I will be in Cleveland the first week of November and was wanting to know where the best place to sit and watch trains at Berea and directions to Berea tower. I'llbe staying out by the airport. Thanks for the info.
Doug
Berea,OH
Been there once the old depot/ Pufferbelly restraunt is a good place to sit as long as he isnt busy, also a parking area across the road, is a local railfan hangout. Do not park or block the sidewalk I was told.
Site: Berea, Ohio
Nearest City: Cleveland, Ohio 12 miles northeast
Popular Name: Berea or Berea Tower
Directions: From downtown Cleveland take I-71 or I-480 about 12 miles southwest to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. From here take the Berea Freeway Ohio 237, which becomes North Rocky River & turn onto Front Street. The railroad tracks run parallel to Depot Street.
Description: The Berea Interlocking is of New York Central heritage & was the center of the Conrail X, with lines converging from Chicago, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, & Indianapolis/Columbus. Conrail's busiest line was between Berea & Elkhart, In. Now split between NS & CSXT the lines through Berea are the primary traffic arteries of both railroads between the northeast & the midwest.
Type of Operation: CTC-controlled double track mainlines on both railroads. Connecting tracks are still in operation, though seldom used. Heavy mainline traffic including Amtrak, manifest freights, coal & grain trains, vehicle trains, & roadrailers on NS. Intermodal traffic is heavy on both railroads.
Typical Motive Power: Anything on CSXT & NS'S roster can be seen, with alot of foreign & lease power. Conrail power can still be seen with NS having more Conrail painted locomotives left than CSXT. New locomotives being delivered from GE'S plant in Erie, Pa. will pass through on occasion.
Peak Operating Hours: Spread evenly throughout the day.
Approximate Daily Train Frequency: For each railroad: about 55 freight trains a day; also 8 daily Amtrak trains, Capitol Limited, Lake Shore Limited, Pennsylvanian, Skyline Connection
Radio Frequencies: CSXT: 160.860, AAR 50, 160.800, AAR 46; NS: 161.070, AAR 64, 160.980, AAR 58.
Nearby Points of Interest: Greenwich, Ohio on US 224 about 50 miles southwest on CSXT is a major crossing of 2 CSXT mainlines & also has a Wheeling & Lake Erie line. Vermilion, Ohio on Lake Erie about 30 miles west on NS is an over & under crossing of 2 NS mainlines; It's also a site of the Great Lakes Historical Society Museum. Alliance about 55 miles southeast on NS is a major junction of 2 NS mainlines.
Remarks: This is a suburban commercial/residential neighborhood. No parking is allowed on Depot Street. Some property owners allow railfans to park on their property, but may restrict this to after business hours or weekends only. Food is available at the Pufferbelly, a restaurant in the former Big Four station at Depot & Front Streets. Many restaurants are on Front Street & nearby Bagley Rd. Lodging is available near Hopkins Airport & at the I-77 & Bagley Rd. interchange. A Regional Transit Authority bus route runs on Depot Street.
Safety Considerations: Trains generally can be viewed only from the south side of the tracks. The north side is a residential neighborhood with backyards fronting the NS tracks. Some CSXT trains come through at high speeds
Google map
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&z=17&ll ... 1&t=h&om=1
Site: Berea, Ohio
Nearest City: Cleveland, Ohio 12 miles northeast
Popular Name: Berea or Berea Tower
Directions: From downtown Cleveland take I-71 or I-480 about 12 miles southwest to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. From here take the Berea Freeway Ohio 237, which becomes North Rocky River & turn onto Front Street. The railroad tracks run parallel to Depot Street.
Description: The Berea Interlocking is of New York Central heritage & was the center of the Conrail X, with lines converging from Chicago, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, & Indianapolis/Columbus. Conrail's busiest line was between Berea & Elkhart, In. Now split between NS & CSXT the lines through Berea are the primary traffic arteries of both railroads between the northeast & the midwest.
Type of Operation: CTC-controlled double track mainlines on both railroads. Connecting tracks are still in operation, though seldom used. Heavy mainline traffic including Amtrak, manifest freights, coal & grain trains, vehicle trains, & roadrailers on NS. Intermodal traffic is heavy on both railroads.
Typical Motive Power: Anything on CSXT & NS'S roster can be seen, with alot of foreign & lease power. Conrail power can still be seen with NS having more Conrail painted locomotives left than CSXT. New locomotives being delivered from GE'S plant in Erie, Pa. will pass through on occasion.
Peak Operating Hours: Spread evenly throughout the day.
Approximate Daily Train Frequency: For each railroad: about 55 freight trains a day; also 8 daily Amtrak trains, Capitol Limited, Lake Shore Limited, Pennsylvanian, Skyline Connection
Radio Frequencies: CSXT: 160.860, AAR 50, 160.800, AAR 46; NS: 161.070, AAR 64, 160.980, AAR 58.
Nearby Points of Interest: Greenwich, Ohio on US 224 about 50 miles southwest on CSXT is a major crossing of 2 CSXT mainlines & also has a Wheeling & Lake Erie line. Vermilion, Ohio on Lake Erie about 30 miles west on NS is an over & under crossing of 2 NS mainlines; It's also a site of the Great Lakes Historical Society Museum. Alliance about 55 miles southeast on NS is a major junction of 2 NS mainlines.
Remarks: This is a suburban commercial/residential neighborhood. No parking is allowed on Depot Street. Some property owners allow railfans to park on their property, but may restrict this to after business hours or weekends only. Food is available at the Pufferbelly, a restaurant in the former Big Four station at Depot & Front Streets. Many restaurants are on Front Street & nearby Bagley Rd. Lodging is available near Hopkins Airport & at the I-77 & Bagley Rd. interchange. A Regional Transit Authority bus route runs on Depot Street.
Safety Considerations: Trains generally can be viewed only from the south side of the tracks. The north side is a residential neighborhood with backyards fronting the NS tracks. Some CSXT trains come through at high speeds
Google map
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&z=17&ll ... 1&t=h&om=1
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This is a map from the Airport, if you follow it and turn right, right after crossing the tracks, there is a restraunt with a passenger car. At the end is a parking lot, park in there, unless it is bussy. If it is at the west end of the parking lot, on the south side of the street, was a grassy area, for a long time people were parking in there, from about the end of the parking lot west on the south side of the road. There is a fence there. Brea is a good spot, but not real good for NS trains unless you have a good telephoto lense. Overall good, good lighting to. You will see NS, CSX, and one W&LE train.
Mapquest link
Here is a couple of photos.
This one show the crossing by the locomotive, and the restraunt, parking lot, and the across the street from where I took the photo the grassy area to park.
Mapquest link
Here is a couple of photos.
This one show the crossing by the locomotive, and the restraunt, parking lot, and the across the street from where I took the photo the grassy area to park.