The well known Northern Irish train enthusiast, Matthew McGrotty and his friend Chris, could face trouble following his ‘silly’ and ‘childish’ actions across the railway network in Northern Ireland. McGrotty, if you’ve not heard of it already, is a well known figure within the trainspotting community on the TikTok platform and Translink NI Railways. Whether it be his screaming at Enterprise trains at Moira or his questionable reactions to trains passing.
Recently, it was known that McGrotty was placing stickers of trains and other sorts of railway apparatus at different spots in various station locations such as Whiteabbey and City Hospital. It has also been said that these stickers are also appearing on trains or locomotives or within cabs.
It was claimed this was a silly joke of being in hard to find places, but has taken a turn a bit too far for people’s liking. An individual reported seeing a sticker of an ‘EM50 track recording car’ in Cullybackey, where it was said:
“There’s plenty of CAF and other random stickers all over the NI network. It’s beyond sensible, and blatant vandalism now.”
These stickers have seen retention from some individuals within the community, where they stated they ‘don’t care who’s doing it’ and would rather allow ‘them keep doing it.’ which challenges the ‘rights and wrongs’ of being acceptable when it comes to the reputation of fellow enthusiasts being controlled by a person’s actions.
The stickers, as seen within the image, have been also making a more blunt appearance specifically at Whiteabbey. It is seen how excessive McGrotty has taken his ‘sticker placing’ antics. Where lies the opposing view of, will Translink remove these stickers and at what cost?
It’s been mentioned that some individuals are claiming this act by McGrotty, and also quoted to be another individual are stepping on the levels of vandalism. Where they also claim Translink to be in position to take legal action regarding such matters.
NI Rail Scenes, or Matthew Wilson who is also a figure within the railway enthusiast community in Northern Ireland spoke on his view regarding these antics in a post published to Facebook.
“Recently there have been enthusiasts who have been going round thinking it is acceptable to stick stickers all over light poles, signage & shelters at various stations across the network.”
Wilson claims that stickers are not only appearing in stations, but on trains. He also claims that ‘this action is unacceptable’ and is considered ‘vandalism’ where it gives ‘all rail enthusiasts a bad image within NIR’.
“My advice to the individuals doing this is to knock it in the head before you end up in trouble, and learn how to treat the railway with respect; […] actions like this doesn’t just affect your own reputation but it affects the reputation of all enthusiasts!”
With all things considered, sticking stickers over signage or places where they should not be can be considered vandalism, as these stickers could be placed over critical railway signage needed by drivers for guidance in terms of stopping positions or speed restrictions. Where a fellow driver from NI Railways, Adrian Vance, stated also:
“As a train driver, I like the stickers but it’s not cool to stick them on safety and information signs.”
Wilson gives the impression that ‘they treat the railway like a playground’ by plastering stickers of trains without considering respect for Translink’s property. Other individuals have approached Wilson’s post to share their own opinions, where one said it’s ‘nothing compared to the time someone sprayed a fairly accurate painting of a well known enthusiast’ on the Blythfield Curve.
Photo: Facebook, C. Playfair — Spray Painting
A fellow enthusiast, Noah Hartin, stated it was ‘fine when there were just a few of them’ but now that they are everywhere ‘it makes the railway look messy / tacky’ where he fears ‘the reputation of all enthusiasts is being worsened’. Matters have been taken to Translink NI Railways by those contacting, in hopes of action being justified. It is only a matter of time to see what action is taken.
