Does anybody know more/less how many trains pass thru each city daily on average? [:o)]
Just a sample of what one guy managed to see…
http://www.trainweb.org/jssand/Houston/Valley.htm
Hearn sees a lot of trains every day.
Ed
I guess it depends on which way they run…Hearne and Taylor both are directional running…South bnd trains from Dallas,or the Tyler -Palestine area are pretty good,at Hearn…Taylor on the other hand is x-katy and most all oif it is north bnd and they’re far a few apart…I would’nt count on much at Taylor if your planning a trip there…
Sorry to dispute you, but that’s not true. Please don’t take it personally. But Taylor is a major UP junction between the old Katy and MoP main lines, and still has an active yard. You get a mix of NB and SB to SAT, generally SB on the Katy and NB on the MoP–ALL the NB-SB US-Mexico traffic, totalling well over 50 trains/day, including ATK 21-22, lots of rock, autos and auto parts, coal trains for Dealy and Fayette power plants. And, there is an overpass on TX 95 above the whole thing, and a couple of decent BBQ joints as well.
At Hearne, the old SP DAL-HOU main line crosses the MoP main, and at Valley Junction, about 5 miles west, the FTW-HOU-CRP MoP line crosses the MoP main. The heavily used SP BSMFF line to Flatonia peels off the south end of the ex-SP yard. The yard is VERY active, a sits right next to the HW for its entire length, again with a couple of overpasses as well. And GATX has a facility just west of town on US 79.
Both of these locations are genuine winners if you like to watch lots of UP trains.
Thank U 4 the info. [:p]
Thanks U 4 the info. I guess I will have to sample them to see which city is the better of the 2[:p]
Thanks for the info. I will be in Austin shortly & Taylor is only 45 monutes away. Do you have any good recommendations where to watch from in Taylor & Hearne? Look up my web site in my signature to see all the UPRR action I have photographed [:p]
Taylor:
The ex-MoP yard runs along a city street. The TX95 overpass crosses it at the east end between the yard and the office/ATK station. The ex-Katy is east of there and crosses at grade.
West of Taylor, the ex-MoP runs right along US 79. Plenty of good viewing spots. The South Mays overpass in Round Rock is also good, or get on the ground just west of there between Mays and the IH 35 overpass. Try to get there at least one day at dusk–there’s a bigger bat colony under that bridge than under the Congress Ave bridge in Austin, and that’s the biggest urban colony in North America. Several million. When they come out it’s nothing short of spectacular. Just don’t touch any grounded bats. Go a little south on McNeil Rd down to Austin White Lime where AUTR crosses at grade. Most action during the day. Their yard and interchange are right there. North of Round Rock is the Georgetown RR and TX crushed stone. Probably see a few dump trains–they invented them.
Hearne–it’s all downtown along the highway. Pick a spot. There are also 2 overpasses–one at US 79 over the yars and one on TX 6 south of there where it crosses the Flatonia line. GATX is just west of town on US 79. Valley Jct is just west of GATX, and the ex-SP and ex-MoP are on both sides of the hwy for about 1/2 mile.
Have fun, but remember it gets hot here in TX.