I cringe when people say, "So, you're a railfan, huh?" I cringe, because there's a certain connotation with that label. But I always respond, "absolutely," because as I define the term, it's true.

As far as I'm concerned, a "railfan" is an advocate of rail transportation, whether it be freight or passenger. Pleasure or business. Hobby or profession. In that sense, anyone who encourages others to ride a train, anyone who ships items via trains, or anyone who is proud to work for a railroad is by definition a railfan, just like me. And let's be frank, that's most of us, since almost everything we use in our everyday lives has seen the rails in one form or another.  I'm just a railfan who is more conscious of his role than others.

Now, if I had to really classify myself, I'd have to say (and countless family members and friends would concur) that I'm a strong advocate of passenger rail. If I'm within earshot of hearing that you're planning a trip somewhere, odds are I'll be doing some quick math in my head to figure out if perhaps you should also consider taking the train. Most people think my strong advocacy of passenger rail is for environmental reasons. Primarily speaking, it's not; it's mostly because I honestly want people to realize you don't have to treat yourself like a piece of frozen meat when you want to go somewhere. You don't have to sit in traffic on the Interstate. You don't have to strip search for security at the airport. You don't have to sit in a hard seat that barely reclines, elbows in, with air blowing on your head for 3-6 hours. Folks, there's still a civilized way to travel, and odds are you don't realize just how many places you can go without the stress of cars, busses, and airports. And most people don't realize how affordable it is, especially when compared to the stress/inconvenience of the alternative.

That's why I created Rafi on the Rails. If I convince just one person to give the train a try for their next trip because of what they read here, then I've done my job. So, am I a railfan? Absolutely. And so are you--you just don't know it yet.