Kevin Standlee: Fandom Is My Way of Life

I just received a phone call from Sharon Austin, Metra's chief communications officer. My letter about the "photos are illegal" conductor was pushed up to her, and she called me to apologize and ask for more information, like could I identify the specific staff member (alas, I couldn't -- no name badge, and I don't remember which hat the man was wearing -- conductor or collector). She said that I did everything right, and that the technical term for what I was doing was "tourist." *smile* She says they'll figure out who the crew was on that train and at the very least remind them of what the rules actually are. According to her, Metra is in the process of re-doing their web site, and that they will have a photo policy that will be easier to find there once the revamp is done. I should also expect to get a written reply. We chatted amiably for about fifteen minutes, and she invited me to look her up the next time I'm in the Chicago area if I have the time.

All in all, I feel much better about the whole thing. This may well be a learning experience for the crew member in question. Assuming he's never done anything like this before, I'm not looking to get the guy fired. I just don't want him or his buddies hassling people who aren't doing anything wrong.

This is the video that the Metra Electric conductor insisted was "against the law" to have shot. ("But we won't make you delete it this time.") If the embedding below doesn't work, try the direct link.



Not that I would have wanted to have been party to destroying evidence, because I know that's a crime. If anyone can find actual evidence of a US federal, Illinois state, or Chicago city law being broken, let me know. Note: Citing policies against video or pictures in other jurisdictions, which several people have done, isn't the same thing at all. Besides, if Metra has a policy against allowing photography, they've done a really good job of concealing it. Maybe it's a Secret Law Passed By The President -- something that a police officer has been said to have said while hassling another railfan photographer in the Chicago area a while ago according to something I recall reading in Trains magazine.

Update, 10:30: Based on the discussion in the comments below, I point y'all at Metra's web site, within which I can find no mention of photography at all. Nor can I find a way to contact them by e-mail, which means I probably won't be contacting them until I get back to California next week and have time to compose a paper letter.

As we stood at the Metra Electric 55/56/57 St Station waiting for our train back downtown from the museum to arrive, Lisa got out her camera. She took pictures of the train as it approached the platform. We went and sat down, and the conductor came to collect our tickets. He said, "I saw that you were taking pictures as we came in. That's against the law."

( Kevin Wishes He Could Make a Federal Case of It )

It boils my blood to let these "jobsworths" get away with petty stuff like this. I do very much intend to follow up with Metra about this outrage. Lisa is still shaky. I also intend to write to Trains magazine – the most widely-read American railroading magazine – and for good measure, Rail magazine in the UK, where I picked up the "jobsworth" term because the same thing has been happening there as well.

If there is such a law/rule/policy, Metra should be publicizing it. But I've also heard that police sometime claim that it's a "secret law." Secret Law is a fundamental violation of American Law, and it is a step toward a dictatorship in the name of "security."

Ironically, the Amtrak porter who took us to our sleeping car at Union Station told us of a group traveling on our train this evening that had been taking pictures of it, and he couldn't understand the fascination. Amtrak has a policy about photography, albeit a stupid one that clearly isn't meant to be enforced – "Only ticketed passengers may photograph trains." They don't claim that there's a Secret Law banning rail photography. Sheesh.

Addendum, 5 Aug 00:05: Lisa had me do a Google Image search and points out that the search "Metra Electic Chicago" returns more than 79,000 images, many of which are very similar to what she was shooting. How, pray tell, will our photos damage "security?"