A Railfan Primer

Running Time: 15 min
Narrated by: Pati Lewis-Vaughn
Written and produced by Ken Rattenne

 

A Railfan Primer is a tongue and cheek look at "railfans", the nutty, somewhat eccentric group of men, women and children who follow and photograph trains. Created in 1985 for the sole purpose of poking fun at the hobby of "railfanning," the show is based on many truisms (as the show's photographs attest) experienced by Rattenne and his friends. Thus A Railfan Primer has become both an "educational" vehicle and an entertainment piece for those active in the hobby.

History

A Railfan Primer was first created in 1985 by Ken Rattenne relying soley on the visual impact of the photos to communicate it's message. The show debuted in October of that year for Railfan & Railroad's Jim Boyd, playing to a railfan group in New Jersey.

The show was then booked for the 1987 Winterail photo exhibition in Stockton, California. For this important performance Ken added new music and photos, wrote a script and tapped professional narrator Pati Lewis to do the reading. Since that successful showing, A Railfan Primer has been "peformed" many times to many different groups, including Jim Boyd's EastRail photo exhibition in 1992. Over the years it has become a perennial favorite, and by far has played to the most diverse audience than any other show in our portfolio.

Warning: Railfans who get there feelings hurt easily need not apply!

Railfan Primer Program Guide

• INTRODUCTION We begin our study of railfans by seeing these strange denizens at work in their "native Environment." Here we are introduced to the subject of our study.

• WHO ARE RAILFANS? Our first serious set of topics cover "who" railfans are, the varied shapes and sizes they come in, how they pass the time waiting for trains, the correct type of vehicle to use and a few more choice topics.

• CLOSET RAILFANS Next we scrutinize a variant of the breed known as the Closet Railfan. The Closet 'fan generally comes out of the woodwork only when a major steam engine excursion is scheduled. We learn what affext this has on the more serious fan.

• CLOSING VIGNETTE Finally, we close the show with a vignette of images showing the end result of the hard work and effort railfans put into their hobby.

Technical Notes

Photography: Ken Rattenne; additional photos by Paul Ogren, Jon Pullman Porter, Jim Bartalotta
Soundtrack: Steam sound effects recorded by Ken Rattenne at the Castro Point Railway, Richmond, CA in 1983.

This document and its contents 2003 by Ken Rattenne and KPR Media Services Media Services.All rights reserved. Photographs retain their original copyrights.