Is the Dallas/Fort Worth area a great place to watch trains?

[Anonymous]

Would anybody recommend watching the trains go by in the Dallas/Fort Worth area? That's where I desire watching the trains go by although I've never been there before.

[RudyRockvilleMD]

I know of several good places to watch or photograph trains in Dallas, One is on the Houston Street Viaduct which is immediately south of the Dallas Union Station. Here you can see eastbound trains of the Union Pacific and Dallas Garland & Northeastern, and southbound cars of the DART light rail running along side each other.

A second place is from one of the platforms of the Dallas Union Station. In addition to the action mentioned above you have the trains of the Trinity Rail Express. Its trains are either RDC's (they own 3 - three car RDC train sets) or Bombardier Cars pushed or pulled by EMD F 59 locomotives.

Another place is the west bank of the Trinity River in the Trinity River Greenway. Here you will see Amtrak's Texas Eagle and freights of the Union Pacific crossing the Trinity River. This site is a good site for photographing trains because you have the Dallas skyline in the background. To get to the Trinity River Greenway I suggest you take either the DART # 1, 35, 42, or 50 bus from Houston and Elm Street (near the Texas Book Depository Building Museum) to Commerce Street and Industrial Boulevard. Then walk west on Commerce Street approximately 1/2 mile until you cross the Trinity River. While the bus ride is short it will get you safely across Industrial Boulevard and safely past the ramps to I - 35.

I hope this helps.

P.S. I am NOT a resident of Dallas, and I am not a Dallas Cowboys fan.

[Anonymous]

Do your train watching in the day time. Nighttime can be dangerous in the Metroplex as there is alot of criminal activity. That camera or camcorder would fetch a good dollar on the street.

I dont live in that area however I have done plenty of trucking out of FFE in Lancaster and can attest to both the beauty and the danger. If it aint big enough for Texas....it aint...

[Anonymous]

The chamber of commerce parking lot in Saginaw is an excellent spot to watch trains. There are 2 BNSF subs and 1 UP sub that cross at that location. The parking lot is literally right next to the rails, giving you an unobstructed view of the trains.

[Anonymous]

About how often do the trains go by in Saginaw? I take it that they come by as often as every 15 minutes to a half hour.

QUOTE: Originally posted by MBradford

The chamber of commerce parking lot in Saginaw is an excellent spot to watch trains. There are 2 BNSF subs and 1 UP sub that cross at that location. The parking lot is literally right next to the rails, giving you an unobstructed view of the trains.