New Railroad Park, Would you go?

[Anonymous]

If a town opened a new railroad viewing park, already offered: A river, Canal, Railroad Museum, 3 rail lines on a 4 track Line, one of the only still operating control towers along CSX, Many restaurants, Antiquing, and a small railroad town atmosphere, would you visit it.

Say the park was a raised viewing pavilion with some vending machines[:)] and a scanner[:)], with a display on history of the line/area you are viewing[:)], clear view of over 40 trains a day[:)], a bell donated to the city by the B&O itself[:)], and possably some rolling stock[:)], all on the site of an old RR YMCA[:)] (Don't even talk about the villiage people). Would you go?[?]

[Anonymous]

No.

LC

[DanHorleyAF]

I probably would go if it was reasonably near me, or in an area I could plan a trip around it.

[RudyRockvilleMD]

If it offered me a vantage point for legally and safely photographing trains I would gladly go, and I would try to patronize some of the merchants in that town.

[CShaveRR]

QUOTE: Originally posted by RudyRockvilleMD

If it offered me a vantage point for legally and safely photographing trains I would gladly go, and I would try to patronize some of the merchants in that town.

That having been said (and agreed with), I would point out that "over 40" trains a day probably averages out to one every half hour...not that much by "hot spot" standards, and possibly not enough to keep the casual public from being disappointed.

[JoeKoh]

try coming to deshler ohio.they have an interlocking tower,lots of small town charm and plenty of train action
stay safe
Joe

[Anonymous]

I would go. Where is this place? In Maryland?

[Anonymous]

Well, I'd love to go to a place like that! It sounds great! I probably wouldn't go there unless it was close to where I live, though. If I was on vacation anywhere near the area I would make sure not to miss out on it.

[zardoz]

Sounds like a nice place. I would go when in the area, or might even plan a trip to make a point of going there.

[dharmon]

I probably would but only if I was in the area already. I don't usually go on rail dedicated trips. If something is where we or I am going I like to stop in, but like most of us..time and money don't support dedicated rail trips.

[joecool1212]

Yes I would go. I live in NJ and to have a good place like that would be more than i can imagine. I would travel a good distance to see it also. Joe

[Anonymous]

OK, heres the deal, I'm considering convincing my community to set up a park, similar to rochelle, There is currently a park called "Railroad View Park" but it only has an open grassy spot, a few trees, and the sidewalk from the YMCA that burnt in 1980.

As for the "Over 40 trains a day" CShaveRR, I have seen a Pentrex video from Rochelle (see the webcam) of all of the trains that came through in a day, and there were only 35,authough they said the average is around 40, and rochelle is considered a hotspot.

Yes this would be in Brunswick Maryland, with the C&O canal & towpath, and near other places such as: Point Of Rocks, home of a very popular historic station, that there is an HO Scale model of on the market (See trainclocks.com to see what it looks like), and also near Harpers Ferry, Frederick, Sharpsbug, and a fairly short druve from: The walkersville Scenic Railroad (wsrr.org, the hagerstown Roundhouse Museum, and the Western Marland Historical Society's Museum in Union Bridge. Brunswick would also offer, as I mentioned, small shops, antique stores, Chimeese & Italian Restaurants, a Diner, 3 pizza places, a suway, fast food restaurants, a coffee shop will be opening soon, and of coure there is the 3 - story Brunswick Railroad Museum (brrm.net)

[JoeKoh]

sounds like its got a lot going for it. People come from out of state to visit deshler. i hope it works for you.
stay safe
Joe

[michaelstevens]

[;)][;)]
Too many Marys in your State -- "trainheartedguy" -- we Pennsylvanians are prejudiced !!

[:D][:D]

[corwinda]

I would go if it was nearby. Unfortunately I'm in Oregon.

[eolafan]

To trainheartedguy: I live about 40 miles from Rochelle and have visited the park many times and can tell you without fear of being contradicted that there are many, many more than 35 to 40 trains per day here. The ones you see on the web cam are far from the only ones here. You can get 40 or so on BNSF's C&I main line alone, and that line is the slower of the two! Remember, the count of over 100 is in a 24 hour period, and that includes the evening and nighttime hours as well. Jim in Aurora, IL

PS: If I still lived in Maryland (used to live in Severna Park) I would come to your park.

[Anonymous]

That is a lot, the Pentrex video had said around 40-50 a day, and I have never been to rochelle. (I trust wrong sources it seems)

[AlcoRS11Nut]

Sure, why not?

[CShaveRR]

Mr. Trainhearted, you can trust Jim (Eolafan) and me (UPemployee) about Rochelle's volume.
Now, if you have a railroad museum close by, a train-watching platform would be a natural, in my opinion. Make sure you can have picnic tables nearby so the people can bring their pizza and subways trackside!

