Great Western Coffee Shop

Just in case, like me in days gone by, you were not aware train drivers up and down the land will thank you for not taking flash photography near the railway.

My warning is prompted by an incident while travelling today.  Just as the train was leaving a station someone took a picture of the front of the train with the flash on their camera activated.  It came just as the driver was opening up and, as he told me when I spoke to him several stations down the line when I got off, for a split second he thought there was a problem with the panel in front of him.

The problem is made worse at night when apart from startling the driver he or she can for a while lose their "night vision" with obvious safety implications.

I know some cameras tend to use flash automatically when lighting is poor, but there is usually a setting to prevent it doing so.

I apologise to those who already know this, but for anyone who doesn't please bear it in mind.

I am not a train driver - but I do travel behind them pretty frequently!!  ;D

A good reminder, Bob ... and potential flashers should note that pictures of trains and stations are much better without flash!

See http://www.wellho.net/mouth/1895_Comparison-with-and-without-flash.html

I rarely use flash on my DSLR for any pictures. Adjusting the ISO/ Shutter speed or other manual settings give far superior pictures. Took me about 2 minutes to self teach these using Google, and trial and error when I had some time to waste with no specific picture subject. If people want good railway photography without a flash, I would recommend looking on Google for tips and help on the various settings.
A friend recently commented that my pictures of my daughters were better than the professional photos they had done of their daughter and wanted to know what photographer had done them. She was less impressed when I told her I'd done them myself, as she had paid the best part of ^300 for her daughter to have the photographs taken!300 for her daughter to have the photographs taken!

Yes, most railway photos may be better without flash, which anyway should not be used when it could distract drivers, as stated above.
Flash photography, even near moving trains can be permitted by arrangement, the driver being warned to expect this. I would presume that this is restricted to official press photos and not enthuisiasts.

I see no harm in flash photography of static infrastructure or stabled trains etc. if no moving or about to be moved trains are near.

Ignoring the technical points raised here (which are all valid) In my opinion the truth is probably quite simple-people don't think about the consequences of what they are doing.

There will also those who probably think they can't change the flash setting in time to get the picture but I totally agree that is no excuse!

Just my 2c