I’ve recently learned that I’m what’s called a foamer. Referring to the phrase “foaming at the mouth,” foamer is current slang for a railfan, a subculture that has been around for at least a century but is picking up steam (no pun intended) with the hobby-catalyzing force of the internet. Train enthusiast content draws massive audiences online, from TikTok shorts of young fans reaching heights of ecstasy as notable locomotives roll through their stations to cab-car views showing hours-long rail journeys in real time.
Comstock’s magazine recently benefited from that interest thanks to contributor Sasha Abramsky’s web story on his journey on the California Zephyr from Denver to Sacramento — one leg of what remains of America’s transcontinental railroad. The article pulled in a stunning third of all of our web traffic for the month of June. People clearly care about public transportation, at least when it comes to scenic train rides. Hopefully that interest will eventually translate into higher ridership, more funding and better management for local public transit and Amtrak commuter lines like the Capitol Corridor.
Other top-read stories this month include perennial favorites – food articles and the Evil HR Lady column — as well as Editor Judy Farah’s meticulously researched article on Black Miners Bar in Folsom. The recent name change of the narrow stretch of land is a familiar story locally, but the history of the the land and the people who owned, developed and lived on it is more complex than you may think.
The latter story also sparked some conversation online, which we included in our On the Web page in the print magazine along with comments on Gabrielle Myers’ tour of the local Hmong food scene and Russell Nichols’ print feature on maternal healthcare.
Leave a comment on one of our posts and you might see your username in print next month!
–Jennifer Fergesen, digital editor
Last Month’s Most-Read Stories
Top Story: America’s Most Spectacular Train Ride Goes to Sacramento
As noted above, this story somehow drew in a full one-third of our web traffic for the month of June. I’m not promising I won’t use that performance to justify assigning more train-related web stories in the future.
Sacramento’s Sausage Scene Is Sizzling. Here’s Where to Find It
I’ve been meaning to assign a story on Sacramento’s sausage scene since soon after I arrived at Comstock’s in 2020, but that year the biggest local name in the business closed shop: Morant’s Old Fashioned Sausage Kitchen. New names are rising to fill the niche, as Eric Schucht discovered through pitching and reporting this story.
A Local’s Guide to Eating Your Way Along Interstate 80
New contributor Nicolle Sloane, based in Truckee, brought us this story on the journey between her town and Sacramento. The heavily trafficked I-80 corridor may not be as romantic as the California Zephyr, but it’s dotted with hidden gems that Sloane and her son have discovered on their trips to and from the capital for his hockey matches.
The Hidden History Behind Sacramento’s Most Controversial Gold Rush Place Name
Judy Farah spent months reporting this feature on a corner of her neighborhood, including reading many pounds’ worth of books and documents and interviewing experts around the region and beyond. While editing this piece, I serendipitously met someone who had been involved in the Black Miners Bar name change — fellow UC Davis Ph.D. student Larishia Johnson — and put her in contact with Judy.
Is Beer at Work a Problem, or Is It a Sign of Something Bigger?
This column wouldn’t be called “Evil HR Lady” if it didn’t rankle some feathers now and then. “She is the stereotypical HR person that every single person in the office loathes. Hope this answered the question,” wrote @natebartell93 on Instagram. Then HR professional @koula jumped in with a multi-paragraph defense. As moderator of the social media pages, I personally relish these kinds of exchanges.
From the archives: Getting to Know: Sarah Miller
Nevada City-based New Yorker writer Sarah Miller is one of the most “famous” people featured in former assistant editor Vanessa Labi’s Getting to Know column, and now and then her 2021 profile floats back to the top of our most-read list. It’s also one of my favorite profiles from the column, in part because I’ve often thought about the resemblance between Miller’s adopted foothills town and the Massachusetts Pioneer Valley where we both went to college (she to Amherst, I to Mount Holyoke). It’s worth a re-read even five years later. (I wasn’t able to determine whether the new traffic is due to some recent interesting or controversial activity on Miller’s part.)