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The best time to catch trains in Norcross/Duluth is after about 3:00 each afternoon when you can catch all of the afternoon Atlanta outbounds. You will regularly get 222 and 238 (intermodals) during this window, plus whatever inbounds happen to be coming through at the time. I have also had pretty good success catching 153/154 and 118 (all manifests) during the afternoon window. On Fridays, P11 (Toyota autoracks) is a regular aroud 4:00 in the afternoon. Late morning/early afternoon you can usually catch the Atlanta-Duluth local P68 working the industries between Norcross and Duluth (usually starts working Carolina Lumber in Duluth around 11:45 in the morning). Also around noon I sometimes catch 172 (manifest) which is interesting to catch because it always has midtrain helper power. We regularly catch this train when we eat lunch in Duluth. Of course, you can check the Amtrak schedule to see if their trains are running on schedule: southbound through Norcross is about 7:45am and northbound is around 8:30-8:45pm.
As for locations, park near the playground in Norcross (across the tracks from the station) and just walk around to get the right angle--lots of great spots and wide open views of the tracks through town. The tracks in Duluth are a little more secluded by trees, but once again parking in town you can walk over by the old middle school and get a good view looking down to the tracks (there used to be a station here way back in the old days). Duluth also is the north end of double track and there is a very nice C&O style cantilever signal bridge. Hard to work it in to photos but it can be done and is well worth it.
Hope this helps!
Jamie
PS: I work in Duluth and railfan there all the time--PM me if you would like me to send you more detailed info.
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If your free time is between 5-7pm Monday-Friday, it would be best to stay on the northeast side of town. If you try to get to Marietta or Austell, traffic will kill a lot of your free time.
In addition to Norcross and Duluth, a trip just a little ways south on Peachtree Industrial to Chamblee would be worthwhile. It is the same mainline as seen in Norcross and Duluth but there are usually a few locomotives parked there.
If you do have time to go to Marietta or Austell, it seems that the train traffic is a little heavier on those two mainlines. NS mains from New Orleans and Chattanooga come together in Austell to form a double track main to Atlanta. North of Marietta, CSX's mains from Chattanooga and Knoxville come together in Cartersville. The line is double track from Elizabeth(north Marietta) to Atlanta with short stretches of single track between Elizabeth and Catersville.
It seems that there are still a number of reroute trains coming thru Marietta. CSX is sending a number of trains from the coastal route that way. BNSF and UP are more common than normal with a few KCS thrown in for good measure. However these three roads' locos are more common on NS in Austell.
Jay
Odie wrote:I will be travelling to Duluth/Norcross, GA next week for work, and I might have some free evening time. Is there any kind of action in the immediate area? I was down in April and saw that there is a big double track grade separation project happening on Pleasant Hill road in the area of 23/13. Is there some good train frequency in this area? I searched for a yahoo group but came up dry. Thanks for any help!
Evening isn't too bad a time to go out, but it can vary. Was in Norcross one evening and saw 6 trains in the span of a couple hours. That was extremely lucky. The constant is the northbound Crescent between 8 and 9PM. The other good time of day is right around dawn. There is the SB Crescent and a couple intermodals that are dependable. There is a controlled siding in Duluth whose signals can give you a clue about something coming. Downtown Norcross has some nice photo opportunities - and some good restaurants. Try Dominic's if you get a chance.
-Don (Random stuff, mostly about trains - what else? http://blerfblog.blogspot.com/)
Marietta is a good place. The CSX main passes by the restored depot up there. It is safe with a lot of trains. Also, Austell has two lines of the NS coming together in front of a railfan platform. It is safe too.
George
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