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[Anonymous]

Started attending Carinege Mellon Unviersity this year in Pittsburgh, PA and really enjoying the heavy traffic in and around the city. I've already railfanned the Mon Line, P&LE, Union Station and the Pittsburgh out to Leetsdale and Ambridge. I was wondering if anybody knows any where else I could go using the PAT bus system (freshman can't have a car) or if anybody is looking for somebody to railfan with contact me.

-John Ireland
Carinege Mellon University, USNR

[Pennsy58]

Some general ideas on areas since I havent lived in town for awhile. Can't give you specific bus route numbers.

1. Head out the parkway west to the Carnegie area to the Rook yard of the W&LE. This is in the Campbells run road area. Alot of foriegn power lately.

2. Out to Monroeville, if you get off near the mall you can walk down Rt-22 below the mall and near the Sam's club for a glimpse of the Union RR engine house and roundhouse. The highway bridge goes right overtop of the facility for easy spotting.

3. Ride over to the Millvale area for the CSX and NS yards below Rt-28. This is the beginning of the Connemaugh Division (NS) to Johnstown.

4. Not sure how much is left, but out in Glenwood is the CSX - AVRR yards and repair shops.

5. Buses may still run out there, but a trip to Plum boro - N Bessemer will get you to the Bessemer & Lake Erie yard that transfers to the Union RR.

[csxengineer98]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Pennsy58

Some general ideas on areas since I havent lived in town for awhile. Can't give you specific bus route numbers.

1. Head out the parkway west to the Carnegie area to the Rook yard of the W&LE. This is in the Campbells run road area. Alot of foriegn power lately.

2. Out to Monroeville, if you get off near the mall you can walk down Rt-22 below the mall and near the Sam's club for a glimpse of the Union RR engine house and roundhouse. The highway bridge goes right overtop of the facility for easy spotting.

3. Ride over to the Millvale area for the CSX and NS yards below Rt-28. This is the beginning of the Connemaugh Division (NS) to Johnstown.

4. Not sure how much is left, but out in Glenwood is the CSX - AVRR yards and repair shops.

5. Buses may still run out there, but a trip to Plum boro - N Bessemer will get you to the Bessemer & Lake Erie yard that transfers to the Union RR.

not much is left of the glenwood yard... only 6 tracks still in service on both ends and a few have been stub ended on the east end ..the rest are gone...rails..ties..eveything removed...csx runs one job a day up to glenwood to drop off cars and pick cars up to take back to the other csx yard in mckeesport... but that job is a 3rd shift one...as far as shops at glenwood.. i dont think thier is anything left as far as a shop..the car department still has a building thier..but i think it is more for storage of equipment and suplies then anything else... most of the repair work takes place down in mckeesport... and the old backshop is now used by pittsburgh recycleing...
csx engineer

[csxengineer98]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Pennsy58

Some general ideas on areas since I havent lived in town for awhile. Can't give you specific bus route numbers.

1. Head out the parkway west to the Carnegie area to the Rook yard of the W&LE. This is in the Campbells run road area. Alot of foriegn power lately.

2. Out to Monroeville, if you get off near the mall you can walk down Rt-22 below the mall and near the Sam's club for a glimpse of the Union RR engine house and roundhouse. The highway bridge goes right overtop of the facility for easy spotting.

3. Ride over to the Millvale area for the CSX and NS yards below Rt-28. This is the beginning of the Connemaugh Division (NS) to Johnstown.

4. Not sure how much is left, but out in Glenwood is the CSX - AVRR yards and repair shops.

5. Buses may still run out there, but a trip to Plum boro - N Bessemer will get you to the Bessemer & Lake Erie yard that transfers to the Union RR.

oh yea..also... csx dont have any yards down around millvale...
csx engineer

[Pennsy58]

Help me out then. Been along time. The line that runs through the hollow below CMU, goes through the schenley tunnel and pops out headed to the 36th street bridge. Isn't that CSX? Then the P&W subdivision runs through millvale?

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Pennsy58

Help me out then. Been along time. The line that runs through the hollow below CMU, goes through the schenley tunnel and pops out headed to the 36th street bridge. Isn't that CSX? Then the P&W subdivision runs through millvale?

Yeah, CSX owns it but they lease it out to AVR which goes down to Glenwood yard and have trackage right over NS to Island Ave. I can't remember the name of street where the tracks come out, but they follow the NS Pittsburgh line for about a mile then spilt right near the Iron City Beer Plant one connects to the Pittsburgh line (about a mile east of Penn Station) and the other is the lead to the old B&O bridge over the river.

