PC: Re: Trainspotting Spots- this is a book :o)

["Bill K" <pontiac@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

bring a scanner!  CR 1- 160.800  CR 2 (St Lawrence Dispatcher) 161.070 CR 3
(yard) 160.860  CR 4 (Solvay Jobs) 160.980   NYS&W 1 160.620   Finger Lakes
(only used for switching) 161.100  CR P 160.680   

there's enough traffic that you don;t have to worry about moving around;
with that in mind:

good places:  Willis Ave Overpass - Solvay NY - (CP 293 and a Hotbox
Detector reading "Syracuse", view of the city looking east; handy to all 3
roads; and if someone comes by EB with good power, esp. doing yard work,
you can beat him to Dewitt yard because 690 is an easy hop on).
Finger Lakes can run right down next to the main, NYS&W power off the TV
trains comes out here to run around.   good place to catch TV550 on
Wednesday nights 6-7 PM, it virtually always has some kind of BNSF power on
it.

Carousel Mall (CP 291).  Mall Parking Lot, drop the family and go watch
trains.  if you go down opposite the wye you can shoot over the fence. 
getting hot?  go in upstairs for food and sit by a window and still watch
trains.  adjacent to I-81, also possible to chase across town.  with a good
antenna you can get the Memphis detector in sometimes (MP 302.5)  Also, you
have the Ontrack RDC shuttles and NYS&W sometimes parks units here.
Wye goes to moderately busy Monreal Secondary, which sees a lot of CN power
run through.

East Syracuse - CP 286.   off-road parking, overhead bridgees (Burnet Ave,
no fencing; I forget the name of it but the next bridge up if you go east
on W. Manlius St., but it has fencing.)  Grocery stores handy and Central
Hobby is half a mile away off James St.  Still not far from I-690, still
possible to beat stuff across town :-) Also have the old Amtrak Station
here with a platform and such, which is good for watching but like the
places below if somebody comes on track 2 the photo ops are not the best.

Minoa - off N. Central Ave.  2 overhead bridges, one a fenced in (some
camera holes cut in it) foot bridge that's covered on top and you can see
through the bottom of it.  signals are handy, but south/sunny side view is
poor from most angles if a train is on track #2 esp.   You do have
Saintsville Road nearby which parallels the tracks for about a mile to the
east, and Kirkville Hotbox on tracks 1-2-4 at MP 280 or so.  Yard is always
busy, and there is one back road off of Kirkville Road that comes out right
behind the Engine house (which is being torn down).  you can drive in and
shoot and drive out - this is the only area where the CR police patrol and
they will kick you out - do not drive down into the yard itself even if
there's perfect sun on an unrepainted PC Geep :o)  

last but not least - the daytime Baldwinsville Job.  easy to chase esp. if
he goes to Fulton, friendly crew.

Finger Lakes is an easy chase if you know the roads too.

CNY Chapter meets 1st and 3rd Wed of each month at the fairgrounds in a
small building near the train display (no july general meeting) and has a
museum open Sunday afternoons at Martisco Station (rt 5 to rt 174, go thru
the tunnel, take next left and double back to the tracks).  COnvention
tickets are going fast!  

One Last note - for a long time the dispatcher desk in charge of the
Montreal Secondary, Fulton Secondary, ex-EL Baldwinsville Secondary, and
other branches in the old Mohawk division was called the Albany Dispatcher.
  During that time I found a PC-era equipment box with "ST Lawrence
161.070" scrawled in the open door (out of service).  After GVT took over
the Lyons Falls and Carthage Branches, they renamed the desk - back to the
PC-era (and probably prior) "St Lawrence Dispatcher".

Bill K.

Bill's Syracuse rail page 
 
http://www.dreamscape.com/pontiac/rail.html

Lehigh Valley List Page

http://lehighvalley.railfan.net

----------
: From: Christian Axsiom <rcaxsiom -AT- maxwell.syr.edu>
: To: penn-central -AT- smellycat.com
: Subject: PC: Trainspotting Spots
: Date: Tuesday, June 23, 1998 10:35 AM
: 
: I imagine Bill K might be most helpful for this, but I thought others
might
: have some tips:
: 	
: 	Does anyone know of any good trainwatching spots around Syracuse, NY?
: Perhaps this seems like a dumb question, but I haven't had a great deal
of
: time to explore since I've been in town, and though I've hunted up and
down
: the mainline a bit, I haven't happened onto a really good spot where one
: can park, sit, and watch.  Anyone have any ideas?
: 
: Thanks,
: Christian
: ________________________________________________
: 
: Christian Axsiom
: Geography Department
: Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs
: Syracuse University
: 144 Eggers Hall
: Syracuse, NY  13244-1090
: (315) 443-9294