Railfan hotspots in a day's drive

[MQT1223]

What kind of Railfan hotspots do we have in the Michigan/Illinois/Indiana/Ohio region that can be reached in a days' drive? I'm looking at planning a trip maybe out of state that I can go down and watch trains and return home in the same day and catch plenty of traffic. I can think of Kzoo, Durand, Delray, Lansing, Deshler, Rochelle, Elkhart, Porter, Bellvue... those are ones I see frequently. Any others that I missed. I tried searching RRfan and surprisingly couldn't find very much in terms of a list (or one that I have permission to view, thanks to my big mouth). And before anyone says something about the Michigan railfan spots I understand they might not be on the level of say Rochelle or Deshler in terms of traffic because Michigan does not see those kinds of train traffic levels.

[ConrailMan5]

Romulus is good but can be very hit or miss. Not sure of train count, but have seen reports of 8 in an hour (highly unusual). Usually good for a few hours, but I wouldn't stay for an entire day.

[jimnorthwood]

Fostoria. Also Northwood (Vickers) is more accessible now that the bridge has been completed.

[railohio]

A day trip from where? Rochelle is a lot closer to Benton Harbor than Dearborn. You need to have some metric to compare the drive time to trackside time for city pairs.

[MQT1223]

A day trip from where? Rochelle is a lot closer to Benton Harbor than Dearborn. You need to have some metric to compare the drive time to trackside time for city pairs.

Grandville/Grand Rapids Michigan. Sorry I guess a location would've been a good place to start.

[cbehr91]

If you are indeed in Grandville like you suggest, Chicagoland is only a couple hours away. Plenty of options there.

[Saturnalia]

He's coming from Grand Rapids...

[MQT1223]

If you are indeed in Grandville like you suggest, Chicagoland is only a couple hours away. Plenty of options there.

He's coming from Grand Rapids...

Well I'm not 100% familiar with modern railfanning locations because I usually stick to musuems and tourist lines. I'm trying to expand my horizon.

[bdconrail29]

He's coming from Grand Rapids...

You realize Grandville is about 5 miles from Grand Rapids, right?

[ConrailMan5]

Towards Chicagoland and beyond... The reason I say day trip is because I've do it from Ypsilanti, should be no problem from GR

West Chicago ILL
Roosevelt Road
Joliet ILL
Gary (Bring bullet-proof vest)
Porter IND
Griffith IND


Never done any north side spots, but I' m sure the more knowledgeable Chicagoans will fill in some other spots I've missed

[Burb8145]

Wyandotte, though you may have to wait about two hours sometimes, but it's still kinda busy.

[MQT1223]

What about Bellvue, Deshler or Rochelle? They might be a long drive but it's manageable I think.

[~Z~]

Day trip to Rochelle from Grandville sounds like far too much driving to see trains for any reasonable amount of time. Since it sounds like you've never been out to see a decent mainline, two suggestions:
Park at Pulaski Park in South Bend. Walk east across the park field and watch CN and NS traffic..just keep an eye out around you, not the best neighborhood.
Go to 54817 Sage Rd, New Carlisle, IN 46552, park out at the road. Same NS traffic, plus get to see South Shore fly by.
Just under 2 hour drive each way from Grandville..probably the closest spots on NS from your home.

Dunno why I'm posting this..not likely you'll listen or that your dad will let you go. Hopefully it helps others though.

[Saturnalia]

Hey Zack, have any ideas been tossed around for the Spring meet yet? I'd like to finally make one this year

[MQT1223]

Day trip to Rochelle from Grandville sounds like far too much driving to see trains for any reasonable amount of time. Since it sounds like you've never been out to see a decent mainline, two suggestions:
Park at Pulaski Park in South Bend. Walk east across the park field and watch CN and NS traffic..just keep an eye out around you, not the best neighborhood.
Go to 54817 Sage Rd, New Carlisle, IN 46552, park out at the road. Same NS traffic, plus get to see South Shore fly by.
Just under 2 hour drive each way from Grandville..probably the closest spots on NS from your home.

Dunno why I'm posting this..not likely you'll listen or that your dad will let you go. Hopefully it helps others though.

You dunno why your posting this and its Not likely I'd listen Dunno where that came from, but who says my dad would be coming with me? I have not seen a decent mainline. Closest thing I have seen is Durand and I bet that's nothing compared to other places. I wouldn't go by myself, but I got a buddy of mine that is way more train tolerant then him that would come with me. What's the traffic like?

Believe me with my situation right now listening to anything coming from the admin that can yield me any positive results is well received.

[MQT1223]

Hey Zack, have any ideas been tossed around for the Spring meet yet? I'd like to finally make one this year

I have seen tidbits about this meet that happens, last one was at Deshler I think... It would be neat to go to for me as well.

[GreatLakesRailfan]

Someone mentioned Elkhart, might've been the OP? Coming from GR, you'd have a relatively short drive and as long as you wanted (almost) to watch trains before returning home. Destinations like Rochelle would be much more time on the road than time watching trains. You could also reasonably go to Chesterton in a day and have plenty of time to watch trains rather than cars/trucks on the road.

[Jetlink]

I like Deshler then Fostoria myself. Both are great places for just hanging out and watching the trains go by. I especially like Deshler for the small town midwest feel that I'm used to. It's almost like I'm still at home in Lake O.

Both times I've been to Vickers in Toledo the police stopped by to chat. They didn't hassle me but they asked me if I was just there to watch trains. Again they didn't seem to have a problem and knew why I was there but they came to chat a took license #'s both times. A hassle I'd really rather not deal with. At Deshler and Fostoria the parks there seem to take that right out of the equation by 'legitimizing' the activity.

I can second Z's info about Pulaski park in Southbend. Didn't seem to be as busy as Desshler, Fostoria, or Vickers and it's a little tougher to get a good view but still doable. The neighborhood is a little rough but I didn't feel uncomfortable there. I left at dark and wouldn't think about being there at night.

[MQT1223]

Someone mentioned Elkhart, might've been the OP? Coming from GR, you'd have a relatively short drive and as long as you wanted (almost) to watch trains before returning home. Destinations like Rochelle would be much more time on the road than time watching trains. You could also reasonably go to Chesterton in a day and have plenty of time to watch trains rather than cars/trucks on the road.

Oh I forgot about Chesterton... I'm not familiar with Chicago, is their any places around Chicago that are any good? Sounds like a stupid question since it's Chicago but I know nothing about Chicago railfanning areas.

[Ypsi]

Oh I forgot about Chesterton... I'm not familiar with Chicago, is their any places around Chicago that are any good? Sounds like a stupid question since it's Chicago but I know nothing about Chicago railfanning areas.

West Chicago, Joliet, Roundout, Rochelle, Roosevelt Ave (if you like hundreds of passenger moves a day), Blue Island, many Metra stops on some of the various Metra lines.. That's just off the top of my head mostly "safe" spots to fan (Blue Island may or may not be decent at this point in terms of being near the tracks).. Joliet has the old platform which is supposed to be fenced and a good spot to fan, West Chicago has public sidewalks near the diamond and such, as do Roundout, and Roosevelt ave, Rochelle of course has the railfan park.

If I were you I would start by just going to Chesterton/ Porter. About a 2 hour drive or so for you, and there are about between 70-100 trains on any given day on the NS/ Amtrak lines (plus maybe some CSX in that area I cant remember the layout exactly). That would be a good start for you since you don't seem to have ever been any of these places or have experience going to these places to railfan. After starting and getting a feel for how you want to fan, then I would recommend taking a bigger trip to like Chicagoland, or one of the NWO hot spots (all of which would be a longer drive)