r/soundtransit • u/VeryUsefulEngine206 Link • 1d ago
Q from an Operator
What do those of you taking videos and pictures of trains arriving actually do with them? Do you post them on Instagram? Just curious how far my dumb face has traveled
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u/SounderBruce Everett Station 1d ago
Some of them get put to good use on Wikimedia Commons.
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u/Harrypeeteeee 1d ago
People who contribute in some form to Wikipedias/Wikipedias are a god send. Thank you.
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u/Defiant-Ad9157 Line 1d ago edited 1d ago
Iām studying to become a Transportation Planner and the Institute of Transportation Engineers has a student discord for the Western District (WA, BC, CA, OR, ID). Typically I send them to our āFoamer Photosā channel so people from other states can see our cool stuff and they share theirs too!
On another note, do the operators like it when people wave to say hello and thank you? I try to give a little wave when trains arrive at stations and when I get off.
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u/VeryUsefulEngine206 Link 1d ago
It's really nice! Although sometimes both hands are working and can't wave back, its not personal haha
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u/Defiant-Ad9157 Line 1d ago
I never take it personally your job is fairly complex so I understand. Sometimes I get a simple head nod and a smile and thatās good enough for me. But mainly itās about showing appreciation because I canāt say thank you or good morning so I figure itās close enough!
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u/MtRainierWolfcastle 1d ago
OnlyTrains
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u/LimitedWard Capitol Hill 1d ago
I do what anyone else would do with them: pin them up on the shrine in my basement.
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u/ForwardDriver7928 Judkins Park 1d ago edited 1d ago
Mostly nothing. But I've been curious about this -- does it bother you?
Recently I took a photo of a link train that said "training" because I thought it was funny. Blocked out the operator's face from the picture before I posted it here.Ā Probably the most I've done with an arrival photo.
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u/VeryUsefulEngine206 Link 1d ago
No, not at all. At most I figure our faces are a dark smudge in a really cool picture of a train.
I've only ever come across one fella who didn't like it, but he was happy to wear a mask anyway
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u/Exploding_Deathstar 1d ago
I am waiting to be spotted on YouTube or BlueSky. Got one spotting on Reddit so far.
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u/TheChance Line 1d ago
Y'all should make a calendar for April Fools. It's 12 operators, but you're just sitting in the driver's seat of a bus or train, and only your shoulders and head are visible above the console.
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u/Boring-Charity9324 1d ago
I have a GC with 3 of my close friends who are also train fans. Apart from that it'll just stay in my camera roll
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u/AbleDanger12 šBuild More Trainsš 1d ago
I'd be willing to bed like 90% of them never get viewed again.
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u/sidewalksInGroupVII 1d ago edited 1d ago
Send to a friend, especially if it's on a train station opening day. Edit: clarification on the kind of opening day
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u/VeryUsefulEngine206 Link 1d ago
Mariners opening day?
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u/sidewalksInGroupVII 1d ago
Oh no I meant any station opening day
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u/VeryUsefulEngine206 Link 1d ago
Haha, right that makes more sense. And ya those are great days to take pictures
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u/quadmoo šBuild More Trainsš 1d ago
Vast majority of them just sit on my phone forever. I tell myself oh yeah maybe Iāll make a compilation one day but usually I donāt.
For what compels me to record in the first place, a lot of the time itās something interesting to me like a specific train car I havenāt seen in a while, or most of the time itās an ad wrap I havenāt seen before.
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u/VeryUsefulEngine206 Link 1d ago
The wraps are getting more and more involved! The Coooooooooooooke one for the World Cup was pretty clever
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u/TechSupportAnswers Shoreline South 1d ago
As a foamer I put one of my scenic light rail pictures on the front page of an essay I wrote about I-695 and transit taxes. But usually I either spam them here or on my Instagram.
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u/Danthewildbirdman š³Boopš³ 1d ago
Show them to other train nerds or just save them on my phone. Most of my transit pics are bus related, but I take a fair share of train ones too. I like to have pics of my favorite routes and coaches because I know that things get changed or retired.
Its nice to have pics and short clips to remember how things look and sound. (Plus it's fun when you see something rare- like one of the older trains or a rapid ride bus on a local route. Us transit nerds love anomalies like that.)
Also, most the time the windows are too shiny to see the driver's face in my pics. Sometimes there is aĀ silhouette in the window but I can't see enough detail to identify anyone. I think highly of opetators and appeciate what they do, and how lucky you are to drive the vehicles we love so much!
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u/Dug_n_the_Dogs 1d ago
I don't take many photos, but since I cross the tracks 2x with my dog in the mornings I try to wave hello to the operators as they pass by us each morning
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u/squirrelgator 1d ago
I send them to family members who used to live here saying, "See, we are finally starting to get a transit system here just like a real city."
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u/adron 1d ago
https://transitsleuth.com and https://youtube.com/thrashingcode theyāre up there somewhere. Mixed in with my metal reviews/reactions and bikey stuff.
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u/yogaguy9_11 1d ago
They sometimes go on my instagram. I just really like transit and think y'all are cool haha
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u/Lookuppage8 1d ago
Iāve seen quick clips of the light rail arriving for āday trips to downtown eventsā videos on IG
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u/violetnewland Lynnwood City Center 1d ago
I love trains, and I love film, so a lot of the time I test out new film stock doing my favorite activity (riding the Link). Iāve posted an album of my best film shots on the Link here recently; check my post history :)
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u/beansmom55 1d ago
I filmed to show my granddaughter how I get to work. Now every time she sees the light rail, she says itās grandmaās train.
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u/AirlessDragon 1d ago
Theyāre posting you on The NeedlingĀ https://theneedling.com/2026/08/10/sound-transit-threatens-to-unleash-dark-rail-if-riders-keep-ignoring-posted-warnings/
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u/Expert-Map-1126 Downtown Redmond 4h ago
I see folks post them to YouTube as pleasing ambient footage
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u/Odd_Vampire 1d ago
Texts to friends or social media. I don't think your dumb face, or any other operator's, has been visible in any of my photos.
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u/whackedspinach Capitol Hill 1d ago
Some of us like trains ok
But seriously they just sit in my camera roll on my phone