favorite train watching memories.

[waltersrails]

sitting on grandma's porch.

[rockisland4309]

One of my favorite railroad memories was back when I was in a teenager. U.P. had spun off one of their branch lines and RailTex bought it and was called the Northeast Kansas and Missouri Railroad. The employees knew me so well from me railfanning and watching them, they would keep a release up in the cab of their units and I would ride along with them anytime I wanted to.
The coolest part was when U.P. gave them trackage rights into Marysville, Kan. and we would fly into town with 20 grain cars meeting coal trains and general freights at 50 m.p.h. Then U.P. had their melt down and bought the branchline back from RailTex and the Northeast Kansas and Missouri was history. Great times!!!!

[Anonymous]

I have many, perhaps too many to list, but here are a few:

As a child seeing a short freight led by a Detroit & Mackinac RS2 on the old Michigan Central Mackinaw Branch moments after being told by my father that the line looked abandoned and we weren't likely to see any trains...

Riding the Chessie Steam Special out of Detroit/Plymouth, my first exposure to mainline steam...

Soaking up the last of Conrail at Oak Harbor and Toledo in the spring of 1999, including my first sightings of the uniquely-painted SD70MAC and 80MACs...

Waiting at the CSX/NS diamond in Romulus, Michigan for a tardy excursion with NKP 587; when it finally arrived well after dark the 2-8-2 awed everyone present with it's deafening exhaust and the fist-sized, red-hot cinders that flew from the stack...

And many, many more...

[Anonymous]

My favorite train memory was when I would watch the Burlington Northern trains go by from my uncle's trailer just outside of Kennewick, Washington. Although we lived about 3/4's of a mile from the railroad tracks but you can see the train go by, I had no idea that the trains can go by there very often, they came by as often as every half hour or so.

QUOTE: Originally posted by alcodave

what are your favorite train watching memories? mine are getting pizza and going to sit at the train station in marion late at night in the summertime with my dad when i was a kid.

[Anonymous]

You used to be from the Walla Walla Valley? That's where I'm from too, ain't this a small world or what!! I noticed that the Walla Walla Valley area had more railroad tracks then than they do know, I had no idea that they had the railroad tracks right next to Davis St. in College Place or out towards Langdon Road just south of Walla Walla as well as Taumarson Road (just southwest of Walla Walla going towards the south end of College Place.

QUOTE: Originally posted by futuremodal

The TRAINS article about the Walla Walla Valley operations brought back memories of when I was a kid in Milton-Freewater, Oregon in the 1960's living right on the street where the tracks ran down the middle. Got to see a car get hit every once in a while, mostly low speed impacts.

Later, we lived in Sunnyside WA near the NP branch, and a few times when the NP main was knocked out the NP would reroute much of its traffic (including the North Coast Limited) over the branch.

[Anonymous]

Growing up directly across from the Santa Fe trks in Wichita,KS 1965-1972 . Our house sat at 1413 N Santa Fe at mp 210.8. It was built in 1887 just 15 yrs after the rr came to town. From the front porch, I could see trks of Santa Fe, Wichta Terminal Assn and the Rock Island. I remember the SantaFe F units, high nose GP 7&9's, SW yd engs (some still in the old black & white), psgr trains passing by the house such as the TX Chief, Chicagoan, Kansas Cityan and daytime mail trains 3&4 which carried green SF and same colored REA express bxcars w/a heavyweight coach on the rear. 40 foot boxcars from rrs nationwide and SF cattle cars. I remember seeing lots of Rock Island stuff such as SW yd engs, high nose geeps and the sharp looking frt cars. The WTA would use engs from the city rrs and I recall a Alco eng they borrowed from Mopac #1082. Back then it was a different era, a different time. Not many people my age can recall the pre Amtraks but I do. Just a wonderful time in my youth. I am putting together a writing about this with the local NRHS chapter and hope to have it done in about a month.

[espeefoamer]

Watching trains at the Vancouver WA. Amtrak station

Alongside the UP at Cascade Locks,deep in the Columbia River gorge.

Wathhing the SP oil cans on Tehachapi Loop

Seeing the Kaiser ore train on Beaumont hill

Seeing the Southwest Chief and the Desert Wind on Cajon pass

[oskar]

there are so much for me I can't remember.I only have rememable moments like seeing CSX 237 before it wreck in 1997 or being right next to CSX 700 when the conductor got hit by a rock there's more moments to post on here





kevin

[Anonymous]

You may have seen this in one of my previous posts. I was awesome!

[Randy Stahl]

Watching ex TMER&L M-15 pulling the brown PRR boxcars into East Troy
Randy

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

My favorite memory is walking to Burnham Crossing from my parents' house with my Argus C-3 in hand and spending a pleasant afternoon watching and taking pictures of whatever came by: South Shore Line, Monon C420's, the bottle train on the PC, the last remnants of EL's Lake Cities, among other things.

[oltmannd]

QUOTE: Originally posted by slotracer


As a sales and marketing guy with UP, got to ride tha cab of 844 on a doubleheaded passenger train from Cheyenne to Roseville (Rode the cheyenne to Green River segment) with customers. HAd the dome to ourselves in the afternoon, had breakfast with Steven Ambrose in the obs car that morning and coffee on the rear open platform going up Sherman hill

WOW! I am green with jealousy!

[slotracer]

I can think of several, right off the top of my head, not sure if ny one is the favorite, or even one I missed right now......

