Advice On Good Railfan Sites?

Big trestle in Lethbridge Alberta. I wished I had had time to wait for a train there.

 

I know Kansas City on north very well.  There's a lot of hidden gems out there.  Email me.

 

 

Kent in SD

Livingston, Montana is a great place to visit especially if you record video and take photos. The Montana Rail Link line and the repair shops are easy to see from the street.

 

Andrew

You may have already been there since it is close to FL, but the Folkston Funnel Railfan Viewing Platform in Folkston, GA is worth a stop, at least for a rest break. It has bathrooms, and gas and refreshments are nearby. I've visited twice and always saw at least 4 trains/hr.

 

Unless you need to visit Sioux Falls, i would change my route, take off of I 29 and head to Lincoln Ne.  there you can see BNSF easily from overpasses and trackside right downtown at the old station and currently used by Amtrak.  Then follow BNSF to Hastings ne. nice old depot there and easy viewing.  Then head up to I-80 at Grand Island.  From there stay on old US 30 for UP mainline action until you tire of that and rejoin I-80 if you must.  Stop in Cheyenne to see the big boy in the Park, the Cheyenne depot and from there easy watching as the big girls get ready to tackle Sherman Hill.  Get off I-80 at near the top of the hill to see the monument.  Laramie has easy viewing from a pedestrian overpass.  You can then go on old 30 again but go north to get to Shoshone whereupon you will head north to Thermopolis.  In the Wind River canyon you may get to see some action with a little patience.  You will rejoin I-90 at Laurel Montana, just west of Billings.  If you must go through Sioux City, there is a good working museum of the Milwaukee and some action downtown.  The museum is open weekends I believe. 

Good Morning Rod,  I know you are looking for train sights and while my city may not have a lot as far as trains go, we excel in other ways.   This city is worth the stop to spend the day.   I'd head first to the National Infantry Museum (Tues thru Sun.) You alone could spend all day here but i'd give it  4 to 6 hours.  Like to see a few trains, O.K. we only have one at the Museum but it's one not to pass.  A real WWI,Quartermaster train, right next to WW2 street, (take that tour of the site well worth the time) , you may also need to rest your feet and cool down, try the IMAX, it's showing the ROCKY MOUNTAIN EXPRESS ( check for times ) Did I say we have food, yep , a 5 star restaurant too.  Now if your still looking 4 miles down the road is the National Civil war Naval museum.  Some of this info is at  ROADSIDE AMERICA.COM  Parking at the Infantry Museum is not a problem even for RV's. Also a new hotel just opened within walking distance of the museum.  So hope you give Columbus Ga. a try just a small detour off of I-75 at Tifton and then I-85/185  back on track to Atlanta.   Have a great trip and be safe, Bruce

wb47;

Your suggestions sound great.

What about Noth Platte which is right on I-80?

I seam to remember an article in Trains about it being great for railfanning.

Bruce;

Columbus sounds very nice.

We will see if we have time to give it a looksee.

Kent;

Interested in what you have to suggest about Kansas City northbound?

 

Thanks all,

Rod

Rod:

Since you will be passing through the Atlanta area on I-75, you can kill two birds by visiting the Southern Museum of Locomotive and Civil War History in Kennesaw and spend some time across the street at the old NC&StL / L&N depot watching trains on CSX.

Both the depot and the museum are easily accessible off the Chastain Road exit from I-75.  The museum is affiliated with the Smithsonian and houses the General of Great Locomotive Chase fame.

CSX runs about 30-35 trains a day on this line between Atlanta and Chattanooga.  There is a pretty good mix of merchandise freight, intermodal and coal as well as the occasional military movement.  From about 8AM till noon you should be able to catch 5 or 6 trains with late in the week being a bit busier than a Monday.  There a is a deck on the railroad side of the depot with a bench for seating. 

