Sand Patch Railfanning

[paulbaumgartner]

I plan to railfan CSX Sand Patch with a scanner and wife in a couple of weeks and would appreciate any advice. We actually plan to do Cumberland to Connellsville. A few questions come to mind. (1) What are busiest days and times during daylite hours? (2) What channel/frequency for hot box detectors? (3) Any problems with security/police? (4) Any special tips for super locations accessible by car; no four wheel drive; prefer paved road?

Thanks in advance

Paul

[dwil89]

Do you know your route...The East Slope is a bit more difficult to navigate, as far as road condition...taking Rte 96 into Hyndman from the South, you can stop and park near the Chessie Cabooses and watch action from the base of the East Slope Grade....following up along the mainline to the West will bring you to Fairhope where there is a grade crossing and a property owner has installed wooden benches up on a bluff overlooking the crossing...If you ahve a high clearance vehicle, you can take a very rough road from Fairhope to Glencoe on Toolland Road that will pass a location called the Foley Overlook, which is a nice spot. The paved smooth route is a roundabout way will bring you West to Glencoe, and then from there, the road will turn to dirt and gravel for most of the remainder of the way West to Mance. There are a couple of grade crossings between Glencoe and Mance, including one at Philson. Mance Horseshoe Curve is worth a stop, as well as Sand Patch Summit where a road bridge crosses over the main. From there, follow the road to Meyersdale and points West.....Get a Map if you don't know the route. Railpace Mag did a thorough write up in Sept 2002 of the East Slope...Primary radio frequencies would be 160.230 and 160.320 if I recall correctly and you can likely expect about 10-12 trains in daylight between 8AM and 6PM, though this can vary if trackage is shut down for trackwork, in which case, there will be a flood after the trackwork is done for the day...

[bbrant]

Dave pretty much covered the good spots on the east side of Sand Patch. A lot of the west side can be accessed via paved roads. Starting at the summit you can follow the line into Meyersdale. I don't know what the route number of this road is but there are points where you can’t see the line but it can be reached via a couple of side roads.

In Meyersdale, at the west side of town, there’s a cut that the line comes through. Good pictures can be had by standing on the road bridge right by the cut. Go through M-Dale and head west towards Garrett. A road (again, I don’t know the route number) follows along the tracks. You can go up on the former Western Maryland Salisbury Viaduct, now a rails to trails bridge, to get some photos. Other places such as Yoder and a hill just above the Citgo gas station in Garrett as well as the road bridge over the line at the west end of town offer good photos.

Follow route 653 from Garrett and in about 7-10 miles (give or take) you’ll come to Rockwood, PA. Couple nice spots in Rockwood to get pics. Also, the CSX Somerset & Cambria (S&C) branch connects to the Keystone Sub in Rockwood. On Saturdays a train is normally stopped just short of the wye or just up the line at an area called Wilson Creek. If you continued up this road (known to us locals as the Water Level road) you’ll come to the Somerset yard of the S&C. Normally not any locomotives there but you might find some brand new hoppers from Freightcar America sitting there.

Back to Rockwood. From there, take route 653 to New Centerville and catch route 281 and head for Confluence. There are several roads to towns like Markleton that connect to 281 that will take you trackside. You’ll go several miles before coming to Shepard’s Farm/Restaurant. The have a nice overlook into the valley with the Cassleman River and the CSX tracks. Beautiful in the fall!

Just west of there the line splits to the high & low grade. I know of one road but I believe there are a couple of that will take you to the low line that connect with 281. Staying on 281 you’ll see the high line going above a field and which makes for nice photos. Just a mile or so later the tracks go right next to 281 for a brief period. There’s a pull off there and you can walk up the tracks a bit to the west end of, I believe, Pinkerton tunnel.

Rt. 281 will take you into Confluence where the high & low lines rejoin and go through town. Nice shots can be taken in Confluence. Just outside of Confluence is a place to get pics of the line going next to the Yough river.

You can also head for Ohiopyle State Park where you can see the line again. There’s one overlook that I stumbled into last fall that looks down at the tracks from a high vantage point, similar to the overlook at Shepard’s Farm/Restaurant.

All the places I listed above can be reached via paved roads (in other words, my wife would let me take our, excuse me, HER mini-van there!!) and they offer some good shots, especially in the fall.

Here's a couple links to some pics I have from the areas I mentioned.

