Railfanning Fostoria, Ohio

[jward]

does anybody know where you can camp out by the tracks in the area? i like to railfan 24 hours if  i go that far.....

[Cody J]

I would not stay overnight in Fostoria, it might just be the worst town, outside of Bellaire, OH, that I have ever visited. And what do you mean "camp out"? Tent or like RV or like hotel?

[RAM]

This is what I found out about the rail park.  The Future
Future plans include development of the Fostoria Iron Triangle Rail Park which sits at the Iron Triangle.  Plans include two pavilions, a small kiosk and a mulch-covered walking trail.

FRPS also has a former New York Central Railroad depot it wants to move to the site. A building remains on the property which also will have to be removed as part of the improvements.

A railroad museum, a hotel and a restaurant are also on the drawing board, but that would require acquiring additional land in the area and additional money.

Ohio Department of Transportation got on board and awarded the city more than $800,000 in grant money for the Fostoria Iron Triangle Rail Park.

The $815,760 grant, will roll in during the 2010-11 budget

[jward]

camp out, as in tent by the tracks, keep a log of every train for 24 hours. it's the only way to get an accurate idea of just what comes through the area.

places like sand patch and cassandra, near altoona, are great for this.

your count of 24 trains in 7 1/2 hours sounds like the traffic through altoona, or what used to run through homestead, pa before the recession. and yet, i hear people from the altoona area say fostoria is very busy. they are used to heavy traffic, so if they were impressed by the volume through fostoria, then you must have hit a dead period.... like i said, the only way to tell is to log the trains for 24 hours.

[ABC]

You must have caught the slow periods right before and after "lunch time" approximately, at least that's what a guy from Fostoria said were the slow times.

[Cody J]

Yes, it was slow during lunch time and like around dinner time it was real slow

[Cody J]

If it were a tent I would go at the baseball field on the north side of the NS Fostoria District on South Town Street or in the small field on the east side of South Poplar Street between the CSX Fostoria Sub and the NS Fostoria District but that's just me, ABC, who probably knows the area a little better could probably provide more insight.

[RAM]

With a tent, I think you need to take a big pit bulldog.

[Cody J]

Yes indeed, I would more recommend an RV or something like that and even with that I would still be scared to death. It is not a friendly city during the day and I don't even want to know what it's like at night. Also, during the short time I was there and was driving around the city I saw a police chase, we were going to follow the cops but were stuck at a red light. So that proves that Fostoria, Ohio is a piece of s**t.

[Guilford Guy]

Well that was nice of you. Most towns of heavy industry are somewhat depressed financially, but that doesn't give you the right to condemn the town and everything in it as a "POS."

[jettrainfan]

Yes indeed, I would more recommend an RV or something like that and even with that I would still be scared to death. It is not a friendly city during the day and I don't even want to know what it's like at night. Also, during the short time I was there and was driving around the city I saw a police chase, we were going to follow the cops but were stuck at a red light. So that proves that Fostoria, Ohio is a piece of s**t.

Welcome to down town Cleveland!  No offense but its gone down hill

[ABC]

Welcome to down town Cleveland!  No offense but its gone down hill

In some parts of Cleveland, it is suggested that you disregard traffic signals at night, and just go even if it is red unless another car is coming. My younger brother's friends got mugged while he was an undergrad at Case Western Reserve University.
Also, I driven through Fostoria many a time and in short it is not that great of a place, but it is not worse than some parts of Cleveland, or even worse Youngstown (#1 in crime per capita for over 10 years).

[jward]

knowing about cleveland and youngstown, i think i'll stick to sand patch or gallitzen this year. in the mountains nobody bothers you. btw, we have a dog, and he sleeps in the tent with us.

[Cody J]

Well that was nice of you. Most towns of heavy industry are somewhat depressed financially, but that doesn't give you the right to condemn the town and everything in it as a "POS."

The town does have some grain elevators and grain type industries but the part I am referring to is no where near the grain industries. This is where the residents live. It's like driving through the ghetto. Run down houses everywhere and there wasn't even a Walmart! All they had was a K-Mart!

[Michigan Railfan]

Yes indeed, I would more recommend an RV or something like that and even with that I would still be scared to death. It is not a friendly city during the day and I don't even want to know what it's like at night. Also, during the short time I was there and was driving around the city I saw a police chase, we were going to follow the cops but were stuck at a red light. So that proves that Fostoria, Ohio is a piece of s**t.

Well, welcome to downtown Detroit too. I don't live in downtown, but have been there many times. This place probably has gone downhill the most out of any city, considering GM's headquarters is here, and with how bad the economy has been in Michigan. No offense to everyone who lives in Detroit, but its a bad place to be right now.