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Where to Watch Trains by Harry Ladd THIRD printing 1977 Spiral Bound 123 pages
Where to Watch Trains by Harry Ladd THIRD printing 1977 Spiral Bound 123 pages Maps with traffic density.
The number of people interested in watching trains in the United States grows annually, especially in the year of our Bicentennial. Several million people turned out to see the American Freedom Train and many more visit railroad museums and tourist lines. With plenty of time for leisure, Americans are becoming more interested in railroading. The number of railroad books, periodicals, and clubs is growing steadily. Now that the government is involved in re-structuring the bankrupt Northeast railroads, there have been many detailed informative reports with traffic data. This book brings together from all these sources the information most useful to train-watchers, at a price anyone can afford.
Presently, there are around 200,000 miles of railroad line in the United States. Along these 200,000 miles, there are so many good train-watching places that no one could compile a list that would be comprehensive, informative and yet light enough for anyone besides a weightlifter to carry it around. This book does show some of the most scenic locations and it tells you how to locate the scenic places in your area. Since lots of things besides scenery make a good location for different people, many sources of information will be mentioned so that you can do as much or as little research as you desire. For example, various railfans prefer to watch or photograph steam engines, passenger trains, shortline or industrial engines, or particular makes or models of engines (General Electric, Alco, U50C, C628).
Suppose we start from the basics. You want to see trains, any trains. Then the more the better, and all you need is to use the traffic density maps in the back of this book to find the busiest lines, the major yards and shops.
However, train-watching is both seeing and hearing. Trains make noise - there is the loud exhaust of the engine, the sound of the air horn at street crossings, the whine of dynamic brakes on downgrades, the squeal of brake shoes, the clickety-clack of the cars passing. Where you watch trains will make quite a difference in what you hear. For example, the engine exhaust is louder at places where the throttle is open wide, such as when accelerating out of a yard or station or at places where the speed limit increases, like when coming out of a sharp curve. The throttle will also be open wide on steep upgrades and on very fast trains. There are areas that naturally concentrate the sound, such as in a deep cut or canyon. In some canyons you can hear a train a half hour or more in advance, although with quieter, later-model engines, this is less likely. A horseshoe curve along a mountain side is especially good, because you will see as well as hear the train for a long time. From the hills above Caliente Curve in the Tehachapi Mountains of California you can watch trains for most of seven miles and hear them much of the way. To keep a train in sight, you can also pace them along highways paralleling the tracks. How to find these highways, yards, horseshoe curves, etc. will be covered later.
After you have watched trains for awhile, you notice the engines do not all look the same, nor do they sound the same. To be able to identify just about anything that comes down the track, you need The Second Diesel Spotter's Guide. (Details about this and all other publications mentioned are in the back of this section.) There are record albums advertised in the fan magazines that will illustrate the sounds made by different engine models and manufacturers. Extra 2200 South is the best source for rosters of large railroads and for finding out what types of engines are operating where on a nationwide basis. Many regional magazines and newsletters will tell you in more detail what's to be seen in your local area. (See the publications list to find the ones for your area.) Extra 2200 South has a column called "Rail Facility List" listing the engine facilities in a city, how to get there, and what you can expect to see. Here is a list of those appearing so far: Boston, Providence (issue 54, page 24); Denver, Los Angeles (53, p. 15);Jacksonville, Atlanta (52, p. 27); Memphis (51, p. 26); Phoenix, Tucson (50, p. 25); Kansas City (47, p. 25); Montreal (46, p 15); Rochester, NY (44, p. 12); Chicago (43, p.15); miscellaneous cities (32, p. 14 and 30, p. 13).
Whenever entering railroad property such as around engine terminals. try to arrange for permission in advance. If not, find someone who can give you permission to be on the premises, perhaps offer to sign a waiver releasing the railroad, should you be injured. Always be alert around railroad tracks. People get hurt ignoring a few obvious rules. Expect engines or cars to move in any direction on any track at any time. Walk beside the rails, not between them on the ties. Never cross between cars. Always cross wide around the end of engines or cars in case they should suddenly start moving. Report unsafe conditions and vandals. A lot of the tracks are in unsafe neighborhoods so that you should take along a friend. Some inner-city areas are so bad, a busload of fans wouldn't be safe. Above all, "take only pictures, leaveonly footprints." If you can't get permission, you can take pictures or watch from public streets. Keep in mind some military installations and government contractors are still covered by wartime security laws against picture-taking.
The Short Line covers shortline and industrial railroads in more detail than Extra 2200 South. Each issue of The Short Line usually covers the history and operation of at least one railroad, plus news items and about every other issue a state rail survey. Each survey has a map and detailed roster of every shortline and industrial line in the state. States already surveyed are IA(issue no. 19), Pittsburgh (no. 17), SC (no. 15), GA (no. 13), FL (no. 11), District of Columbia (no. 9), CO (no. 8), MS (no. 6), AR (no. 4), AL (no. 2). States to be surveyed in the next few issues are CA, VA, WI, IN (issues no. 21 and 22).
Most fans take along a camera to record their train-watching. To improve your pictures, you should have a copy of NWI's Guide to Railroad Photography. It discusses cameras, lenses, films, filters, picture compositions, and more. Most adult evening schools have free or low cost classes in photography that will improve your photos. A good way to better your pictures is to try to repeat the pictures you see in magazines or books, taking them not necessarily from the same place but from a similar angle with the same type of lighting, background or technique. When you are experienced at making good photos under many different conditions, you are more likely to be able to see the picture possibilities when out train-watching and to have the ability to record the scene as you want it. Railfan has a regular column on photography tips called "Camera Bag", and Extra 2200 South's "The Loco Lens" is an occasional feature.
All pictures are of the actual item. If this is a railroad item, this material is obsolete and no longer in use by the railroad. Please email with questions. Publishers of Train Shed Cyclopedias and Stephans Railroad Directories. Large inventory of railroad books and magazines. Thank you for buying from us.
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