HI FOLKS;I’ll be railfanning csx-ns between buffalo and erie,pa and maybe into ohio from friday thru sunday.can anyone recommend good watch spots along the way?Are there any yards to check out along the way?what radio freq.should I be tuned to?Is there anything else to see in this area that a railfan would be interested in?any advice would be most helpful
john
First of all, get yourself a tracked vehicle with a snow plow. Pack some survival gear, and notify next of kin too, cuz the lake effect machine should in run 8.
Starting in Bufalo, the Tifft St. bridge is pretty good for viewing the yard throat. CSX and NS both funnel through there. Heading west, Routes 5 and 20 parallel the tracks but neither is close enough to see much. But there are many crossroads which will take you trackside. In Silver Creek, Rte 5 briefly runs right next to CSX before running into town. Stay on Rte 5 into Dunkirk and you should find good access around the old NYC station.
Further west you can get right up to the tracks in Westfield. Both NS and CSX are accessible although they run a couple of blocks apart. The old NYC station is owned privately by a railfan who has restored it beautifully. I don’t know whether he welcomes visitors. Can’t hurt to ask.
From Westfield get on Rte 20 and continue to Northeast. On the road you will find many glimpses of the track and lots of crossroads to get you closer. In Northeast don’t miss the railroad museum. It’s in the old NYC station right next to the tracks and is probably the best place on the line to view trains. To get there, enter Northeast on Rte 20. In the center of town at a traffic light, turn left (south) onto Rte 89. Turn right just before the road dips under the railroads, go about a block or two west then turn left to the tracks. You can’t miss the museum.
Further westward on Rte 20 the highway crosses under the tracks in the village of State Line and comes up on the NS side. Down the road a bit in Wesleyville is a roadside picnic area next to the NS tracks. CSX is just across the NS and you can also see the east end of the GE test track.
In Erie the Franklin Avenue bridge, which is on the eastern city line, spans both RRs and provides the view of the GE plant. It is not in the best neighborhood and there is no convenient parking but you can get there without too long a w
always have a mr or trains mag in case of no trains or cops.
That’s a big 10-4, or a pillow, lol.[:p]
well like tim said pack your snowplow.try the berea area.not too far from there is strongsvile which is csx hq for the great lakes division.
stay safe
joe
Thanks tim/others for the help,I am used to the lake effect snows as I often fish for steelhead on lakes erie and onterio.I will post a report and mabye same pic’s if I can figure out how to do it JOHN
Another thought on Erie, assuming it isn’t buried under snow. Coming into the area on 20 there are a number of places where you can pull up and see NS, CSX and GE’s tracks at the same time.
Dale