The September 2003 Issue has a Trackside Guide for Omaha-Council Bluffs.
Guides that are in progress include Memphis, Buffalo, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Baltimore, and Denver. The next guide is planned for the December 2003 issue.
Kansas City , Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh should be on your future Guides list.
These cities you would like to see are on our list for future Trackside Guides, along with some 40 other U.S. and Canadian cities.
PLEASE publish it as a perforated pullout with three hoel punch or something similar. As these come out, I want to keep all of these in a single binder for easy reference!
As I’m traveling a lot in the SouthEast, I would love to see Atlanta or Birmingham, but it can wait. However I’m amazed no one has considered the Newark NJ area; it’s packed with conundrums. Also if you could start including a small section per guide for locating significant abandoned ROW’s and physical plants.
Glad to see Minneapolis-St Paul on the list. We have alot of movement there
with seven roads. Thanks
IF YOU NEED ANSWERS OR PHOTO/SLIDE FOR UPCOMING TRACKSIDE GUIDES FOR MINNEAPOLIS/ST. PAUL GIVE ME A SHOUT I HAVE SOMEWHERE AROUND 200 SLIDES/PHOTO’S
I’ll also put my vote in for Kansas City. Everything’s up to date in Kansas City. Do a follow up to your Union Station story from April 1999 now that it’s open. Mention the great view point from Liberty Memorial, Argentine Yard, Truman Depot in Independence, and there’s a great spot to watch trains from the downtown airport (just to the north across the river) and from Cliff Drive up by that Kansas City history and science museum (they have a model railroad in the basement). And there’s a restaurant in the Westen Crown Center Shops mall/hotel that no railfan should miss. It’s called Fitz’s and they deliver your food to right to your table via train!
I have pictures of Kansas City on my Website.
Good suggestion to have a perforated, three hole punch version. I suggest an additional innovation instead: please consider publishing these as either a separate, individual “reprint” on heavier stock, or as a consolidated pamphlet containing all of them, or at least regional ones. Then you may increase your market and provide an additional way for railfans to purchase and use them on trips. I am thinking along the lines of Rand McNally type glossy with a cover. I know other publishers have done similar rail guides, but your format is unique and there is room in the marketplace for the concept.
New Orleans is a busy rail spot, but there are few “safe” areas for trainwatching.
Is there enough rail action in Jackson, Mississippi for a future Trackside Guide?
i think fort wayne would be a good place very busy for it’s size
I would hope that you would also consider Toronto for an up coming trackside guide.
I like the Omaha-Council Bluff guide, wish it had came out earlier. Went through there in late May on vacation, would have been nice to have.
I would like to see Trackside Guides for the Altoona, PA area and Ft. Worth, Tx. Both have a lot of action.
Gary
I have utilized the trackside guides and the Hot Spots guide and book. There are so many quality spots from which to watch trains from. I have some standards I use when researching an area. The volume of traffic is very important, but SAFETY is the priority. So many quality spots are inner-city areas, and extremely dangerous, regardless of race, creed, or national origin.
Someone mentioned Newark NJ. That is a rough city at any hour, as is parts of New Orleans. Indeed, most older cities pose similiar problems. There are, however, numerous cities that have reasonable safety near the tracks, such as Kansas City, Portland, and Spokane WA. I have recently discovered Amarillo TX as a top spot to watch trains.
There are 3 lines of the BNSF through town comprising 5 branches, along with the UP, this city presents a magnitude of more than 125 trains per day in relative quiet and safety.
I was raised in the Pacific Northwest, but have been coast to coast and Minneapolis to Houston. This great country of ours offers a great abundance of trains and scenery to match. Enjoy it and be safe.
The Toledo / Northwest Ohio would be a good addition.
Lots and lots of trains.
Fostoria article was excellant.
The Vickers CSX/NS crossing is road accessable and you see a lot in a short period of time.
I meet and see trainwatchers quite often at other Ohio hot spots.
I have given directions to many out of towners for the best sites for watching in T Town where you can be close and not get into trouble.
The NS cops can be quite a pain in Toledo, especially near Union Station.
You need to be careful to stay on Port Authority property or the take your name
drivers license, car plate number etc.
I am still interested in seeing these trackside guides available on line, either in HTML or Adobe PDF format. As a web site developer who works in HTML, I would like to help out with this project if you are willing to enlist volunteers to work on them.
Excellent Idea!!!
I am suprised no one has mentioned St. Louis and Peoria, Illinois. There are two vital east west connection points with the RR. A St. Louis one would be very helpful and informative.
Brad
I notice that Pittsburgh & Denver are in your plans. Great!
I’d like to suggest adding Cleveland & Montreal.
Keep up your work on this. It is one of the best new features of your magazine.