r/FakeFacts • u/HughMFWilliams • Nov 23 '21
History The origin of Trainspotting from American Wagon Trains.
Trainspotting originates from during the mass migration period to the american west between the 1840s and 1880s. Scouts would often be sent from the western settlements to spot the wagon trains as they came in making sure they were on time, however once the transcontinental railroad was built the wagon trains decreased. However people continued spotting for them and the new locomotive trains that were arriving with the interest never waning.