FRN

FRN is a blog about trains in all their forms — historical and modern, freight and passenger, real and model — and the people who are crazy about them.

It was active from October 2006 to July 2007 and is no longer being actively updated.

When “trainspotter” enters common parlance as a synonym for obsessives of any sort, you know that train fans have a reputation for being a little compulsive about their hobby. “FRN” is one of many colloquial terms for railroad fanatics: it’s not-very-polite railroader’s slang, and it stands for “fuckin’ railroad nut.” (See also “foamer.”)

This blog is about and for the FRNs of the world. It’s a look at trains from a hobbyist and enthusiast (rather than an industry) perspective.

The Author

Jonathan Crowe has too many other interests, and doesn’t know — or pretend to know — nearly enough about railroads to qualify as a foamer, but he is keen on trains. He started FRN as an excuse to explore train sites on the Web, and to learn a little more about the subject in the process. He does not consider himself an expert of any sort, and expects to make plenty of mistakes along the way.

Jonathan is a second-generation model railroader: he and his partner, Jennifer Seely, have begun a small HO layout that will eventually model southern British Columbia in the 1950s. He also enjoys travel by rail, though it’s been a while.

A self-employed blogger, Jonathan is also the author of The Map Room, a blog about maps, and DFL, a blog about last-place finishes at the Olympics. His other projects include Ankylose This!, Gartersnake.info and Snakes on Film. His personal home page is at mcwetboy.com.

He lives in Shawville, Quebec, where the rails — the CPR’s former Waltham subdivision — were lifted in 1987.

Copyright

This blog is copyright © 2006-2007 Jonathan Crowe; its contents, with some exceptions, are licensed under a Creative Commons Licence, and may be copied, shared or reprinted so long as the author is credited, the content is unchanged and it is for non-commercial purposes.

Exceptions. Photography video and other content created by other people are not subject to this licence. The original copyright holders should therefore be contacted for any use outside the boundaries of fair dealing.

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