Rent-a-cops Sheesh!

Last weekend, I went to Central Station to take a few "Research" photos of suburban trains. On the way there I stopped to take a few shots of Sydney Yard from the park that runs alongside it. It was kind of amusing, but just at that moment the police decided to drive through the park (normally closed to traffic). They stopped near me, deciding if they should bother getting out of the car or not, while I was taking a few photos through the fence. After a short while, they moved on. I guess I dont look like a terrorist.

It must have been no more than 2 minutes after I got to Central and started taking a few photos that the Cityrail Police (glorified security guards) came up to me and asked what I was doing, to which I replied "taking photos of trains". Well, actually it was just one of them. The other three had enough common sense to see that I was taking photos of trains, and didnt have to ask. This guy had a real problem with it.

He said. "You cant do that here". I asked why not, and his answer was that sometimes grafetti artists attack a train and then take photos of it as it travels around the network. I was like "Do you see any grafetti on this train?" He didnt. There was none. Not too bright this guy. I guess the others must have nick-named him "Tail Light", because he's not as bright as a headlght.

According to him, I had to get permission from the Station Master, which technically, is probably true, but lets check reality for a moment. People take photos all the time, at all kinds of places, including many rail fans and even train drivers with access to closed areas and trackside, who put their train photos up on the web for all to see (its just that none of those pics have the close-up detail I need to model complex parts like bogies etc). Heck, 3 weeks ago thousands of camera-toting rail fans decended on Sydney Terminal for the "150 Years of Rail" celebration, and between them, took more photos than you or I could in a year. (One of mine is above). I even managed to get a few photos from the narrow end of the Mortuary Station platform, which I normally wouldnt have access to. I didnt need to ask permission for that, and no one bothered me (or any of the other photographers) on that day.

Get real. I know its a different world now, after 911, but Im not plotting to drive a train into a building or anything. The truth is that you have a better chance of being killed in a car accident than in an act of terrorism. People are just paranoid, especially those who need to be seen as being concerned for the public's safety.