[Anonymous]

Well that also would be a natural. Why have a park with no picnic tables nearby.

Of course, convincing them to build the park may be hard because I have been told that the city feels they need a theme that is Non-rail related, because they feel they have "Sucked the railroad theme dry". What they have done except for having a few trains as city and school mascots, and using PRR Colors as the city's official colors (of course in B&O Territory) is unknown, and they could do better.

[Anonymous]

It sounds like a good spot for trains with the plus of having Civil War sites in the area. I'd take the kids, they & I are interested in both.
RayE

[Anonymous]

Well, I just got some measurements for a few sketches and Ideas. We would have a litte more than a 100 x 200 foot area to cram as much rail watching conveniances in. Once I get a few sketches, Ill put 'em online and place a link. I would like everyone's opinion's though, because as I have been finding out that convincing the city to do something, expecially something like this, is like trying to shoot a black rat in the woods while it's dark, but If I can convince them that people coming would patronise the local businesses, It may help.

[CShaveRR]

100 by 200 feet sounds a little crowded, especially if that has to include parking. I'll be interested in seeing what you have planned.

[Anonymous]

well, i think it'll have minimum parking, beause there is a amall parking los near it for the local stores, and the huge commuter parkinglot across the tracks. 200x100 is somewhat crowded, but if we do it right, we can manage.

[Anonymous]

I just finished image Numuro Uno[^]! Please take a look at it at http://trainheartedguy.tripod.com/park.html and let me know what you think.

[CShaveRR]

It's kind of hard to offer much constructive help without seeing the actual site you're working with, but you probably have a good start here. I'm not sure what's the light brown rectangle is, but I'm hoping that would be a restroom/vending machine area (in and out, you know!).

Couple of thoughts.

1. If that track isn't already there, or if you don't have any equipment to display on a track already, leave it out. You'd have plenty of maintenance costs without it, and it would be the first thing that would start looking bad if not properly cared for.

2. Parking. If that's a street along the bottom of your plot, I'd opt for providing angled parking off the street, rather than a lot you had to drive into and out of.

3. The flower beds will be quite labor-intensive, and not all railfans will opt to pull your weeds for you between trains. Rochelle has a few shrubs; on your plot you might consider something that will grow into a nice shade tree. A low hedge could provide a nice barrier between the park and the main line. The railroad could want to stipulate something like that, or a fence, anyway.

Does the city have other things in mind for this area?

[tree68]

Don't forget some designated handicapped parking, not to mention said access throughout the facility (it actually looks pretty good right now, assuming it's flat)

Picnic tables in the grassy area alongside the track would be nice, in addition to those in the pavilion.

Depending on train speeds on the adjacent active track, you might want a little more setback, for view comfort. I know what it's like to be on the platform at a station when a freight comes through at 35 or so - pretty daunting.

You might also consider having the viewing pavilion elevated. From what I've seen about Rochelle, you're at about eye level with the crews in the locos. If you can't do that, consider adding a raised platform somewhere. The ramp will take some space, but...

I'll second the parking along the street - you can get a lot more than 6 cars in 200 feet. That will also depend on the current parking situation on the street and how much those spots will be used by non-railfans, especially if there is a charge for parking elsewhere.

You do have a start, though. If you can line up some merchant support and donors for part of the construction, and make the place a maintenance free as possible, you will probably be able to make a sale. Don't forget to point out that you are providing public restrooms where there are none, green space, and a nice place for non-railfans to go as well.

Good Luck!

[Anonymous]

What we have now is this:
A slope from the road to the tracks
A few trees
Pieces of an old sidewalk.
What the image at http://trainheartedguy.tripod.com/park.html has is a covered pavilion, level with the top of the slope, probably about eye level with the crew of the locomotives, Restrooms under the pavilion, posably some vending machines by the restrooms, benches, the light brown area would be a playground, and a fair amount of sidewalks (For local joggers), and a fence separating the park from railroad property. I like the angled parking lot idea, ill have to change the picture, and the track and trains would be for the museum, who would like to own some rolling stock, but has no place to put any right now. It would probably be a good thing to set the pavilion back a bit. Iff you look closely at the image, the light green Xs are trees and shrubs (I know I put too many, but that is an easy enough thing to cut back on.

[Anonymous]

With the way that place sounds I go in a minute

[Anonymous]

I updted the image with some of the given advice, and I now have a side view to show the slope it would be built on, and what is ther now. I will try to get a photo of the site on here at some point, but as I mentioned in another topic, I dont have a digital camera. I may have one here somewhere though. The new image is again at: http://trainheartedguy.tripod.com/park.html