So I'm getting a little bored with the mainline freight rolling through Berea, Ohio. I would really like to go watch some local freights actually switching some small approachable industries. Does anyone know of a good spot within say 100 miles radius from Cleveland? I like shortlines and branchlines. The older the equipment and the more "rustic" the locale the better

Surely the OC or the W&LE have something worth the drive...

Ideas?

The coal docks over in Asthabula - main line freight rolling through downtown Kent - Over in Olmsted Falls (just around the corner from Berea) watch the NS traffic roll down the hill, chase the CSX main south and west from Berea down to Wellington - lots of grade crossings, some industry,and interesting traffic patterns - WLE CSX crossing in Wellington - Get the WLE radio codes and chase the Saturday coke train - over in Bedford there are any number of good places to watch trains, you can watch switching from the Rockside Road bridge, also there is an WLE connection which gets a train or two on Saturday or Sunday. Painesville has a lot of NS and CSX activity. There is a great overpass in the park that gives a great view of NS freight heading in either direction....the possibilities are endless.

I also live in the general area and my favorite, while not freight and fortunately close to my house, is to watch the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad with it's assortment of diesels and also the RDCs.

It is interesting that a major model railroad manufacturer produced an operating HO/DC replica of the freight diesel in very exacting detail.

In Akron you have one of the base terminals of the Wheeling and Lake Erie RR at the Gilchrist Road Yard. You can listen in on their radio frequency (160.250 or 160.025)and easily learn of movements all over Northern Ohio from Akron to Canton, from Akron to Medina to Spencer to Wellington to Carey to HQ at Brewster, etc. WLE has neat paint schemes, travels relatively slowly, and has many operations in rural settings. Find yourself a copy of the June (or one of the recent issues, not certain which exact one off the top of my head) issue of Trains Magazine that was an entire issue devoted to a day in the life of the Wheeling and Lake Erie. If you can't railfan the Wheeling using that issue, you need help!

Akron also has a CSX local that runs between Willard and Akron with some switching along the way. It symbol is D750 on the radio. WLE also has CSX track rights for a stone train that transfers from Wheeling to CSX in Akron and travels a short distance to Lambert in Barberton, then backs down to Firestone. CSX itself has a very rural flavor once out of town on the old B&O mainline west of Akron. Route 224 runs close and parallel to the old B&O for many miles and is easy to fan. It also still has a few old B&O Color Position Light signals operating, notably at NOVA and downtown Akron (at 130.5). They will not be around much longer. Nova also has a B&O Tower still standing, though mostly falling down by now. This should get you started. The only other thing you need is money for gas because this is not a stay in one place deal like Berea, the downside of all I have just described to you. The only stay in one place rural feeling locations on B&O are Sterling or Warwick in the town of Clinton. Of the two, if you are into rail photography, Sterling is the better location except that Ohio Central and RJ Corman visit Warwick with some regularity. Warwick has a brick B&O tower used today by MoW personnel, but it is off limits and they will kick you out pronto. This should provide you plenty to think about and plan.

Thanks Peter.

So this was not a good time to let my Trains subscription lapse huh.... Also sounds like I need a scanner. I want to see some smaller industries (that I could model) being switched. Local switching is one of my favorite types of railfaing. Mainline through freights have become pretty boring, unless my kid is with me. I want to take some photos of small businesses being switched so I can study the operations,track arrangements, and model the structures.

I'll have to look for the issue of Trains that you are talking about. If anyone has a copy, I would gladly pay you for it.

I forgot to mention that the D750 CSX local runs during the day, but on an unpredictable schedule. It does some switching enroute east from Willard at a grain mill operation in Sullivan, just north off State Route 224, state route 58 I believe. D750 often switches at the Corman/OHCR interchane in Warwick, but this is not within public view. It also switches out cars at Akron in the yard off Arlington St. The radio symbol for the "foreign" trains from Corman or Ohio Central on CSX at Warwick uses the Z prefix.

Some corrections to my Akron post - shows that top of the mind data is not always accurate. The Wheeling frequencies are 161.025 and 161.250, not 160.025, etc. as I stated.

Train symbols as follows: D763 Willard to New Castle local that does switching mentioned previously, time of day can vary all over the map and I have seen it from the mid-morning to the late afternoon.

Foreign trains on CSX such as the interchange turns of Ohio Central and RJ Corman to Warwick, use a Z prefix symbol followed by a usually three digit number. If you hear a Z train called on CSX, you know that either OCR or RJC are coming or going in the area.

the july 2008 issue of trains magazine is the one you want that devotes the entire issue to the wle. i work out of the stone/concreteplant yard on the east end of wheelings akron mogadore yard. interstate76runs along side the rail yard.exit at east market or gilcrest .-jim

In Solon NS switches at Nestle/Stouffers on Mon., Wed., and Fri. around 3:00/4:00. You might be able to park where the tracks used to cross over Harper Rd. There is a gravel area there. Then walk down the tracks to where the cars are staged. You can't go on Nestle property it is a secured factory. Believe it or not it is on the governments top 10 hit lists for a terrorist attack.