If a railfan was traveling from Chicago to Altoona PA by car, are there any must-see RR features, locations, bldgs, along the way?
As always, thanks much in advance.
NYC Museum in Indiana and Deshler/Fostoria come to mind.
Gallitizin Tunnels @ Gallitzin, PA.
The Cleveland skyline has grown around the Terminal Tower, which used to be the tallest building between New York City and Chicago. It probably held a lot more significance in the past than it does now. It was the corporate headquarters for a railroad that didn’t even go to Cleveland!
Another good train-watching spot used to be just west of Cleveland, at Berea, Ohio. The dissolution of Conrail eleven years ago changed things here; the restaurant in the old station is closed, and the major road in the area now crosses the tracks on an overpass.
The steam museum at Hesston, Indiana, is hard to find, but tough to beat, during the summer.
But Deshler, Fostoria, and the NYC Museum in Elkhart are still foremost.
Get off the main roads, and take U.S. 12 from Michigan City to Gary. It parallels the South Shore most of the way.
Drive slowly as possible from the formation of the Ohio River (Allegheny junction Monongahela, at downtown Pittsburgh) past the massive yard downriver at Conway then on up the Beaver River toward Youngstown. If the weather is decent, there are (or used to be) rubberneck boat rides down the Ohio River through a lock and return. To me, this stretch more than any other exemplifies the might of the one-time Standard Railroad of the World. With the huge massive bridge spanning the Ohio, the (once upon a time) four-track main line. Look at the approaches to the bridge from the Ohio River Boulevard and marvel. The way the Pennsy constructed flyovers to keep main line trains out of each other’s way, and moving. The mills in every town along the way. The sight of rival trains across the river on CSX (once upon a time the P&LE, part of the New York Central). D@mn, I love it! Viva the Keystone!
Visited there a year ago, for a funeral, so I didn’t have time to savor the views. Train horns sounded throughout and after the service, reminding me what I was missing. Heading across the Ohio from the Pittsburgh Airport, I did see an NS coal train in the early morning mist heading east. Almost drove into the river, so reluctantly decided to concentrate on the road, not the railroad.
I can’t argue with Carl and Larry said!! If you stay a little closer to the turnpike across indiana and ohio you’ll be close to the old NYC(now NS) main.In toledo take the walbridge exit off of I 280 and you will go to Walbridge and Standley(2 csx yards).If you go north you can go to vickers where the C&O crosses NS.Another good stop would be oak harbor.Further east is the sandusky bay bridge(choose a calm day to see ns cross the bridge).Also Bellevue ohio has the NKP museum and its a major NS yard.The museum has plenty of parking to view the action.Another spot south of Bellevue is Attica junction.Its where Ns(former pennsy) crosses CSX(B&O).Follow 18 and 224 east to willard(csx) and greenwhich(where the csx indyline and chicago lines meet).At grrenwhich you could see a WLE train come into the yard.In Greenvile pa there is a museum and ns runs some trains thorugh.Be sure to watch for the Bessemer(now cn trains). Also csx has a yard at New Castle.Also cresson Pa has a platform and is the station where the ns helper engines are at.Any questions feel free to shoot me an email.Hope this helps.
stay safe
Joe
Horseshoe Curve and Chicago indicates an interest in the PRR mainline. If that is so then you need to take route 30 between I-65 and Ft. Wayne that basically parallels the PRR main or what is left of it. Several of the towns still have PRR stations. Valpo has a bridge over rt 30 that still has the PRR keystones on it, Hobart has a totaly restored station as does Ft. Wayne where the the first engine change out of Chicago took place in steam days. Lima, Ohio was the home of Lima locomotive works. Crestline reently started tearing down the PRR roundhouse that housed the T1, Q1, Q2,S1 and S2 engines on the west side of town. The station in PIttsburgh is pure PRR and the stretch from there to Altoona was the highest density railroading in the country up until very recently. the Westinghouse plant in Wilmerding had so many employees it even had its own station. Johnstown is the site of the Johnstown flood and Bethlehem Steel plant now gone.
Darn, sorry to hear that station restaurant is now closed…I have eaten lunch or dinner there several times over the years and liked it very much. I seldom get to Cleveland any more but am always sorry to hear of the closing of a business like that.
To expand a little on what some of the previous posts have noted, generally from west to east:
Just east of Pittsburgh and parallel to the PA Turnpike’s bridge over the Allegheny River is the B&LE’s even higher and more impressive bridge - a huge structure. Although trains are not frequent and it’s tough impossible to get a good photo of it from the Turnpike, it’s still impressive to see and breaks up the monotony if you’re driving that way anyhow.
Johnstown, PA has an inclined plane and restaurant at the top - a favorite of Quentin/ modelcar’s here; a museum/ memorial to the great flood of 1888 or so, which started with the failure of a dam that had extensive ties to the PRR; and the PRR bridge downtown that essentially stopped the flood by re-damming it.
Cassandra, PA - a little west of Cresson - has an old iron footbridge that’s long been closed to vehicles, but remains in use as a railfan hangout.
Brings back memories of last summer. The soon to be wife and I were heading to Allentown to visit her dad and you guys really gave us great info regarding HC and the surrounding area.
Unfortunately she came down with an infection that shelved the trip.
Perhaps ths year.
Original poster…just what are you interested in? That will help narrow it down.
ed
Let’s see if we can find that thread someplace . . .
Depending on where you are going through Ohio, I’d suggest Fostoria and Marion. Both locations have three mainlines crossing in close proximity to each other. Fostoria, at least the last I heard, still has a good volume of trains. Marion has the station, tower and caboose, which add to the atmosphere.
Kevin
Here it is, from July 10, 2009 - Horseshoe Curve or Galitzen? - 4 pages’ worth of posts, at -
http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/p/156734/1728762.aspx#1728762
- Paul North.
And just a note to supplement Paul’s mention of the Incline Plane / restaurant at the top. Park at either end, top or bottom and from the bottom, ride the incline plane to the top, and take advantage of the observation platform up there. One can see all over the vast valley that was devastated by that 1889 flood…also down to the still used Amtrak {former Pennsy station}, and of course trains passing thru. A great vantage point that is roughly 700’ above the streets of Johnstown.
You can also see the vast expanse of what was Bethlehem Steel that stretched up and down the valley…US Steel was located in Johnstown too. Steel making once employed roughly 25,000 employees decades ago in the Johnstown plants.
If one would choose to stay overnight, there is a nice Holliday Inn Hotel right down town…and it is close enough to the Incline to walk to it.
I have a couple more places you can look at on your trip.Along US 6 in Waterloo Indiana there is a grain elevator along the ns(NYC) line. it has a blue switcher in the front and in the back they have an old baldwin(detroit terminal) switcher.Also there is Butler Indiana.You can park at the library.CP trains use trackage rights to come down the Wabash and turn to go west at Butler.Any other areas I can help with let us know.
stay safe
Joe
If you are interested in the incline planes, Pittsburgh has two. I went up the most westward one, opposite the point, and it starts up between the CSX and the NS (old Pennsy) and rises above the Pennsy on the way to the top, where there is a restaurant.
Great view of Downtown Pittsburgh from the top. Very cheap entertainment!! You have to buy a ticket to ride but my memory says it was less than a dollar, round trip included.
Amazing, what a wealth of things to see along that area. Sounds like a person could spend a month between Altoona and Chicago and still not see it all. Certainly worth of a road trip this summer. Thanks to all who replied.