Earliest was my Grandfather and I sitting down after dinner at the Lakeview Smorgasboard restraunt near Hamburg NY. We would go outside and have a seat, he'd light up a cigar and together we would watch lightning stripe diesels on the Waterlevel route on one side of the establishment and both NKP and PRR on the other side. If we got done with dinner early enough we would stop in south Buffalo at Spoonley the trainman's shop on Choate ave and I would marvel at the walls and cases of lionel trains there.

Mid January 1976, a large group from the Buffalo Chapter NRHS took a trip to the LV shops at Sayre PA. Beautifull sunny but cold day, toured teh shops and yards, then chased the EL back through the Canisteo River Valley and took photos all the way till the sun set.

1985 chased the NKP 765 on a fan trip with my chevelle super sport from Buffalo to corning and back, got lots of great photos that day. Pretty exciting chase that I will always remember but would never do it again.

Had some nice weekend long camping trips between Hornell and Binghamton in the late eighties with friends, shooting the D&H, even venturing to Starucca and Tnkhannock on occasion.

Spent a couple days on my Honeymoon in 84 at the then new Scranton Hilton, even my wife enjoyed riding steam and taking in the Italian Festival in Scranton that weekend.

As a sales and marketing guy with UP, got to ride tha cab of 844 on a doubleheaded passenger train from Cheyenne to Roseville (Rode the cheyenne to Green River segment) with customers. HAd the dome to ourselves in the afternoon, had breakfast with Steven Ambrose in the obs car that morning and coffee on the rear open platform going up Sherman hill

Cold mornin in the peak of upstate NY fall colors 25 years ago on the New York and Lake Erie, riding an ex NYC 19000 series wood crummy. Coal stove stoked and hot coffee in enamel mugs riding the platform up the cinder ballasted right of way between Dayton and Salamanca

One last series of Hurrahs with the cameras in 94-95 on Tennessee pass before it was taken over by the Borg and abandonned. Green Chili and hot coffee in Minturn for lunch, then catch the next EB all the way to Cotapaxi !

[oltmannd]

Here's a few that left impressions on me:

Watching NKP 759 race eastbound thru Tobbyhanna at dusk - I was 16 at the time.

Watching a CPR 4-6-2 race through Clementon NJ with an excursion on the PRSL - I was about 12 at the time.

A couple of mid-70s pilgrimidges from college (RPI) to "mecca" (Altoona) including one where we (stuipidly) camped out on the Horseshoe curve (want proof of stupidity? Look here: http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=14871)

Standing on the platform at Princeton Jct. on a snowy day and watching the GG1s and Metroliners go by at speed. (http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=8998)

Stopping by the train station in Huntington Sta NY with my dad to watch the LIRR on the way to hardware store to get stuff for the Saturday chores - early elementary aged. (http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=39083)

Getting a steam cab ride at Steamtown Vt. with my dad - scared me to death! - age 7.

[spbed]

My favorite was 3 years ago @ Daggett. Their was a WB UPRR military train entering the BNSF on what I will call track 1. On the middle track or track 2 along comes a WB Amtrak traveling @ speed & on what I will call track 3 was a BNSF EBer stacker also at speed. For me 3 trains moving at one time was very exciting.

[JoeKoh]

I have many to choose from but last year on matts birthday seeing the 2816 come into town. i know it had a soo line sd 60 on the point but hey it still was awesome.Not only for me and matt but I hope everyone here has more good memories to come.
stay safe
Joe

[Mookie]

Late December 2004, when I got to really watch train for the last time. Darn weather!

Mook

[eolafan]

Some of my favorite memories are of my early days watching trains in Wisconsin. MILW Road in Wausau, SOO in Stevens Point, CNW in Wausau and Green Bay, GBW-SOO-GBW in Wisconsin Rapids, SOO through Marshfield and "the big time" of MILW Road main line down in Portage.

[Anonymous]

The one I remember the most...the one that sent me down the proverbial garden path of railroading for a living...was in 1979 at UP Family Days in Pocatello, Idaho. This was the Grand Old UP at its finest; there were carnival rides/games, assorted equipment on display (rotary, caboose, boxcars and loco) and lots of smiling faces. I remember standing on the con's side of the Geep with my head out the window when the passenger special (pulled by the UP#960) came flying into town. I remember vividly that It kicked up a pretty good breeze as it glided past me on Main#2 and stopped in front of the Pocatello Depot. Later in the day, we would board the special for a quick jaunt on the Pocatello Sub out to the East Inkom Hold and return. In the end, good times were had by all. Family Days have now become a thing of the past; they vanished with the caboose and the station agents...and you have to be on the prowl to find a smile on UP property. The only constant in the universe is change, I suppose...it's a shame though it couldn't have changed for the better.

[Anonymous]

The TRAINS article about the Walla Walla Valley operations brought back memories of when I was a kid in Milton-Freewater, Oregon in the 1960's living right on the street where the tracks ran down the middle. Got to see a car get hit every once in a while, mostly low speed impacts.

Later, we lived in Sunnyside WA near the NP branch, and a few times when the NP main was knocked out the NP would reroute much of its traffic (including the North Coast Limited) over the branch.

[locomutt]

I've ridden a 'train' several times;although,I guess my favorite
would be sitting next to my wife,on a 'foliage' excursion.

[David3]

A few years ago at Rochelle when a UP freight was stopped due to a BNSF train. Then they got going again with 4 SD40-2s in notch eight. The ground was shaking! That was cool. We go to Rochelle every year which is my favorite place to go! [:D]

Dave

[alcodave]

what are your favorite train watching memories? mine are getting pizza and going to sit at the train station in marion late at night in the summertime with my dad when i was a kid.