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JOYS OF TRAIN WATCHING

July 5, 2001

Byline:Andrew Tuttle

There are some things in life that can't be explained. The joy of watching three or four loud, rumbling locomotives pulling 100 cars on two thin rails, for miles on end, seems to be one of those.

Placentia resident John Estrada understands the joy of train watching.

It's the massive amount of tonnage; it's knowing human beings created the machines; it's the fascination that so many everyday products are hauled behind the powerful locomotives; it's the rumbling; it's the smoke billowing out of the stacks like an out-of-control wildfire.

It's all of those, he said.

Estrada, 28, is a lifelong train watcher. His captivation started in front of his great-grandfather's Truslow Avenue house in Fullerton. When he's not hanging out in front of the Fullerton train station, Estrada can sometimes be found just relaxing and watching from favorite places in north Orange County, sometimes with video camera in hand.

``It's a feeling of power,'' Estrada said. ``To know you're so close to something that's so powerful.''

``It's a live creature going from one location to another; it gives it a sense of identity.''

As teen-agers, Estrada and his friends would chase trains along Esperanza Road in a pickup, video camera at the ready to get that perfect shot.

A spot where he likes to sit is under a bridge on Esperanza. And, at the intersection of Esperanza Road and New River in Yorba Linda, Estrada can capture images of the enormous freights whipping around a blind corner.

``Out of nowhere a train pops out and comes right at you,'' he said.

``It's coming toward you and saying, `Here I am.' ''

Jason Carroll can't figure out the attraction. And, ironically, Carroll has been a conductor for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway for three years.

He found out about the job through a friend and took it because he needed one, not out of a fascination with trains.

On trips on tracks through the Cajon Pass near the Mojave (I-15) Freeway in San Bernardino County, Carroll sees rail fans all the time. It amazes him there are so many.

Although he doesn't sit around a railroad track and watch trains all day, he can understand the attraction of the engine's power. The sound an engine makes, the ground tremors it creates.

And, he admits it is a neat feeling to stand on the rocks that support the rails, called ballast, as a train thunders past.

``You get almost chills -- not fear. I don't know how to explain it, just amazed,'' he said.

Ray Burns, 58, co-founder of www.trainweb .com , said he's tried to put his finger on the lure of train watching but has never been able to nail it down.

He's watched them his whole life and can remember the days of steam.

``Men like gears, things that are turning,'' he said. ``Power. There's a lot of power there.''

It's the thunder and rumble a train creates, yet it's safe to watch, he said. The respect and power, men can relate to. It's wholesome.

``We're talking about men who are still kids,'' Burns said.

Estrada takes it a step further, finding an allure in simply looking at trains as they run and work. They are modern technology, a marvel of engineering, yet something with personality.

``There's a natural thing, there's some excitement there,'' Burns said, searching for words. ``And, I don't know why.''

Perhaps that is the joy. Something only train watchers can feel -- a feeling that is simply inexplicable.

Web sites for train enthusiasts: