Trainspotting – Now Is The Time For You To Know The Truth

Have you ever heard about Trainspotting?

This article should help you understand what a fantastic hobby Trainspotting is!

Train, a mode of transport that has never stopped me from getting all excited about my journey. I have always been a train fanboy. I still remember the hours I used to spend sticking my head to the railway compartment window to get a glimpse of the engine that is pulling the train.

I used to wonder why it occasionally rained on a sunny day while I stuck my head to the window. Only later did I realize that the source of water was some passenger washing their hand outside the window in the front compartment. Jokes aside, a friend of mine said that his hobby is Trainspotting. I knew it was a movie title, but I had no idea that it was a serious hobby. Throughout this article on Trainspotting, we have used awesome pictures taken by my railway enthusiast friend Shubankar Das that will give a glimpse of what beauty lies in this hobby. All the photos and photo descriptions are credited to Shubankar Das.

2505 Guwahati-Delhi Anand Vihar Terminal North East Superfast Express is negotiating the curve at Salbari Station outer with an SGUJ based WDP-4B (Raod Number: 40023) in charge on a bright sunny afternoon..!!

Trainspotting is simply watching trains, with attention to detail such as operations/schedule of the train, the type of locomotive, type of cars/bogies, used/unused rail lines, collection of timetables, history, etc. You can see the attention to detail given in the photo descriptions, including the Train numbers, source-destination, location, and loco class.

Hobby of Trainspotting has its origins in the 1940s at Waterloo in the UK. A young trainee named Ian Allan was the first to create a booklet on locomotives and create a Loco-spotters club to cater to the needs of railway enthusiasts.

605 NDM-6 (Subclass-B) of Tindharia (Siliguri) (TDH) Manufacturer: Suri and Nayar (SAN) Engg. And Loco Co. (SAN) Loco Name Buccaneer at SGUJ..!!

There are many railfans worldwide, but not all train fans qualify as trainspotters. What is the difference, you ask? Well, a person whose hobby is to spot trains is called a trainspotter. A railfan is simply a railway enthusiast. Railfans take pictures, study history, and collect memorabilia, whereas train spotters go to specific localities to spot certain locomotives, rolling stock, and noting all the spotted trains.

15636 Guwahati-Okha Dwarka Express passes Salbari Station and the overbridge that leads to Siliguri on bright monsoon daylight with a New Guwahati (NGC) based WDM-3A (Road Number: ‪#‎16488R‬) in the lead..!!

Freight Action this time…!!! Featuring #31045 GMO G-9 crossing Hjigarh on HBC

Three Different Class of Locomotives Sharing the same Frame..!! (L-R) Midnapore bound EMU, HWH based WAP-7, and a Shunter..!!

There are no pre-defined rules for Trainspotting, but you must not violate the local law in any way. Safety is of utmost importance. It would help if you did not trespass on railway lines and restricted sections of the railway network.

Since Indian railways have been an inseparable part of our journeys since childhood, most of us are railfans, I guess. Even today, I can’t get my eyes off the train when it passes by. I, as a kid, wanted to be a train driver (I didn’t know they are called loco pilots).

Some railfans like filming the trains as they pass through mesmerizing landscapes. Some like to ride the trains (they are called Bashers, it seems), and some prefer photography (often called Photters)

#12042 New Jalpaiguri-Howrah Shatabdi Express on its merry way to Howrah skipping Dankuni after reaching its last stretch of the journey being hauled by #20072 SGUJ WDP-4..!!

HWH WAP-4 #22327 in charge of DWN 12024 PNBE-HWH Jan Shatabdi Express skips Dankuni Junction late by nearly 30 minutes..!!

Andal WDG-3A appears at Pundibari on NFR on a clear sunny afternoon with NMR (New Modified Goods) Rakes at its tow..!!

With progress in digital photography, the quality of pictures has increased exponentially. India is gifted with scenic beauty like no other. So the next time you see a beautiful picture of a train, you know that some enthusiastic train photographer has waited long for the right moment to click the picture.

Loved the photographs by Shubankar Das? Visit his Flickr Profile to enjoy more: https://www.flickr.com/photos/95272407@N08/

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