Sand Patch pics:
http://bbrant.rrpicturearchives.net/archivethumbs.aspx?id=4347

CSX S&C Branch pics:
http://bbrant.rrpicturearchives.net/archivethumbs.aspx?id=4123

Misc. pics if you're interested
http://bbrant.rrpicturearchives.net/

Have a good time and let us know how your trip went!

Brian

[RudyRockvilleMD]

Not much to add, but the busiest days seem to be on Fridays and Saturdays although I have noted the line over Sand Patch can be busy on Sundays. as David Williams pointed out a paved road follows the tracks to Fairhope, but from there the paved roads do not run close to the tracks. A good help here would be the De Lorme Pennsylvania atlas which shows the numbers of the back roads. A paved road turns west off PA 160 which goes to Sand Patch, Keystone, and Meyersdale. From Meyrsdale Business 219 goes to the Salisbury Viaduct which is now a hiker - biker trail.

As to security I have never encountered any rail cops in all of my many visits to Sand Patch, nevertheless it is well to stay on public property. If you are in to photography or video taping (or using a digital camcorder) the best shots are available from public property so there is no need to enter private property unless you can get the owner's permission. As for the road to the Foley Overlook I wouldn't attempt it even in a high ground clearence 4 wheel drive vehicle. Further, the road from Hyndman to Fairhope, which runs along Wills Creek, has no places to pull off, park, and wait for a train.

[paulbaumgartner]

Hi Dave, Brian, Rudy,

TNX very much!! Your advice is great and fits with ideas based on maps (DeLorme, etc) that I have been looking over. Your messages are printed out and will be with us Oct 17-21. No hi-wheel car for us; just the 2000 Lincoln Town Car, Bronze, Vinyl top. Couldn't talk wife into using the F250 Ford Truck driving from the Philadelphia area. If any of you happen to be in the area and spot the car just say howdy.

Thanks very much all!!

Paul

I enjoiyed the pictures.

[dwil89]

I've driven the rough road route to Foley a few times, but that was when I had a Silverado 2WD pickup, and even then, alot of it was down to 5MPH and dodging boulders protruding above the road surface....you can drive in a good part of the way, park and hike in along the road to Foley about another half mile..otherwise, your best bet is to use the paved roundabout route..There is a B@B at the Fairhope Crossing called 'The Second Best Place' which is an A Frame that a property owner has behind his own residence and rents out to hunters, fishermen and railfans for $40 a night...To explain the route from Fairhope Westward a bit better, once you cross the tracks at Fairhope onto the North side(Track 1 side)...the road will head uphill. After a mile or two,look for a left turn onto a road pointing toward Berlin 11miles. or something like that...follow this road a few miles until it ends at a 'T' intersection. A left here and another few miles will drop you down into Glencoe. Bear right and proceed a short distance before making a left onto a road that will follow the Mainline all the way up to Mance. I believe that that road will be called Philson road, not positive.. The road on this portion West of Glencoe hasa good stretch of hard packed dirt and another section of gravel...easily passable this time of year, but you'll be driving under 20 MPH on those portions to avoid being jostled around..and expect some dust on the car before all is said and done....

[paulbaumgartner]

Hi Folks,

I have to say, our 4 days spent railfanning Sand Patch was a 100% success. Having done some on Conrail/NS between Johnstown & Altoona, I can now see why Sand Patch is so popular; it's easy to get close to very scenic areas with big units and pushers working hard. Plus the railfans and locals along CSX are very hospitable. We had a blast at Mance!

As an example; our first evening was to check out Rockwood and who should we find but Brian Bryant. He took time from his busy life to orient us and get us back to our motel in Somerset. Not the least my wife was also 100% satisfied reading while I shot pixs. Got some super video's and lots of so so stills. Beautiful weather!!

Wish I knew how to attach a few fotos but will gladly send them to an e-mail address on request at [e-mail]. We will be back!!

Thanks very much for the advice Dave, Rudy & Brian

Paul

[RudyRockvilleMD]

Paul, I am glad you enjoyed Sand Patch, when did you go? A railfan friend and I went to Sand Patch on October 16, and then again on October 29. We had hoped to get some shots with good fall foliage color, but we were surprised and disappointed to see the trees still had their leaves as late as late October. We ran into other railfans there which happens frequently, and while we were discussint the level of traffic we all agreed Sand Patch wasn't as busy as it used to be.

