This thread had be reminising (sp) about the time I had getting out to railfan when I lived in Philadelphia, PA my home town. I lived very close to Septa 's R7 (Chestnut Hill East) and R8 (Chestnut Hill West) lines; about 1 mile. However, I the closest decent railfan spot was about 25 miles away from my house. It took about 90mins to drive to and from my railfaning locations; weather it was to see passenger action on the NEC or freight action on the Baltimore Division on the CSX, or the Harrisburg Division on the NS. The distance from my house was a bummer, but I could always take Septa to get there.
When I moved to Louisville, KY for the job with CSX, I ended up moving within a 10 min walk from the busy NS Nashville Division lines. I also live within a 2 mile radius from the CSX Louisville Division, and the Paducha and Louisville Railroad. I also get to see RJ Corman, and Louisville and Indiania Terminal RR trains. The best part is that I live within a five minute drive from P&L's Oak St Yard, and NS's Youngtown Yard, and last but not least I'm within 15 mins from my railroad's (CSX) Osborn Yard.
Blazzin wrote: As a boy, we lived next to a train yard. Everyone in the neighbor hood actually lived next to the train yard. At the very best 20 houses away from it. We lived about 8 houses. Every night you could hear the sounds of trains.. or sure the Super Chief roaring on by, but also the sounds of brakes and couplings banging and clanking, the horns.. but most of all, every house in the neighborhood actually had a crack running through the ceiling, that we all believed was caused by living next to a train yard. Blazzin
As a boy, we lived next to a train yard. Everyone in the neighbor hood actually lived next to the train yard. At the very best 20 houses away from it. We lived about 8 houses. Every night you could hear the sounds of trains.. or sure the Super Chief roaring on by, but also the sounds of brakes and couplings banging and clanking, the horns.. but most of all, every house in the neighborhood actually had a crack running through the ceiling, that we all believed was caused by living next to a train yard.
Blazzin
This brings up an interesting point. The BNSF runs past about 150' behind my house. When I moved here 45 years ago, it was the Frisco, and my house had cracks in the walls and ceilings. With the help of a friend, who had been a journeyman plasterer, we fixed them all up and they have never returned.
A neighbor who had been here longer than I said that I had the diesels to thank for the cracks not coming back. He said the cracks were caused by the counterweights of the steam engines' wheels pounding on the track. I guess progress isn't too bad, although I enjoyed seeing Frisco #1522 passing by a few years ago.
Boyd wrote:I might have the record. Out the window behind the computer is the Minnesota Zephyr line. I could throw a rock from my truck and hit the track. If the trees were not in the way I could throw a rock from the back door and hit the tracks. Zepyr line has been for sale for over a year as the owner wants to sell and retire. Line is isolated due to not maintaining BN owned link to UP line in Bayport and the greedy city of Stillwater forcing abandonment. 1/2 mile south of me is old trolly roadbed. Wisconsin Central line is about 5 miles north of me. UP line is about 5 miles south.
Boyd:
What's condition of the old NP ROW starting at the end of the Zephyr's trackage? Has that been trailized? Where does the Zephyr line end (meaning is there a convenient road/street nearby)? The reason I ask is I've been thinking of doing some hiking/RR "archeology" on that line, but I don't know the back-roads out that way real well.
....Our abode is within one mile {south}, of the NS Frankfort line on the west side of Muncie. Seems most of the traffic is at night but some in the morning and we try to "catch" a train several times a week in the evening at McD's parking lot {in Muncie}....Track is right at it's edge.
Back originally in Pennsylvania we could see the B&O S&C branch {a coal hauler}, in my early days....It was {is}, about a mile plus from where home was and we could witness steam engines pull and push coal drags {up grade}, every day {especially during WWII}. On certain Summer evenings they could be heard for several miles as they worked {blasted}, up the valley until finally out of range. {Also swam near a bridge {218}, of that line as a youngster...Got there on a bike. Cinders would rain down on us as a coal drag would blast past during the day}.
Farther away, 20miles....was the mighty Pennsylvania 4-track main thru Johnstown and when visiting there, there was always plenty of RR action there and around the steel mills too....That part now almost all vanished....{The mills part}.
Here in Muncie though....CSX also runs thru with a double track main so RR activity is available most of the time in the Muncie area at some location. Believe Carl has experienced a bit of that having been here recently.
Quentin
Modeling the "Fargo Area Rapid Transit" in O scale 3 rail.
My humble abode is about four miles from UP's LA&SL route and a rail-served industrial area. OTOH, I could easily drive three hours to a place that's a three hour drive from the nearest railroad, even at Nevada highway speed!
My location wasn't chosen for the railroad. It was chosen for the Air Force Base a few miles farther away...
Chuck
I live 0.62 miles (as the bike flies) from the UP Overland/Metra UP West main line (the triple-track dragway). Occasionally I want to go elsewhere, but that would be for variety, not for quantity.
Where I grew up, there were nine trains per weekday--now it's two, if one's lucky. Anyway, you can see why I consider my current environs to be as close to Heaven-on-earth as possible (proximity to schools, church, the grocery store, the library, the bank, the drugstore, the auto mechanic, the depot, and the barbecue place is just icing on the cake).
However, once a year we spend several days at the family cottage. It's by an attractive litttle lake you may have heard of (called Lake Michigan), but it's also in a county that hasn't had any railroads for the past 20 years or so. This year (starting next week), we're going to the cottage, after spending much of the previous week in an area almost as devoid of trains--Michigan's Upper Peninsula. There is a railroad within a couple of miles or so, but I suspect that the CN would be out of the area by the time I could get "downtown". So, after nearly two weeks without trains (and without a usable computer or cell phone) I imagine I'll be slightly homesick, and more than willing to make a stop at Chesterton or Porter.
