Logging, collecting & analysing sightings

DSO Live Sightings vs. App: Where Sightings Really End Up Today

The forum has depth and history, the app has speed and a map. This comparison shows which platform answers which question better – and how to combine both.

Using EXIF Data: How Time and Place Turn Photos into Sightings

Every photo carries a dataset with it: capture time, camera, often coordinates too. How to reconstruct sightings from it – and what to remove before uploading.

Complete Your Vehicle Collection: Systematically Chase Every Number

The first eighty per cent come easily, the rest is work. How to work through a vehicle list systematically and track down the last missing numbers.

Building a Photo Archive: Finding Tens of Thousands of Railway Photos Again

A railway photo archive rarely fails because of storage space, but almost always because of structure. Naming, keywords and a 3-2-1 backup turn files into a searchable collection.

Catching rare vehicles: strategy, not luck

Finding rare trains isn't a game of chance, it's a craft: read the sightings stream, set an alert, work out the diagram, choose the spot – step by step.

Reporting a Sighting: How Your Observation Becomes a Good Report

Time, place, vehicle, direction: these four details decide whether your sighting helps others or gets lost in the noise. With good vs bad examples.

Keeping a Sighting Logbook: From Scraps of Paper to a Real Database

From a notepad in your rucksack to a searchable collection: which fields a sighting logbook really needs, and how to migrate old records cleanly.

Spotting Statistics: What Your Own Sightings Reveal About You

Hit rate, class coverage, seasonal patterns: five metrics that turn your sightings into real insight instead of just numbers.

Finding Special Trains and Charter Runs: Never Miss One Again

Where to reliably find special trains, heritage railway charter runs and steam gala dates – with sources, tools and a practical checklist.

The Complete Guide to Drehscheibe Online Photos and Sightings: How to Find, Filter and Use Them

Drehscheibe Online Nightjet: current sightings, timetables, photo locations, Nightjet tips, tickets & more

Trainspotter Game: The Ultimate Guide to Points, Badges and Perfect Sightings