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Post by Deleted on Jun 21, 2017 18:58:00 GMT
Ok right, long story short. On April the 7th this year on one of my many London excursions me and a friend went through Bethnal Green, Liverpool Street, Stratford West Ham and Aldgate East obviously to film. But when we were filming in Bethnal Green of all places we were approached by London Overground staff who said something along the lines of that it was ok for us to continue filming but we are meant to notify theme in advance should we come to take pictures. Just recently me and my mate were planning another trip to Stratford International, St Pancras and King's Cross but on account of extra security in London due to the recent unfortunate terrorist attacks in the UK we have decided to go to Peterborough this saturday to film and to see a Deltic pull mail wagons at the Nene Valley Railway. Ok I can appreciate the security increase and concerns following recent events and I know other rail fans who have been approached for filming but I struggle to see the problem with filming trains and neither does anyone else I no see the problem but if anyone else has reasons for this or has had a similar encounter since the recent terror attacks either though mine was before all this I would like to know what you know or have encountered, thank you.
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Post by Eddie on Jun 23, 2017 17:45:17 GMT
I well remember taking pictures of trackwork on the District Line near Wimbledon Station from an embankment alongside the line, and being apprehended by two police officers. With the level of security at Red it is not surprising you had issues. Anyone acting suspiciously on the railways is going to be challenged nowadays. It would be a good idea to first approach staff with a printed letter explaining that you are railfans, not terrorists and the images you record will not use flash photography or laser auto focussing which can affect a drivers vision in an approaching train. etc etc.
In short you will be considerate and not annoy other passengers. You might then be allowed to take images.
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Post by Richard on Jun 23, 2017 21:37:12 GMT
When researching stations for our route, I remember a day taking photos when I got challenged a couple of times and told I wasn't allowed to take photos. I could have politely pointed out that I think they were wrong and in fact there is nothing illegal about photographing trains and stations in this country. However, that was not really the point. The LT staff are responsible for passenger safety and were merely being protective. Sadly, in this day and age railways are a very real target (think 7/7 or even the Sarin poison attacks on the Tokyo subway some years back). I'd rather know they were being careful than uncaring about what was happening on their station.
As Ed says, a polite response and maybe even a letter of authority obtained beforehand should be enough. The staff are usually polite, friendly and understanding (or, in the case of a Manager at Acton Town, mildly bemused when I said I was part of a team building a 3D simulation of the District!). A couple of years back on the Docklands I was taking photos at Canary Wharf station when a female member of staff asked why I was taking photos. I explained my enthusiasm, for the line. She was very nice and said that they were proud of their railway and were glad others felt the same, but could I in future get permission first. How could anyone be offended when a situation is handled that way?
So we need to understand where the railway staff are coming from and hope for a day when such caution is no longer needed.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 24, 2017 7:40:56 GMT
I well remember taking pictures of trackwork on the District Line near Wimbledon Station from an embankment alongside the line, and being apprehended by two police officers. With the level of security at Red it is not surprising you had issues. Anyone acting suspiciously on the railways is going to be challenged nowadays. It would be a good idea to first approach staff with a printed letter explaining that you are railfans, not terrorists and the images you record will not use flash photography or laser auto focussing which can affect a drivers vision in an approaching train. etc etc. In short you will be considerate and not annoy other passengers. You might then be allowed to take images. Ok, from my knowledge that's unheard of to be approached by the police themselves and I have never noticed the BTP even looking at me when I have been taking photos at any stations in my whole time railfanning. When was this? |
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Post by Deleted on Jun 25, 2017 9:45:22 GMT
I must admit I was not concentrating on staffing but when we went to Peterborough yesterday there did not seem to be much presents of the BTP. I certainly did not see any armed security personnel and we were not approached by staff at all for taking pictures. They had even left the ticket gates open but that was probably to let people in to see the Flying Scotsman. Surprisingly from what I heard about flash photography and laser auto focussing there was a lot of frequent flash photography, usually quite bright which even caught me out a few times. I was also surprised from the fact that a few weeks ago when according to someone I know there was a strong BTP presents in Cambridge and that yesterday when we changed trains at Ely and Cambridge there were absolutely no security personnel at Ely and at glance none at Cambridge either. So over all everything seemed to be quite laid back for the current situation.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 28, 2017 16:59:00 GMT
I went through London Paddington today. I saw two armed BTP officers in a congregation with two other unarmed BTP officers.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 29, 2017 14:09:07 GMT
Went trainspotting in St Austell (Cornwall) today. Not approached by staff at all, they didn't even look at me.
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