Last month, a 17 year-old teenager from Oregon was having his high school senior portrait made. He and the photographer decided it would be a great idea to shoot it along railroad tracks. It wasn't a great idea. The young man was struck and killed in the midst of the session, while on the tracks, by a Union Pacific train in Troutdale.A Union Pacific spokesperson said, “Our thoughts are with the teen’s family and friends. We plead with parents, students and photographers to not take photos on or near the tracks.”
Earlier this month, the Shiawassee, Michigan County Sheriff's Department reported that a photographer photographing the legendary Pere Marquette 1225 steam engine, known as the “North Pole Express,” featured in the animated film The Polar Express, was almost killed. In the words of the Sheriff's office, people “don't always use good judgment when watching or photographing her along the way.” A photographer had part of her coat literally ripped off her by the passing engine as she was photographing it. Fortunately, unlike the Oregon teenager, she's still alive and hopefully a lot wiser.
Making photographs while on train tracks and in train yards is very dangerous.
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