There are track running by my store. Across the street is a train station, now called the Train Station resturaunt. In 1904, it opened its doors for passenger service on the Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Railroad and 1000 people came out to watch the train come to town.
Recently, the Buffalo and Pittsburgh refurbished the line and is now hualing coal down a 16 mile spur to the Homer City power plant.
I know they are running because the work has been done for several months. I think they are running 3 times a week. But I have not seen a train yet. I would like to, but not enough to spend night after night waiting.
B&P is a subsiderary of Genesee and Wyoming, a multi-national conglomeration of railroads with divisions in US, Canada, Mexico, South America and Austrailia. The website shows a route map, but that is all.
Got a scanner. If you get teh Freq. turn it on about the time you tinhk they’re going thrugh. and if you here something Race down to the tracks with your camera
I pulled three freq up for the Buffalo & Pittsburgh 160.230, 160.320, & 160.530. You might try over at trainboard.com where they have a number of railfan boards.
Call the railroad on the phone and ask to speak to the Dispatcher. With luck, you’ll get right through to someone with a complete schedule. Let them know you’re a railfan, and you’re excited to have the trains coming through again. I did this a few years back when I heard a steam whistle approaching Concord, Massachusetts. It was an old train that was being chartered for a wedding, and I was able to get the date and time for the return trip. That day, my camera was ready. Too bad it was too long ago for video.
Talk to other people who live or have businesses along the track and see if they know. My first thought was, talk to someone at the power plant, but they won’t tell you any more than the railroad will – you really have to be careful what you do and who you talk to nowadays about rail movements with all of the jitters about terrorists.
I was questioned by a county sheriff’s deputy one day while videotaping UP trains near Benson, Arizona. It seems that a UP crew called 911 when they saw me near their tracks, even though it was obvious what I was doing, what with the tripod and camera.
Nearest Regional to me is the Reading and Northern. Their web site is VERY railfan-friendly. They publish schedules and also mention places you can watch from. If I were going to model modern - I’d probably pick the R&N. For one, most of it is former Reading trackage. Second, I wouldn’t have to custom paint everything - locos and rolling stock have been offered factory painted for them.
So - it’s possible, they just choose not to.
I think the photography aspect of “homeland” security would be funny if folks weren’t so serious about it. I’ve read numerous articles about photography being banned from subway stations in NYC. Why would a terrorist risk getting caught lugging around a 35mm SLR camera taking pictures when they could use one of those cell phone cameras or get literally hundreds of photos of station construction off of the net?
I guess its similar to when the airlines used to essentially ask passengers “are you carrying a bomb onboard?” lol I remember an airline employee once telling me that I couldn’t accompany my then wife to the terminal (I was in uniform and we were going to separated for six months) because I needed a ticket. I asked why that was and I was told “terrorists.” I guess a terrorist that has come to the U.S. from some foreign shore, conceived a plot to damage something wouldn’t spring the bucks to buy a ticket to get into the terminal. Oh well.