Curt

Well, it's a huge area.  I've driven most of it, covering it as a sales rep for this or that company.  It kind of depends on if you are after scenic, volume, or historical stuff.   Kansas City has a nice railfan oriented museum in their old Union Station downtown, along a very active rail corridor.  Omaha has three museums including their old Union Station, and the UP Historical Society in Council Bluffs.  There's also a Big Boy and a huge DD40x diesel parked on a bluff overlooking I-80 in Omaha.  The North Plate NE tower is interesting as are towns along I-80 & the tracks (both BNSF and UP.)  These eventually lead to Cheyenne WY where I believe you can still tour the UP roundhouse containing their steam program.  If you continue up I-29 there are active lines on both sides of the river, UP in IA and BNSF in NE.  (A few miles away from I-29.)  My favorite shortline goes from Sioux City IA through Sioux Falls SD, winding through some very pretty country.   Head on north to Fargo and follow the BNSF line through Bismarck etc. for some truly great prairie railroading with high volume.  Not as many railfan this line as they do the UP in NE--a pity.  Huge trestles such as at Valley City, ND are worth the trip.  ND is more railfan friendly than NE, all in all.  In western SD, in the Black Hills, is a great steam operation--1880s Train.  I don't think it starts up until May though.  There's another little rail line no one knows about that goes straight west from Sioux City, IA and peters out in O'Neill, NE.  It's a line lost in time.  There is usually a train on it somewhere.  Do not go on the dirt roads along the eastern third of it if they are wet though.  Incredibly scenic area.  All in all, if I was on I-29 and eventually needed to go west, I'd do it on I-94 through North Dakota.  Lots of trains (several different railroads,) excellent scenery, and very railfan friendly.   Give me a holler if you are going up I-29 through Sioux Falls SD.

 

 

Kent in SD

On the western edge of North Dakota, between Fairview Montana and Cartwright North Dakota, is Fairview Lift Bridge across the Yellowstone River, and adjacent Cartwright Tunnel. Former railroad, now a hiking trail across bridge and through the tunnel. There is some interesting history behind this site. Great Northern began construction on this route as an alternate mainline but it was never completed.

 

Fairview Bridge and Cartwright Tunnel

http://www.midrivers.com/~fairview/bridges.html

 

Historic Twin Sister RR Lift Bridges - Fairview and Snowden in Montana, MT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30Tp1e0Wn4M

In Nebraska get off I 80 and follow 30 to see the UP or 2 through the sand hills to see BN. The track along 30 between Gibbon and North Platt is the busiest railroad in the world.  The Gold Spike tower in North Platt is worth a trip.  If you get into northern ND accommodations can be difficut due to the oil drilling activities.

Wow this is all great information.

We may have to allow an extra week getting home!!

 

Rod

There are plenty of hotel rooms in Fargo, Bismarck, Hettinger, Dickinson.   Probably none in Williston, and scarce in Minot.  From Bismarck it's a relatively short drive (by Dakota standards) up to the oil field area.  The oil fields are THE story in railroading right now.  The scenery west of Bismarck, especially around Medora, is of the classic stunning Western type.  In eastern SD, ND, and western edge of NE there are numerous ethanol operations which are very cool at night.  There are two rail lines that go west through SD, but they are fairly low volume.  One is the BNSF Aberdeen sub, the old MILW Hiawatha transcon.  It has 2-4 trains per day.  The other is the "Colonly Line" through the middle of the state, now CP nee DME nee CNW.  There is usually one train along it, somewhere.  In all of the Northern Plains states there is an uptick in grain shipping right now as elevators begin cleaning out for the upcoming wheat season.  Mostly there are big long trains of grain, ethanol, oil, manifests, and a few coal trains.  The UP Transcon in NE and the BNSF line through ND would also have stack trains and a bit of everything else.  If I could pick a place to live just for the railfanning, I'd probably chose either Bismarck or Fargo.  But then, I love breathtaking desolation.

 

 

Kent in SD