Rail-fanning on The OGR Forum 🚂 Welcome: Pictures YOU have taken! • Hope to see you out rail-fanning.

Time to get back to some rail-fanning from my October 2nd, 2021 N&W 611 Birthday bash(my birthday that is).

And how about some videos to go with that?

Michigan Central Station • With a Canadian Pacific on her way to the Detroit - Windsor Railroad Tunnel to Canada 🇨🇦

Today • November 12, 2021

In these photos you can see that the outside elevations are receiving new windows. All the surface stones are being abrasive blasted to look like new.

Gary

Gary, it's so nice to see that beautiful building being restored.

A pair of Penn Central Geeps on the main just south of the engine house in Cadillac, Michigan in August 1975.

A lease loco just showed up at the Chehalis tourist RR and I caught a night freight near there last night.

Caught these two cars a couple weeks ago. A bit of an unusual coil car (or whatever is inside) I hadn't seen before. And a heavy duty 12-axle flatcar unlike any I've seen before.

@breezinup posted:

And a heavy duty 12-axle flatcar unlike any I've seen before.

Mystery solved.

Mitch

In a wet Alaskan summer of 1981, an ARR passenger train on the Kenai Peninsula wends its way toward Anchorage.  Notice the red and white caboose behind the passenger cars.

C&O, Chessie and CSX locomotives at the engine facilities in Manistee, Michigan. July 1988.

Two pictures of Amtrak at Pacific MO, just west of St. Louis.  The first was yesterday morning, heading west.  The last three cars on Saturday's Amtrak were baggage cars, which I had not seen before.  The second was this evening, Nov 21, again heading west.  It was taken from an Jensen's point overlook, site of a Civil War skirmish.  Interesting things in the photo from left to right are the Meramec River, BNSF(Frisco) towards Springfield MO, Amrtak on UP(Mopac) toward Kansas City, a string of short covered hoppers on the siding for the US SILICA mine, old Route 66, and the US SILICA mine's loading track and silos on the far right.

-Nathan

Sixteen years ago I took this photo of the Cumbres & Toltec RR 20 miles East of Chama New Mexico. The double header pulls into the Cumbres Pass railroad station at the peak of a steep climb.

I thought I’d add something a bit different to this thread.  My son-in-law is stationed at Fort Leavenworth (no, not an inmate)!  The former Santa Fe station in town has been converted to a restaurant and the breakfasts there are really good.  I thought I’d add a few photos as I suspect most will not have the opportunity to visit there.  Note the former “Men’s Waiting Room!”  Times certainly have changed.  You can read the plaque for more information.

Bob

Bluefield W. Va. No fence here.

Three from Fostoria Ohio and one from the Mid-Continent Railroad Museum in Wisconsin. All a few years back.

CN Intermodal through Jasper National Park, AB.

BNSF mixed freight in Sandpoint, ID

Mines have rail too! The view from inside a load out at a long disused mine in the Crowsnest Pass, AB.

A rail-fanning tip from Train Room Gary 🚂

I like to use “Google Earth” when I am out rail-fanning. The image above is from “Google Earth” - It shows one of the spots, where I was standing at the Michigan Central Station. On November 12th., 2021, see above post. I will print out a hard copy from home and use this in the field along with watching “Google Earth” on my phone. This is very helpful for spotting trains in a new location.

Hopefully you found this helpful and would like to share your tips for rail-fanning on this thread. Take care and I would like to thank everyone for sharing their rail-fanning photos.

Every model railroader started out rail-fanning!

Hope to see you out rail-fanning and posting your images on “Rail-fanning on The OGR Forum”. Any day and time. 😎

Gary 🚂

Gary, I sort of do something similar.  I find myself using the maps to follow tracks to see where they go - I also use that technique to spot former track beds especially where I grew up and where I knew them to be.  I’ll sometimes follow a track for 100+ miles to not only see where it goes, but what industries are located along the ROW.  I also note where industries clearly used to use rail access and then wonder why they ceased doing so!  It’s also fun to find tunnels and try to figure out where they exit.  It can be addictive!  Thanks for posting your advice.

