Railfanning Western PA

[Cody J]

Does anybody know of any good places to railfan in the Pittsburgh area/southwestern Pennsylvania?
Thanks,
cody

[jward]

outside of the obvious, conway yard, there are several hotspots in the pittsburgh area. an incredible amount of freight traffic passes through the area every day. in addition to two of the main lines from chicago to the east coast, ns and csx, there is alot of coal traffic from the mines in the southwest corner of the state. add to that the union railroad which serves the steel mills, and the east side of pittsburgh is crawling with trains.

my recommendations:

1. homestead stationmainlines of ns and csx are side by side here. the old train station is now the district attorney's office, and they know and expect railfans to hang out there. as long as you stay off railroad property you can spend the day there without anybody bothering you. be warned though, that due to a number of pedestrians run over by trains in the area, both the railroad and local police will cite people on railroad property. upwards of 40 trains a day during daylight hours. amity street in homestead, pa

2. pitcairn intermodal terminal. this is the ns intermodal yard where they unload trailers and containers. the west end of the yard is easily viewed from a public parking lot. there is a good deli across the street as well. 30-40 trains during daylight hours. often trains will drop or add helpers in the area.....wall avenue off pa rt 48.

3. emsworth lock and dam. watch the river boats go through the locks between trains. the lock itself has an osbervation deck that is good for both train and boat watching. follow signs off rt 65 in emsworth.

[Cody J]

Where is the nearest town where the intermodal place is? I can't find it on Google Maps

[pdlethbridge]

If you want to travel east an hour look at Altoona, shops and horseshoe curve. And if you go east another hour, look for the East Broad Top, a 3' gauge line in Orbisonia south of Mt Union

[jward]

the altoona area is actually 2 ro 2 1/2 hours east of pittsburgh. plus another 1 1/2 hours from st clairsville. that's a little far for a day trip, but would make a good weekend.

pitcairn intermodal terminal is located in wall, pa. towns nearby are pitcairn and wilmerding.

if you come on the weekend let me know, i'll show you around.

[Cody J]

Thanks for all the info guys.

[jsmvmd]

Dear Jeff,

Did not know you could still get to Emsworth locks.  Back in the '70's I remember walking up to the edge of the dam raceway and felt like I was going to fall in.  Spectacular view of the Ohio River there.  I was in Conway a month ago, cleaning up stuff at my Mother's house and spent several hours in the wee morning hours driving around there.  The hump was active at 0300, and was sending down two and three cars hooked together.

Best Wishes,

Jack

[jward]

when i worked for the railroad, we often recrewed trains at emsworth. unless things have changed in the past couple years it should still be open to the public.

i was also in conway at all hours of the day and night. they used to have 2 humps active, but closed the one for eastbound trains in 2002. now everything goes over the westbound hump. conway is a shadow of what it once was.

those slugs you saw working the yard? if they were the old conrail ones rebuilt from alcos, they've been running longer now as slugs than they did as locomotives.

[Cody J]

Hey Jeff:
Do you want to go railfanning on Saturday with my two brothers and I? Please respond via a personal message because for some reason I can't send one.

Thanks,
Cody

[Cody J]

Better yet, let's just email each other. Mine is [email protected]

Thanks,
cody j

[jward]

[email protected]

[Cody J]

I sent you an email