On the whole issue of chasers, I would like to add the following: I chased the Trains Unlimited Tours photo freight this year and do not consider myself a freeloader for the following reasons:
1) I have ridden this charter in the past and did not care that others were taking pictures without riding. I got what I paid for, and it was far more than a chaser got. This is a good trip!
2) I did not ride this time, because I thought I was going to be in Wyoming then, and when those plans fell through, it was too late to get a ticket. Had I gotten a ticket, someone else would not have. The trip was sold out.
3) I was on public land, accessed by public roads, photographing equipment that's publicly owned for public display. Remember the C&TS is publicly owned by the states of Colorado and New Mexico. Without such public support, the TUT charter would not be enough to keep the railroad going. If the public benefits from the charter, fair enough. The charter benefits from the public.
4) I've done almost $9000 in business with TUT. While that doesn't nearly make me one of their bigger customers, I think it keeps me out of the freeloading category, even if I take a picture of a ride I'm not on.
5) If a few riders are simply overcome with jealous envy that I'm getting something for free and they're paying, that is an issue for them to work through. With a little more maturity, they could learn that jealous envy is the only sin that never gave anyone any pleasure.
Additionally:
Others were chasing who I thought had every right. At a few photo spots, I was alongside people who volunteer on the railroad. Without them, no one would be enjoying the train, charter or not.
As has already been pointed out, accepting money from chasers might not be in the best interest of operators, who may not like to take on whatever obligation real or perceived it may create, e.g. accident liability, the need to be considerate of their shots, etc. The first time I ever heard of pacer passes, I had just finished chasing the U.P. Challenger. Needless to say, I did not keep up. That thing's fast, and I'll be darned if I'll pay for it to run from me. If they sold pacer passes they'd have to slow down. This is not a problem on the C&TS, but other considerations might crop up that you'd rather not be bothered with.
Will the charter customers refuse to show their pictures to people who didn't ride? Will those who enjoy the pictures send a donation to TUT or C&TS? After all, who are they to enjoy the charter vicariously? I know this is carrying the question to an extreme, but where does one draw the line?
Agree or disagree, there's my 2 cents worth.
