Comments on: Trouble at Reading Station

By: Craig Simmons

Craig Simmons — Mon, 07 May 2012 10:04:23 +0000

Hi,
I was at Reading last week (May 1st) and spent an hour or so in the evening rush hour taking pictures and whilst many staff noticed me, nobody approached me. After watching a few hours of footie at a local pub I returned around 9pm and continued. I was approached by a station supervisor after a member of staff noticed me “lurking behind an awning support” but when I explained that I was simply trying to affix my ‘GorillaPod’ tripod to it, he seemed content with my story. He did ask me what I was photographing and I simply replied “trains” (which wasn’t strictly true as I was, like you, trying to capture the station in it’s current guise before it dissapears). Again, he seemed perfectly happy with my answers and off he went. He was unflinchingly polite throughout and explained that he was duty bound to ask and I said I understood that. I departed on the 22:12 to Waterloo and took a few pics of that before I left and stood amiably chatting with the driver as I did so, so no issues there either. So possibly your bad experience may have resulted in my good one?

cheers

Craig

By: Tim Hall

Tim Hall — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 20:52:06 +0000

Been told on another forum that it was the day First Group announced their results, and they may have been paranoid about that, and assumed that my professional-looking camera (with a lens I bought for low-light concert photography) meant I was some kind of journalist.

How many working journalists outside the music press do their work in Marillion t-shirts, though?

By: Dr Wart Hoover

Dr Wart Hoover — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:53:15 +0000

You have posted a pic of a train on here! The FGW police will be round your house soon. Even your minature replicas of trains are not safe. I fear a custodial sentence, with a long delay in your release. You are derailed. This adventure has terminated at Reading.

By: Xerces Fobe

Xerces Fobe — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:04:52 +0000

This is plain wrong the ATOC rules allow photography of trains – a bloody awful TOC and a stupid employee the perfect storm! I take it the First Storm troopers were manning the gates at Reading as usual!

First hands keys to Great Western Franchise back in just over a years time – because they don’t want be inconvenienced in the fortification of every piece of infrastructure by annoying thinks like electrification and Crossrail.

Lets start a campaign now to ensure that First do not get the Great Western back in 2-3 years time when most of the work has been done.

Xerces Fobe

By: Tim Hall

Tim Hall — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:27:11 +0000

Yes, those tags are a bit sarcastic, but reflect how I feel. It’s really very stupid, and wrecked the day I had planned. And I’m guessing some memo or ruling from head office has been misinterpreted by harassed and overworked staff on the ground.

By: Chuk

Chuk — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 15:36:13 +0000

Ha, I like the tags. That is pretty crazy — what do they think you’re going to do, reverse engineer them and start your own train company?