Bob

Eastbound through South Bend, Indiana on July 7, 1990.

@trainroomgary posted:

I like to use “Google Earth” when I am out rail-fanning. The image above is from “Google Earth” - It shows one of the spots, where I was standing at the Michigan Central Station.

Gary, I stood between the two green arrows back in the 1960's. as I went to the head end to photograph a NYC E8A-E7A locomotive consist that was going to pull my train to Chicago.  Good memories.  Thanks for posting.

Took these between Tenino and Bucoda, WA this afternoon as the set was setting:

I am a brakeman on the Centralia-Chehalis railroad, and we ran Polar Express trains all weekend (I lucked up with the only day it didn't rain).

On the backs of these trains, we use our former SP&S business car:

@p51 posted:

I am a brakeman on the Centralia-Chehalis railroad, and we ran Polar Express trains all weekend (I lucked up with the only day it didn't rain).

On the backs of these trains, we use our former SP&S business car:

Sweet!

CN freight arriving at the yard in Sarnia, Ontario.  Beyond the signal lights lies the tunnel under the St. Clair river to Michigan.  Taken a couple of months ago.

Watching trains with the kids has been a big COVID activity when there was little else to do..helped keep everyone sane.

How about some more October 2nd Birthday Bash with 611 at Strasburg?

Nice firebox glow, eh?

And some videos as well.

CONRAIL/ex- NJDOT-EL GE U34CH at Hoboken, NJ September 1976.

Locomotive was power on passenger train I was conductor on.

Riding the Alaska Railroad from Anchorage to Seward in May 1982.

September 24, 2013

NS westbound + eastbound freight then Morristown & Erie RR Anniversary Train (with LV #353 on rear) to Allentown, PA along NS ex-LV Lehigh Line, Bloomsbury, NJ.

December 2, 2021, Glyndon, MD, behind the old Western Maryland Railway station.

Erie railroad bridge in Hohokus, NJ. The “ERIE” is inlaid glazed tile. Commuter trains and NS still run here.

The Alaska Railroad's Whittier turn crossing the Seward Highway in March 1983. Sharp eyes will catch the U.S. Department of Transportation logo since ownership of the ARR had not yet been transferred to the state. Model railroaders will also note that it's perfectly prototypical to run a freight caboose behind a string of passenger cars.

What's a Conrail caboose doing displayed at a Chicago & Northwestern train station ?    I don't know but there it is in Redfield, SD

We have had 3 abandoned cabooses here in Clare MI.  Recently reported in the local paper "The Clare County Review and The Clare County Cleaver.  Here is the article.  I'd like to have one on my property up here in Harrison just North of Clare.

Took this photo of CN 1439 EMD GMD1 in Hamilton, Ontario this spring…

Riding READING & NORTHERN mainline out of Jim Thorpe, PA on former CNJ and LV tracks to M&H Junction...12-03-2021

Anniversary present from Susie. I originally rode this very same trackage in May 1968 as a CNJ employee on qualifying trackage trip Jersey City, NJ to Taylor Yard/Scranton, PA. Now operated by READING & NORTHERN...a class act...with friendly employees and good management.

R&N #2530, a GP39RN, was former AT&SF #1281

R&N #1548, a SW1500, was originally READING RR #2768

                                                                   ***************************

It's August 1983 and we're riding behind the 2-4-0 Anaka (originally an 0-4-0T built by Porter in 1943) on the The Lahaina, Kaanapali and Pacific Railroad on Maui. Built to haul sugar cane from plantation to mill, the 3 foot gauge LKPRR now carries tourists.

Near the "triangle" in South Bend, Indiana on July 7, 1990.

LIRR running  a short work train through Garden City NY Sunday afternoon on the Hempstead branch. Not sure what these cars are for, but the yellow side stripes are definitely different.

Last Tuesday our train club set-up our traveling layout at Lee Hall Depot, a restored 1881 C&O station, which sits adjacent to CSX mainline and a grade crossing that carries coal trains to, and empties from, the Newport News coal export terminal, Amtrak, and local freight.  Grabbed a few shots of a northbound train of empties lead by four locos.