas safer by reporting crimes and suspicious activity. In the United Kingdom the British Transport Police have asked trainspotters to report any unusual behaviour and activities at stations. In the United States, concerns about terrorism have led to situations where railfans are followed or confronted by local law enforcement or transit police . This has also led to situations where certain transportation agencies have implemented photography bans systemwide. A railfan

720-680: The behaviour of contemporary Japanese toritetsu to that of football hooligans in Europe . In March 2015 two young railfans were apprehended by police in Tokyo after stealing equipment from a Tōkaidō Main Line train. In 2018 a tetsuko received a prison sentence after entering the cab of a train in operation on the Jōban Line and stealing equipment. Those participating in the theft of railway property, such as locomotive numberplates, have been dubbed tori-tetsu (取り鉄 as opposed to 撮り鉄). In April 2021

760-466: The category including Toritetsu for fans of photographing and/or filming trains, Nori-tetsu (people who enjoy travelling by train) and Eki-tetsu (enthusiasts of train station architecture). In the United States, they can be referred to pejoratively as " foamers ". There is a dispute over the origin of this term. Some cite the extensive use of styrofoam to create scenery and landscaping in model railroad building, while others trace its origins to

800-593: The club has produced the RAILFAN magazine and, in 1958 and 1961 respectively, introduced the annual Blue Ribbon Award (ブルーリボン賞) and Laurel Prize (ローレル賞). The former prize came into being following the introduction of the Odakyu 3000 series SE and generally came to be awarded to express trains. To remedy this bias the latter prize was introduced for commuter trains, later coming to be awarded in recognition of exceptional design and technological features. Steam traction

840-529: The dangers of acting carelessly in the vicinity of an active railway were highlighted after an enthusiast, standing immediately next to a double track line photographing the Oliver Cromwell , failed to notice a Bombardier Turbostar express train approaching at ~70 mph (112 km/h) on the nearer track in the other direction, and came within inches of being struck by it. Densha Otaku The history of railfans in Japan can be traced back to

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880-566: The expansion of Empire . Following the Japanese defeat in World War II, with the attendant loss of empire and restrictions on the military, the country's railways became a symbol of national reconstruction. In this context post-war Japan saw the emergence of the first generation of densha otaku . Photography became a popular medium amongst Japanese railfans and, due to the introduction of Shinkansen as well as social factors such as

920-477: The film T2 Trainspotting , a 2017 sequel to the 1996 film "Trainspotting", a song by Primal Scream from their 1997 album Vanishing Point Trainspotting , a video game for the Comx-35 home computer Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Trainspotting . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

960-553: The increasing popularity of the subculture. In 2022 the company released a calendar using train photography that had been uploaded to Mechu by subscribers. The Densha Otaku app is a mobile phone application released in January 2022 designed for railfans to follow railway journeys in real time. Densha otaku have had some association with nuisance behaviour since the period of the SL Boom. The author Ryozo Kawashima has noted that

1000-431: The influence of popular science fiction novels, electric trains became increasingly popular during this period. This period also saw the birth of the popular Japan Railfan Magazine . The Japan Railfan Club (鉄道友の会) was founded in 1953 with the intention of cultivating knowledge about the nation's railways, providing a social organisation for railfans, and promoting the hobby among the general public. Since its foundation

1040-411: The late twentieth century has been termed the post-railway period by historians due to the shift in emphasis towards digital railway games and cult products among densha otaku . In the early twenty-first century railways have become increasingly popular amongst the general public leading to a rise in numbers of densha otaku . In January 2016 Chinese state broadcaster CCTV News featured a story about

1080-553: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Trainspotting&oldid=1196650837 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages train spotting A railfan , train fan , rail buff or train buff ( American English ), railway enthusiast , railway buff , trainspotter ( Australian / British English ) or ferroequinologist

1120-591: The popularity of steam locomotives during the SL Boom even led to instances of them being put back into service especially for densha otaku , such as on the Koumi Line in 1973. The cult anime series Galaxy Express 999 has also been credited with popularising steam at the time. Since being first introduced at Shinjuku and Shibuya stations in 1989 eki-melo have become popular amongst densha otaku , with one composer Minoru Mukaiya regularly drawing large crowds to his recitals of them. The period since

1160-708: The pursuit of clearing classes all fuelled the popularity of bashing. Today, despite the majority of British trains being formed of multiple units , bashing still remains a popular pastime for railway enthusiasts. "Shed bashing" describes going out to as many railway sheds or depots as possible. It was very popular in the 1950s and 1960s. As they required a permit that could be hard to obtain, some "shed bashers" were illegal. Many railway preservation groups run special trips for railfans using restored trains , often on "rare mileage" lines that do not see regular passenger service. These trips are both social events and opportunities for railfans to photograph unusual trains. Chasing