The bridge is closed now but AVR trains go up it to about the river's shore where there is a crazy wooden trussle that allows them to work a couple tracks near the strill district.

AVR and Amtrak (Cap Limited) run about 5-10 trains a day, I should know, I hear them at all hours of the night from my dorm!

-John Ireland
Carniege Mellon University, USNR

[csxengineer98]

the line in question isnt owned by csx anymore...it is sold to the AVR as of june the first of this year..along with the W&P sub that goes to washington and glenwood yard... the csx P&W sub is till maintained and dispatched by csx for amtrak..but that is only from braddock to fieids(where the NS connecting track is)..eveything behond fields is owned and maintianed by the AVR and the B&P railroad... i dont know where the split point is but i do think its around glenshaw glass..
also amtrak only runs 2 trains a day..1 east and 1 west... i dont know how many the AVR runs..
csx engineer

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by csxengineer98

the line in question isnt owned by csx anymore...it is sold to the AVR as of june the first of this year..along with the W&P sub that goes to washington and glenwood yard... the csx P&W sub is till maintained and dispatched by csx for amtrak..but that is only from braddock to fieids(where the NS connecting track is)..eveything behond fields is owned and maintianed by the AVR and the B&P railroad... i dont know where the split point is but i do think its around glenshaw glass..
also amtrak only runs 2 trains a day..1 east and 1 west... i dont know how many the AVR runs..
csx engineer

Good call, AVR and Amtrak run 5-10 between both of them. I didn't know that the sell was final. You said they sold the line up to Glennwood, but did CSX sell the yard too, I thought they still have a job daily in from Braddock.

John Ireland
Carienge Mellon University, USNR

[csxengineer98]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jdirelan

QUOTE: Originally posted by csxengineer98

the line in question isnt owned by csx anymore...it is sold to the AVR as of june the first of this year..along with the W&P sub that goes to washington and glenwood yard... the csx P&W sub is till maintained and dispatched by csx for amtrak..but that is only from braddock to fieids(where the NS connecting track is)..eveything behond fields is owned and maintianed by the AVR and the B&P railroad... i dont know where the split point is but i do think its around glenshaw glass..
also amtrak only runs 2 trains a day..1 east and 1 west... i dont know how many the AVR runs..
csx engineer

Good call, AVR and Amtrak run 5-10 between both of them. I didn't know that the sell was final. You said they sold the line up to Glennwood, but did CSX sell the yard too, I thought they still have a job daily in from Braddock.

John Ireland
Carienge Mellon University, USNR

yes csx sold glenwood yard to the AVR... and yes they do have a job that comes in to the yard daily..but like i said befor..its a midnight yard job.. they y301 from demmler..but the 301 is an interchange job only..we dont do any switching over at glenwood anymore...unless it is to rebuild our outbound train to comply with csx rules due to the AVRs crews not building the train correctly...also...i stated befor..thier isnt much left of the yard... i would say about 80% of it is gone...
csx engineer

[cnw4001]

John,

Didn't you post this topic in one of the other Trains forums? I think I mentioned there you might want to ride PAT out to Kennywood where you'll find the URR yard and a good view of lots of other CSX and NS operations.

Also there is a mail out towards Homestead where the NS and CSX lines run side by side. I think it is the Waterworks Mall.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cnw4001

John,

Didn't you post this topic in one of the other Trains forums? I think I mentioned there you might want to ride PAT out to Kennywood where you'll find the URR yard and a good view of lots of other CSX and NS operations.

Also there is a mail out towards Homestead where the NS and CSX lines run side by side. I think it is the Waterworks Mall.

Sharp eyes CNW4001, I did post it another forum. The 61C goes right over the URR yard and most of times you can find a yard job. You can also get some cool shots of the NS bridge that connects the Mon Line with the Pittsburgh Line. From behind a dinner near kennywood you can get a great view of USS Edger Thomas Steel Works.
The place in Homestead is called the Waterfront and its built on the site of USS Homestead. I've been their a bunch, CSX is always very busy but NS only runs stacks that can't clear Union Station on the Pittsburgh line, so you'll be lucky to see one maybe two in a hour. For NS, I just go out past the OC bridge where the Mon and Pittsburgh Lines come together to from the Fort Wanye Line, which can easily get three or four trains an hour. For anybody intrested the 16A bus goes about 18 miles north of the 'burgh and follows the Fort Wayne the entire way, many great pics and cool old PRR signals.

-John Ireland
Carinege Mellon University, USNR

[cnw4001]

Ok,

wanted to be sure you "got all the information."

Dale