Hottest Hot Spot in the country

[mrconrail]

What would you say is the Hottest place to see freight trains? My quess is Blue Island outside of Chigago with 130 trains a day. Is there any place buiseier?

[David3]

Well Rochelle, Il has 100-130 trains a day. It's at the top of my list, but Blue Island is also good.

[BearClaw18]

I agree that Blue Island and Rochelle are EXTREMELY hot hotspots. However, I believe Dolton Jct. is just a little busier than either Blue Island and Rochelle.

[David3]

I've heard Dolton is VERY busy. How many trains go through there in one day?

[CShaveRR]

You're going to get a lot of argument about whose pet Hot Spot is better, unless you can come up with figures (like 130 trains a day) that will hold up in most routine circumstances. I really would like to see someone come up with good figures on some of these places, something that could show the best day of the week, time of day, etc.

You have to take one's interests into consideration, too...if you want to see switchers, bottle trains, and the like, don't go to Rochelle! If you want to feel the power of big units moving fast trains at a decent speed, you won't care for Dolton. But 130 trains will keep one busier at Dolton or Blue Island than they will at Rochelle (unless the locomotives are all you care about). Go to either of those places if you're interested in having the smallest amount of time where nothing is in sight.

And no matter how a place stands up statistically, if you go there often enough you're going to have disappointing days, where nothing will come past you.

Porter used to be great before it was made off limits (and before the Conrail breakup). There were some slow times, but it very consistently averaged about five moves an hour.

So, now that we've taken care of the Chicago area, how about other places in the country? They say the UP main line east of North Platte has around 120-130 freights a day, and that's without having another railroad crossing it and adding to the total.

Statistically, the best place around should be anywhere between Gary and Pine Junction, where you have both major eastern main lines with a bit of EJ&E in the background. But it would take a lot of work to make that area user-friendly!

I guess the point I've been trying to make is that numbers alone don't make a place "hot" (as much as they help, or rule out places). If you know of any place that's going to provide hours of reasonably steady enjoyment, I'd love to hear about it here!

[louisnash]

the place I work In northern Ky is right beside NS trackage, Cincy-Danville KY. Average trains about 1 per 15-20 minutes, depending on day of week and MOW out working. I just look out our shop door and there they go.

[BearClaw18]

According to the website "Chicago Area Rail Junctions" [url = www.dhke.com/CRJ] about 120 trains a day pass through Dolton Jct. The action in the afternoon is usually intense! It is not uncommon to see 2 and even 3 trains pass through the junction simultaneously.

[BearClaw18]

Another very hot hotspot is Lagrange, IL. Go there in the afternoon [from noon to 3 or 4 PM] and you will easily see 10-11 trains an hour. That's intense railroading. You will also see a great variety of railroading. You will see commuters, AMTRAK, unit coal trains and intermodals going at a good clip, as well as slow freights. The surrounding neighborhood is perfectly safe. There are restaurants within easy walking distance of the crossing. There is great public access and it is close to the crossing. If there is another hotspot in the USA that has all these features, I would like to know about it

[David3]

I have been up to Lagrange it's a nice place, I think the action is great!

[Anonymous]

If your definition of "Hot Spot" is based strictly on traffic count, then 130 trains per day certainly qualifies.

My definition is over 30 (yes 30, not 130) per day in hilly or mountainous terrain, preferably with a cool summer breeze, the sound of a brook which fades in and out as trains go by, and a fair bit of solitude.


Rob
3ri.com

[eolafan]

Yep, Blue Island or Dolton Jct. may have a bit more traffic, but you really can't beat Rochelle for its ease of access, nice gazebo for shelter, close by food, rest room facilities right there, a built in scanner for both UP and BNSF, and even grills for cooking burgers or dogs if you wish...very hard to beat all of this, AND LOTS OF TRAINS!