Task · part of 7(b). Option B: Railfanning, two of four
7(b)(4). Plan a trip, buy the tickets, make it
Optional May not apply Often forgotten
Obtain a schedule, explain when the train should arrive at TWO INTERMEDIATE POINTS, buy the tickets, take the trip, and explain what you saw. THIS IS REQUIREMENT 2(a) CARRIED OUT, so if you are doing both, plan them as one piece of research.
Notes and warnings
Note. THIS IS REQUIREMENT 2(a) ACTUALLY CARRIED OUT, AND THE BADGE NEVER SAYS SO. Requirement 2(a) asks you to plan a trip between two cities at least 500 miles apart using a timetable and to list its details. This choice asks you to plan a trip between two points, explain when the train should arrive at TWO INTERMEDIATE POINTS, buy the tickets and make it. If you are doing both, plan them at one sitting and let the real journey be the same route as the paper one, or a shorter leg of it. The intermediate points are the part unique to this choice: you are being asked to read a schedule for places the train passes through rather than only where it starts and stops. AND THE LAST CLAUSE IS A REQUIREMENT TOO: explain to your counselor what you saw, so take notes on the day rather than afterwards.
Where this step comes from
- Railroading Merit Badge Requirements (Merit Badge Hub, last modified 2025-12-15), Requirement 7(b)(4) · The choice asks you to explain when the train should arrive at two intermediate points, purchase the tickets, and make the trip.