Carl
Railroader Emeritus (practiced railroading for 46 years--and in 2010 I finally got it right!)
CAACSCOCOM--I don't want to behave improperly, so I just won't behave at all. (SM)
I once lived 3 blocks to the CN Iowa division near Waterloo, IA about a year ago. About 4 trains a day went through town on average with fall and winter being the busiest because of the high volume of unit grain trains hauling recently harvested corn. However, spring and summer can be slow at times when grain hauling slows down. I remember at times during the spring and summer months when traffic is sparse, just seeing a high green on the absolute signal at the edge of town was a treat when coming home from work when all your use to seeing is red.
Now, I live about 2 miles from the UP Overland Route in Cedar Rapids, IA and what a difference in traffic....60 trains a day on average and just about everything under the sun commodity wise runs as well except for Amtrak. It's like shooting fish from a barrel. On a quiet day, I can hear the horns tooting from my house mostly during the morning hours. The only time I have ever seen this line completely shut down was during last months flood.
Jeff
I live between Milford and Holley Michigan, have the CSX right in my back yard and man she sure is busy... I must see at least 3 trains north a day and 2 empty south at night, mostly coal, grain, and I think chemical cars. Sure would have been cool to see some passenger trains come by back in the day.
I will never forget the look on the real estate agent when she said "I'm sorry about the train running through the lower area there". And I replied "sorry for what" I'm sold!
Ahh right in the front yard the WSOR (formerly MILW road i wish i could have seen them!) i can pretty much wave to them in my front yard just to many trees.(time to cut them down to see the trains!!)
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Six years ago we were looking for a house to buy. we looked at one 100 yards from the Union Pacific line thru Idaho. The house had a picture window facing the tracks, with a clear, unobstructed view from horizon to horizon.
Although the house was in good physical condition, it had a massive mold problem in the basement. I lasted about 5 minutes when we went inside. I am very alergic to mold.
In the lear after we looked at the house, UP had two derailments right by the house.
Oh, and did I mention, there was a large rusted water tower just down the tracks that UP never got around to removing?
I used to live in Fredericton, New Brunswick...a provincial capital with no rail service. Soon after CP and CN pulled out in the early 90s, the last tracks were pulled up in 1997.
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
larsend wrote: The "Mackay Branch" mentioned in my location has not seen a train for more than 20 years. The right-of-way still can be seen in most places where the farmers have not removed the embankment. The only significant railroad activity in my area is the Union Pacific in Pocatello, about 130 miles away.At $4.50 per gallon, I am not doing much railfanning at the moment.
The "Mackay Branch" mentioned in my location has not seen a train for more than 20 years. The right-of-way still can be seen in most places where the farmers have not removed the embankment.
The only significant railroad activity in my area is the Union Pacific in Pocatello, about 130 miles away.
At $4.50 per gallon, I am not doing much railfanning at the moment.
Wow, 130 miles. If I could send you some of the view out my front window, I would! From a railfanning perspective, that's rough.... how do you get your railfanning "fix"???
The BNSF is right across the street from me.. Around the Chicago area, it's hard not to live close to railroad tracks, although, in southern Illinois, the story is a bit different. There are a few (as far as I know) unused lines that used to be active, or trackage that had been torn up.
For the record, as metioned above, the BNSF is right across the street. Add to that, I live about a mile from the IHB, about 4 miles from the BNSF's ex-SantaFe line, and the Willow Springs/Hodgkins UPS intermodal facility. To the north about 6 miles or so is the Union Pacific, and at about 10 miles or so is the CP Rail C&M Subdivision out of Bensenville. Then, just about 3 miles to the north is the CN's ex-ICG through Hillside. Farther south is BRC, NS, and CSX lines that come into Chicago, as well as the CN's trackage out of Markham Yard. Out west is the EJ&E.
I often wonder about railfans who live in areas nearly devoid of rails, or train traffic, and what the level of frustrtaion might be. We are spoiled here in the Chicago area with all of the rails, and train traffic we get to see. My oldest son is attending job training down in southern Illinois, near the Kentucky border, and he has no idea where the closest railroad is, and since he grew up around here, the lack of train noises is the first thing he noticed.
I'm in good shape myself, but according to a Trains article about all 50 states a year and a half ago 46% of all of the track that has ever existed in South Dakota has been pulled up. Rails were coming up as far back as 1930.
And if the state hadn't purchased all of that Milwaukee Road line in the late 70s the percentage would be MUCH higher. Then of course there's DM&E. If all of the C&NW lines had been pulled up too, we would have been left with next to nothing.
The state leased the line to BNSF for over 20 years before they purchased what they wanted from the state. Dakota Southern operates on what's left, plus they have trackage rights on BNSF from Mitchell to Sioux City.
Reality TV is to reality, what Professional Wrestling is to Professional Brain Surgery.
Used to be 3 houses from the tracks with a siding for mow stuff behind our local Jr.high.I am 5 miles north of town now but still can hear them.I am also within reach of 4 csx, I&O,maw and 4 ns lines.just depends which way I want to go.(usually east to Deshler)
stay safe
joe
Deshler Ohio-crossroads of the B&O Matt eats your fries.YUM! Clinton st viaduct undefeated against too tall trucks!!!(voted to be called the "Clinton St. can opener").
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