On Sunday, October 16 we only saw or photographed two eastbound trains in the morning and only three westbound trains in the afternoon. We photographed the two morning trains - Q 389 and the Capitol Limited - at Sand Patch, and we photographed the three westbound trains from a bridge to a farm house near the Salisbury Viaduct in the afternoon; the weather was mostly cloudy and windy. The Capitol Limited was running three hours late so that is how we were able to get it by the time we got to Sand Patch

We went out again on Saturday October 29, and we bagged eight trains all day, mostly in the afternoon; at least it was sunny. We arrived at Sand Patch at approximately 9:30 AM, but we didn't see or hear a train until nearly noon when Q 641showed up. We drove over to Mance, and we bagged an eastbound,
Q 386. We drove over to Garrett which is 6 - 7 miles west of Meyersdale, and we spent the afternoon there. Three eastbound and three westbound trains passed through Garrett between 1:30 and 5:00 PM.

[Modelcar]

....A great vantage point to photograph the Sand Patch line is as you mentioned, up on the Salisbury Viaduct....Did so just a few years ago and looking west as the train rounds the curve under the new Rt. 219 you really get a good shot of lots of stuff happening in your picture...Mine was selected as Pic of the day on here a couple of years ago from that location....100' up in the air gives one a good view of the area there.

[paulbaumgartner]

I just got a e-mail from somebody asking for pix that I shot in the Sand Patch vicinity. I inadvertantly deleted your request. I apologize and will be happy to e-mail a few if you get another request to me.

Paul

[e-mail]

[paulbaumgartner]

Rudy,

The wife & I were there Oct 17-20. We left via Johnstown/Cresson on the 21st in rain for home near Philadelphia. I don't know one train from another but we had enuf action to keep me happy. We stayed at the Knight's Inn in Somerset; very clean with refrigerator and microwave @ $41.40/nite special price because we stayed four nites.

Two railfans we met are actually working railroaders, NS (Pittsburgh) and UP (Chicago) !

Paul

[dwil89]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Modelcar

....A great vantage point to photograph the Sand Patch line is as you mentioned, up on the Salisbury Viaduct....Did so just a few years ago and looking west as the train rounds the curve under the new Rt. 219 you really get a good shot of lots of stuff happening in your picture...Mine was selected as Pic of the day on here a couple of years ago from that location....100' up in the air gives one a good view of the area there.

I spent an hour one day a few years ago driving around that valley and around that Salisbury Viaduct trying to find the access to park and walk on it, with no success..what ever road I tried by driving under, and near the viaduct, never led me to either end of it....

[Modelcar]

Dave....Unless something has changed from just a few years ago this is the way I did it and it is an easy approach.....Approaching the location from the Garrett side on "old" 219...as you approach the Viaduct, there is a dirt road that leads off to the left, turn on it and go just a couple of hundred feet or so to a "T"...At that point {to the right}, you should see a concrete tunnel leading under the ROW that leads to the Viaduct....but, turn LEFT there and go a short distance and the dirt road leads around to the right and drive towards that ROW and continue until you get right up on top {the surface}, of it....At that time the ROW was not finished yet into the new trail...but I was able to park right on it...and then walk forward a short distance to the new surface of the Viaduct and hence out on it....That was the end where the trail was completed and on westward...The surface at that point, at the west end of the bridge was crushed fine stone and rather smooth, etc....The surface of the bridge is concrete with chain link type railings on each side...and really a great location to see up and down the valley there and of course the ex B&O passes right under it....While up there {for maybe an hour}, 2 CSX freights passed under and I was able to get some nice shots, etc....Good Luck.

[dwil89]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Modelcar

Dave....Unless something has changed from just a few years ago this is the way I did it and it is an easy approach.....Approaching the location from the Garrett side on "old" 219...as you approach the Viaduct, there is a dirt road that leads off to the left, turn on it and go just a couple of hundred feet or so to a "T"...At that point {to the right}, you should see a concrete tunnel leading under the ROW that leads to the Viaduct....but, turn LEFT there and go a short distance and the dirt road leads around to the right and drive towards that ROW and continue until you get right up on top {the surface}, of it....At that time the ROW was not finished yet into the new trail...but I was able to park right on it...and then walk forward a short distance to the new surface of the Viaduct and hence out on it....That was the end where the trail was completed and on westward...The surface at that point, at the west end of the bridge was crushed fine stone and rather smooth, etc....The surface of the bridge is concrete with chain link type railings on each side...and really a great location to see up and down the valley there and of course the ex B&O passes right under it....While up there {for maybe an hour}, 2 CSX freights passed under and I was able to get some nice shots, etc....Good Luck.

Thanks...next time I get down there, I'll try finding that access again....