ARF

Association of Railroad Foamers
by our definition:  Railroad Foamer = Railroad Enthusiast

ARF is an informal, self proclaimed, group of internet railroad enthusiasts who commonly
hang out on the Western Railroad Discussion List at TrainOrders.com.   Membership is open.
The name (ARF) was coined by Jim Burrill on May 31, 1999. (Jim, correct me if I'm wrong.)

NOW ON-LINE!!!
Photos from the first gathering of
The Association of Railroad Foamers (ARF)
at East Portal/Moffat Tunnel
Saturday, June 5, 1999

plus...  Jason's synopsys of the day.

FOUNDING MEMBERS
(those organizing and gathering for the first official outing)


Rich C. & Carolyn Farewell, John ?, Jim Burrill, Paul Birkholz, Jason Lee Davis, Damian Lydick, Kevin Morgan

ARF MEMBERS	WEBSITE	HOME BASE(S)	MISC
Paul Birkholz	Mountain West Rail Mountain West Group Railfanning in the Rockies Paul's pictures from the social.	Sheridan, WY	Founding member
Jim Burrill	Colorado Rails	Fort Collins/ Loveland, CO	Chairman and founder
Jason Lee Davis	The RailFan HomePage Jason's pictures from the social.	Klondike, TX	Founding member
Rich C. & Carolyn Farewell	(Sorry Rich, I don't know a link or e-mail.  Let me know and I will add it. -Jason)	Arvada, CO	Founding members & Railroad Authors
Damian C. Lydick	The Unofficial Southern Pacific HomePage	Arvada, CO	Founding member
Kevin D. Morgan	The Unofficial D&RGW HomePage	Arvada, CO	Founding member
John (Sorry John, I couldn't remember your last name for sure and the wind hit the mic on my video recorder when you said it. Please remind me.)	(Sorry John, I don't know a link or e-mail.  Let me know and I will add it. -Jason)	Colorado Springs, CO	Founding member
"Colorado Eagle"	N/A	Colorado Springs, CO	Founding member ...made it to Plainview but missed the rendevous with the rest of the gang, sorry we missed you!

What is a Foamer?

The following history of the origin of the term "Foamer"
was given by ARF Chairman, Jim Burrill, May 29, 1999.

You'll notice the name "Jack Wheelihan" as an ex-officio member of several
steam crews, including the UP steam crew most recently seen at the Roseville
rail classification yard opening. He's the one who coined the term, according to
Steve "Steam em up" Lee. It is "morphed" from FOMITE  which means
"Fanatically obnoxious mentally incompetent train enthusiast".

To quote Jim's statement at the June 5, 1999 Moffat Gathering...

It is our goal, through ARF, to help remove the negative
connotation previously associated with the term "Foamer."

Page/Photographs ©1999 Jason Lee Davis

This page lives on Jason Lee Davis' RailFan HomePage Site.
http://faculty.tamuc.edu/jdavis/railroad/arf/

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The small trains on this site are copyrighted by: Dan Klitzing @ Dan's Depot

WebMaster: Jason Lee Davis KB5YBP | E-mail: Jason.Davis@tamuc.edu | Page hosted by: TAMU-C
Last update: Sept 08, 2005