In my days of going after NS steam program trains, I was never the driver, so I could observe the world around me. I noticed then that there were pacers and people rushing to get ahead of the train for the next setup spot. I knew a couple of the pacer types and it was funny to hear them describe it. They said they’d get ahead of the ‘motorcade’ alongside the locomotive, slow down and get the position alongside the head end. THEN, they’d gripe that soon afterward, several other vehicles would in order do the same thing they had done! I had heard stories about the vehicle already ‘established’ alongside the drivers wouldn’t slow down and threaten to rear-end the car daring to take their spot. They probably never did, though (as let’s face it, railfans aren’t generally a scary bunch other than for their social skills of lack of hygiene).
I have put the pedal to the metal to get ahead of a train to get several different shots, but usually on a highway where passing people was no big deal.
I’ve never been a pacing type of person.
-Lee
Flickr photo set of my On30 layout