This one's for the foamers

A "foamer" is railroadese for the intense train buff who drools and bubbles at the lips when discussing his favorite subject. Foamers who get in the way of professional railroaders are called "ferns," short for "fucking rail nuts." They are also sometimes known as "flims," for "fans living with Mother."

Not that I am anything more than your ordinary garden-variety train lover, he said loftily, dabbing his mouth with a hanky.

My latest dispatch as an official TrainWeb Field Reporter, made during the recent train travel photography and writing workshop co-taught with Carl Morrison at La Plata, Missouri, is here.

Think of it (if at all) as a lesson in using photographs to provide the narrative of a travel story.