I am planning a trip to western Pennsylvania this year, and I would like to know where the best railfanning areas are. I know there was a hot spots article in TRAINS several years ago about Beaver Falls. Is there still alot to see around Pittsburgh?
Since 9/11 things have changed . There is conway yard in beaver county,station square in pgh(CSX ex P&LE) . convention center (strip district) constant east/west traffic, B&LE bridge ( harmarville ) Bessemer (B&LE yard) Creighton ( still has wreckage from derailment lying along tracks) Verona (Allegheny Valley RR enginehouse) or head east to horseshoe curve. Western pa has a lot of places to see , if your comming in the summer try the kiski junction rr at schenley pa ( junction of the Allegheny and Kiski rivers). Hope this helps
Don’t forget Northwestern Pa. We have Allegheny RR (GWI) at Warren, GE in Erie and the Mainline from Northeast, Pa past the museum over to the Ohio border west of Erie.The Railroad museum at Northeast Pa has quite a few engines and cabooses to view. WNY&Pa makes a show at Corry at least once a day with their Alcos. Their yard is in nearby Jamestown NY. Titusville Pa has Alco power to photograph and an Alco powered excursion trainride too.
Anywhere between Altoona and Johnstown is prime area.Downtown Altoona has several good spots including the Museum area, Juniata Shops, Rose Bridge in Juniata, the Brickyard in Altoona, and of course, Horseshoe Curve. There are many good spots on the West Slope too between Gallitzin and Johnstown where you can watch trains…Gallitzin, Cresson, Lilly, Cassandra, Portage, Jamestown, Summerhill, South Fork, Mineral Point, Parkhill, and Conemaugh. My website deals with this area specifically@ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsaltoonajohnstown Dave Williams
Im from pittsburgh, so i klnow of some good hot spots (in pittsburgh). One of my favorites would have to be the “south side” a.k.a. Carson st. There is a walking/biking path that is a railfans dream
NS 2 track main, CSX 1 track main, river, CSX (AVR) yard. all together. [:D][8D]
Try Rochester, PA it still has a working tower on the old Pennsy Main
If you’ve never been to Sand Patch,its worth a visit sometime… roughly 60 miles South of Altoona .Follow Rte 96 up from the Maryland Border and it’ll take you to Hyndman, Fairhope, Glencoe on the East Slope…Or take 160 to Sand Patch or Mance at the Summit, or Meyersdale, Glade City, Yoder, etc on the West Slope…I’ve been there a number of times…Mance Railcamp at Mance Curve, etc. Train frequency not as high as NS’s line through Altoona, but very photogenic too…Dave Williams http://groups.yahoo.com/group/nsaltoonajohnstown
The town of Northeast, on Lake Erie has a very nice RR museum. It is on the Nickle Plate line. Lots of fast freights go flying by, up close and personal.
I’m also from Pittsburgh. There are quite a few places where you can railfan.
Downtown: The old PRR station sees quite a few NS freights throughout the day, and some Amtrak runs as well. As long as you don’t venture into the NS “yard” there, or do something stupid, you have free reign of the platforms. If you get bored with the station, there’s an overpass up the road. If it’s after 5:00, you can sometimes park in the lot of an electric company. Take the steps up to the overpass. Even though it’s fenced, you can sometimes see Amtrak trains back into the station.
Oakland: Oakland is the home of Pitt and CMU. From here, you have tracks below the CMU campus–the AVR and CSX run down there. Be careful of the road though…as it’ll screw up your car! The bridge on Baum Blvd (aka Route 380) right behind The Design Center, near the P&W foreign car dealership, is another good vantage point.
Station Square is pretty good too. I haven’t been down there for awhile, but you can get pretty close to the action. The tracks have since been moved closer to the river though. Keep in mind that you’ll either have to take the bus/subway, or pay for parking there.
The North Side (over near PNC Park and Heinz Field): The park has a deep cut and some trackage that can easily be seen from the local roadways. However, this neighborhood has had some crime problems recently, so at night…beware!
Homestead: Just down the river from downtown is Homestead. This is a former mill town. The mill is gone now–replaced with a bustling shopping area. However, you can still see quite a bit of rail action. In fact, the entire development is next to both NS and CSX on parallel tracks.
McKeesport: Another former mill town…just down the road (and across the river) from Homestead. On the way there, you’ll pass through Duquense (pronounced Du-Kane). There’s a large Union RR yard in Duquesne, which is visible from an overpass. The URR isn’t railfan friendly–so if their railc
I know this may be a little late but DiSalvo’s Station in Latrobe, PA is also a good hot spot. Most of the pics I’ve ever taken are from around there.
The Desalvo’s Restaurant has good food…a ‘dress-up’ type restaurant though…flannel shirts and jeans are a bit underdressed for it…
I never ate there. I just hung out on the station art up at the top of some stairs. Another good place is Penn Central Station in Downtown Pittsburgh.
Another good spot not mentioned is the Connelsville Yard area (West end of yard) on CSX. Most weekdays will find a fair amount of traffic. Take along a radio and listen to the conversations. It is also where the Southwest RR and the W&LE RR join CSX Mainline. From Sand Patch to McKeesport is very photogenic. Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad was a small tourist run in Summertime (Titusville,Pa to Oil City). http://octrr.clarion.edu/ It also is very photogenic and stops at the first Oil Well ever drilled it USA. (Drake Well). Hope this helps.
You will enjoy a visit to Erie PA. 4 tracks running throught the town and many chances to see some good switching. You can see the Amtrak train in the morning and watch 40+ trains a day on the mainline. The GE locomotive plant is here in town and you can see loccos from many roads brand new with new paint schemes. Down the road is Conneaut, Ohio where you can see coal being loaded onto lake freighters and iron ore being loaded onto southbound trains. Keep it in mind.
another good place is butler, i i had a camra, i could get pictures good enuofh to put in MR!
Is there a spot where the Wheeling & Lake Erie has a presence?