1200-486: The related term "Foamite" (which stands for "Far Out and Mentally Incompetent Train Enthusiast") or claim it refers to "the notion of foaming-at-the-mouth craziness". "Ferroequinologist" derives from the use of " Iron horse " as a nickname for early steam locomotives. The hobby extends to all aspects of rail transport systems. Railfans may have one or more particular concentrations of interest, such as: The scope of

1240-523: The route a newly built Class 800 would take through the town on its way to be shipped to the United Kingdom in order to attract densha otaku tourists to the area. Following the success of the initiative a similar transport of JR West Shinkansen rolling stock into Hakata Port was advertised on social media. In 2021 JR East launched Mechu, a subscription based social media platform styled on Twitch , for densha otaku aimed at capitalising on

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1280-523: The social networking service Mixi had 300 groups dedicated to female railfans. The increase in tetsuko may also be related to social networking on the internet and the opportunity of well paid jobs on offer to female employees of Japanese railway companies. The railway transport programme Japan Railway Journal , broadcast on NHK World , has regularly featured celebrity tetsuko including tarento Saya Ichikawa and actress Rena Matsui . Other celebrities such as Rina Akiyama , who since starring in

1320-464: The sound of a specific type of locomotive in the background of a phone call between the pair. As the densha otaku subculture has grown in populairty it has also become a commercial opportunity. In 2015 thousands of railfans were reported to have had a positive impact on the local economy when they gathered to watch a test run of a steam locomotive in Wakasa . In 2017 the city of Kudamatsu publicised

1360-574: The subject is so large that fans may additionally concentrate their interest on a particular country, town, railway company , field of operations or era in history – or a combination of any of the above. Train photography is a common activity of railfans. Most railfans do their photographing from public property, unless they have permission to use a specific private property owner's land. Occasionally, they run into problems with law enforcement, especially due to post 9/11 security concerns, because they are sometimes viewed as suspicious. In 2004, for example,

1400-524: The television programme Kamen Rider Den-O narrated by Kenjirō Ishimaru , have been credited with broadening the gender appeal of the densha otaku subculture. Further influences include the railway inspired hip-hop group Super Bell"Z who, in 2002, used recordings of the Yamanote Line in a track which became popular among female railfans in Japan. In 2018 it was reported that a tetsuko had uncovered her partner's infidelity after recognising

1440-479: The term densha otaku has come to cover a wide variety of activities related to recreational interests in locomotives, trains, and railways in Japan. Over thirty-six words to describe the differing interests of railfans in Japan have been recorded. These include toritetsu (撮り鉄) who take photographs of trains, ototetsu (音鉄) who specialise in recording train noises, and ekibentetsu (駅弁鉄) used to describe fans of railway station bento boxes . Jikokuhyо̄tetsu (時刻表鉄)

1480-476: Was a factor in the 2008 Chatsworth train collision , as the engineer responsible for the accident had been distracted by texting the railfan while in charge of his train, eventually causing it to pass a signal at danger and crash into an oncoming Union Pacific freight train, killing 25 and injuring 135 others. BNSF instituted the "Citizens for Rail Security" (CRS) program for the general public to report suspicious activities on their railways. Obtaining this card

1520-618: Was common for railfans and is a derivative of the BNSF "On Guard" program for employees. However, this card does not recognize members as employees or contractors, asks them to keep off railway property, and is no longer obtainable. Amtrak offers a similar program, "Partners for Amtrak Safety and Security" (PASS). In Japan, toritetsu have been frequently criticised for their behaviour when photographing trains, including incidents of vandalism and trespassing into restricted areas to set up cameras, destruction of lineside property and plants to clear

1560-547: Was given a major impetus by the publication from 1942 onward of the Ian Allan "ABC" series of booklets, whose publication began in response to public requests for information about the locomotives of the Southern Railway . In general terms, bashing, a term used by British railway enthusiasts, describes a trip, excursion or holiday primarily involving train travel, usually with the intention of collecting mileage on

1600-558: Was phased out by Japanese National Railways in the 1970s sparking what was known as the steam locomotive boom, commonly referred to as the SL Boom (SLブーム). Densha otaku rushed to see the last of the steam locomotives documenting them on film and utilising technological advances in sound recording. School-aged railfans were known to travel long distance during holidays, sleeping on station platforms in order to photograph steam locomotives before they were withdrawn from service. 'Farewell' specials scheduled by JNR often attracted railfans and

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