My son likes trains (what little boy doesn't?). I would like to know when the train is coming through town but how do I find when one is coming through? I'm sure there is a way on the might interweb to find out, right?
My son likes trains (what little boy doesn't?). I would like to know when the train is coming through town but how do I find when one is coming through? I'm sure there is a way on the might interweb to find out, right?
there are definitely train forums out there . I used to do this years ago and if there freq's havent changed a common scanner will pick them up. Hopefully someone more with the times will know.
My Dad worked on the railways in Canada and the UK, so I'm a train fan. One of my friends is involved in "speeders".....little kids (and adults) especially seem to like these:
I used to photograph trains that came through my town and it was fun, but it gets boring after a while. Also, some railroads don't want you photographing their operations.
A good place to go is a Railroad Museum. That way you can get up close and personal with the equipment. I would look in your area for Railroad Museums. Small ones can be fun as well as the big ones. You will usually get to ride the trains and such. It to me is a lot more fun than waiting for trains to come by.
I go to the Illinois Railway Museum and it's a blast. I would check out the website just to get an idea of what museums have to offer. I'd look on the net for museums near you, some maybe a couple hours away (which IRM is for me), but you make a day out of it and the kids go crazy for all the stuff. Also look at the websites and see if they have events, those are usually the time to go. I go to the Transportation Extravaganza, which is IRMs biggest event of the year, and it is a giant car show on the grounds. Its a lot of fun.
It looks like you most likely have the CN Railroad http://www.cn.ca/en/index.htm in your area ,and depending how far you are from the Great lakes or Detroit you there is probably a small switching train operating in the area as well. I would see if you could contact them either on their website or if their is a local office. My friends son is into trains and we were able to find out where and when a CSX train was changing crews and see thetrain while it was stopped.
If you are anywhere near durand michigan the Michigan railroad museum is nearby. http://www.durandstation.org/links.html
If your son likes Thomas the Tank here is a site where you can find out where to ride a life size version. http://events.hitentertainment.com/us/day-out-with-thomas/index.asp He's going to be at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn the end of April. The engine goes to railroad museums around the country and pulls a few coaches for a little ride. We took my nephew a few years ago and it was incredible seeing all the kids go crazy as they see a life size Thomas.
There is one next door to the Miami Metro Zoo that's pretty interesting, and a big one just outside of Baltimore, B&O railroad. Only ones I know of.
I have taken him to railroad museums and he likes that. He wants to see and feel a train go by so I'm trying to figure out when one will be coming through my town (an hour north of Detroit, 20 mins south of Flint).
any ideas?
Like this trainspotting?
Is it a freight or passenger train? Passenger train schedules should be available on that lines website (Amtrak ect). Freight schedules are a bit harder to come by but if you contact the company someone may be able to tell you how often they come through your area.
I was told that freights pretty much run when they want and/or need to, and don't generally follow a schedule, per se. Amtrak, on the other hand, does. You can check their schedule online at amtrak dot com and figure when they are scheduled to come through. Before my oldest son started school, we would make a regular habit of catching the Amtrak flying through at a backroad grade crossing not far away. We would park in a business lot near the tracks, then pull out and wait for the train at the gates. Even with the train on a schedule, we would sometimes wait 15-20 or more minutes if it was running late. Some days we'd give up and go home. Trains apparently aren't quite as punctual as they were during the "golden era" of railroading. The passenger trains often have to wait for a freight to pull through, since they lease the trackage, and the freight is what pays the bills.
I am a train freak, but i really love to investigate old abandoned railroads.
Speaking of which...
If any of you are narrow gauge fans and are in the southwestern Colorado area anytime, visit the Ridgway (Colorado) Railroad Museum - I'm vice-president, most of the active museum staff are also sportscar nuts, and we'll give you a great tour. For those who know what a Galloping Goose is, we're your place, they were built here in Ridgway. We're currently restoring Goose #4.
See ridgwayrailroadmuseum.org.
EvanB wrote:
right where my brain went.
I have the Acella to Wash DC on my to do list. I remember seeing steam engines in normal service. I also remember actually driving the 20th Century Ltd back in the day. That was memorable.
MrJoshua wrote:EvanB wrote:right where my brain went.
It's E36 M3E being Scottish! We're the lowest of the low. The scum of the berkeleying Earth! The most wretched, miserable, servile, pathetic trash that was ever shat into civilization. Some hate the English. I don't. They're just wankers. We, on the other hand, are COLONIZED by wankers. Can't even find a decent culture to be colonized BY. We're ruled by effete shiny happy people. It's a E36 M3E state of affairs to be in, Tommy, and ALL the fresh air in the world won't make any berkeleying difference!
In reply to Jim Pettengill:
Wow, I'd love to make it out there sometime!
Owosso MI has a train museum, they also offer rides to Alma MI and Howell MI.
http://michigansteamtrain.com/sri/
Can he reach the pedals?
If not, get a good muffler and a cooler!
remember to keep your mouth closed when the trains go by
http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/north-east-news/2008/04/20/the-douse-at-poo-corner-79310-20789707/
FOAMERS!
Actually I can't lie, I dig trains, but not for the same reasons as most. I actually REALLY like graffiti art, and the best way to see it is on box cars. It's like a travelling art show.
GregW wrote: I have the Acella to Wash DC on my to do list. I remember seeing steam engines in normal service. I also remember actually driving the 20th Century Ltd back in the day. That was memorable.
I was standing on the platform at the New Carrollton station when an Acela came through the station at about 110 mph. At the last minute I ducked into a stairwell, and I'm glad I did. It felt like a bomb went off, what with the change of air pressure.
Lots of fun !!!
In reply to Wally:
Exactly that Wally. I know it seems like destruction of property, and in a lot of cases, it is. But some of em man- the line work, the color choices, what's doable with a can of rusto and some talent... absolutely mindblowing.
I found a set of Canadian National radio frequencies here:
http://www.radioreference.com/apps/db/?aid=1555
This is a good railfan forum: http://www.railroad.net
A few tips on railfanning:
-Do not trespass on railroad property! If an employee or railroad police officer asks you to move, than don't make a fuss and do it. You can get in deep trouble for trespassing.
-Many railroad employees do not want their photos taken. It's one thing if the engineer is mugging for the camera, but if someone is simply going about their job, then try to take the picture with the employee out of the shot or with them facing away from the camera.
-As mentioned before, most freights are run as-needed. However, the more you railfan, the more you'll get the general gist of when a particular train runs through.
I haven't railfanned in a while but I try to keep up on the scuttlebutt of the local railroads. New England has a pretty dedicated railfan base.
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