Frograil
Railfan, railfan--where do you see trains in Alabama?
TOURS: (For a graphic overview of the Frograil Tours
in Alabama, view the map here.)
NS: A part of the Grandaddy tour of them all, the ex-Southern
Crescent Route from Washington, DC, to New Orleans, has now made its presence
felt in Alabama. John Marshall has detailed Birmingham to Atlanta, and
more is to come. Railfan sites along the way are identified with a
[CR] annotation.
NS: Sheffield to Corinth, MS NS main line has now been
detailed, and is here for your
enjoyment. Railfan sites along the way are identified with a [NS_She-Cor]
annotation.
NS: Bessemer - Wilton, this is the connector from Birmingham
down to the line that leads to Mobile. Not a lot of trains, but a scenic
and enjoyable tour. This is one on which to bring your kids/grandkids
along with you. Sites detailed along the tour are included in the CITIES
and SITES listing below, and are identified with a "[R-Line]" annotation.
EARY. The entire Eastern Alabama Railway has been covered in an
excellent tour by Dale Burns. This tour goes from east of Sylacauga to
Talladega, and is here. Sites detailed along the tour are included in the
CITIES and SITES listing below, and are identified with a "[EARY]" annotation.
CSX (L&N). The ultimate objective is to put together a complete
tour of the eastern extension of Amtrak's Sunset Route between New Orleans and
Jacksonville. A large segment has been completed between Nokomis, Alabama,
and Sneads, Florida, and the text is
here. While only 19 miles
are within Alabama, the entire contiguous tour is 213 miles, so is substantial.
Sites detailed along the tour are included in the CITIES and SITES listing
below, and are identified with a "[SR-E]" annotation.
NS (Central of Georgia). This is a project to develop a
Birmingham to Savannah tour, and has been started with a Leeds, Alabama, to
Columbus, Georgia, segment. Sites detailed along the tour are included in
the CITIES and SITES listing below, and are identified with a "[CG]"
annotation.
Mapwork: If you're going to be looking for
railfan locations, you'll need an industrial strength map resource. I
definitely recommend you get a DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer, study it before your
trip, and copy pertinent pages for your field work. You can usually get
substantial discounts on DeLorme atlases thru the Frograil Railfan Store, which
is here.
CITIES and SITES
CREDITS:
(1) Thanks to John Peterson for this info.
Check out his railfan guide to Alabama by clicking on any city here with a (1).
Check out his homepage here.
(3) Ken Roble, Jr., has been kind enough
to share these goodies with us.
** Full disclosure: None of this material is mine.
Rather, this solid block of info on railfanning the Tuscaloosa area is from
Jeff Robertson, who has left the south, and no longer is able
to support his Tuscaloosa pages. Give me a break here, folks, if you are a
southern Alabama railfan-type, take over these pages and expand them.
I simply can't do it from Frog Pond.
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AUBURN (May 9,
2001)
There are several ways to get to the depot in Auburn, and here is one of the
easiest. From I-85 west of Opelika, take exit 58, which will take you
north up to US-29. Go south on US-29. Between Opelika and Auburn on
US-29 (Pepperell Parkway), there are lots of fast food joints, as well as
sit-down restaurants and other life support establishments. As you near
Auburn, you'll see the CSX (ex-WofA) tracks come in from the south. The
4-lane road will whittle down to 2-lanes just before it dead ends at North Gay
Street. Take a left onto North Gay, and you'll see the depot and CSX
tracks directly in front of you. Go across the tracks and park on the back
side of the depot right up to the tracks.
Although this is downtown Auburn, all the grade crossings are gated, and the
trains roll through right smart (as we say in rural North Carolina), so if you
hear a train in the distance or on your scanner, you'd better get in place
quickly because it won't be long! Also, Auburn is the home of Auburn
University, and you do not want to be in the vicinity before or after a War
Eagles home football game.
Dale Burns, of Dale's Alabama Rail Pic's, provided this
information for us. You should visit his site, which is
here.
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BIRMINGHAM -- BNSF
EAST THOMAS YARD (September 6, 1999)
From I-65, take I-20/I-59 west til you get to exit 123. At this exit,
go north (west) on US-78 for about one block, turn right at the traffic light,
and go until you get to a 4-way stop sign. Turn left, and this road will
take you right into the yard. You'll see buildings on the right.
That's the yard office, BNSF's police building, and the yard tower.
Photo/visitation permission can be obtained from the trainmaster, local
dispatcher, or the railroad police. Saturday is a good day to visit, but
no day is a good day if you don't get permission in advance of your
photo-taking.
Ken Roble, Jr., has been kind enough to share these goodies
with us.
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BIRMINGHAM -- CSX BOYLES
YARD (September 6, 1999)
From I-65, take I-20/I-59 east until you get to exit 126, AL-79. Take
AL-79 north until you come to a traffic light. Get in the left turning
lane, and after you turn left, you'll see a road to your right: Turn here,
and you'll go right into the yard. At this point, you'll be on the south
end of the receiving yard. On the same road, you'll pass the terminal and
the old L&N roundhouse. Keep going north and you'll come to a stop sign.
Cross over and keep going straight, and you'll pass a strip mine on your right.
Keep going north and you'll see the hump. In this area, there's parking
which allows you to watch the hypnotic action of the hump, and it's apparently
off-railroad property. Still farther north, and you'll come to the north
end of the yard; here, you're elevated above the yard, so you can get a good
view of the overall yard. Stay in your car, and don't linger -- be
responsible.
Ken Roble, Jr., has been kind enough to share these goodies
with us.
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DECATUR -- L&N JUNCTION
(April 22, 2003)
CSX and NS cross the Tennessee River on an NS-owned, jointly-used, very
large, long bridge. The 2 railroads come together in the extreme northern
part of the town, just south of US-72Alternate/Wilson Road. Coming from
the north, go over the Tennessee on US-72Alternate, and take a right at the busy
intersection just south of the bridge. The road you turn onto, Wilson
Road, carries US-72Alternate traffic thru Decatur. As you drive west on
Wilson, stay alert for the crossing of the railroad, and just before you go over
the tracks on an overpass, take a left onto Railroad Street. After one
block, cross Vine Street and park to the right in a large, wide open parking
area.
The Southern/L&N Union Station is north of Vine Street, between the tracks
and Railroad Street. Photos from the east and south are excellent, but
from the west will be poor to non-existent.
Vine Street is crossed at grade by the 2 railroads as they come together.
Steam Powered Video refers to the junction itself, just north of Vine, as "L&N
JCT", which is logical, because the predecessor L&N joined/left the Southern
rails here.
Here is an overview of what happens in the area: The main line north of
the junction goes to the bridge on a somewhat southwest/northeast bias, and CSX
comes to the area from due south. NS comes in on a somewhat long, sweeping
curve from the west. You are perhaps 30 yards back from the tracks, and
there are no trees between you and either track. Photographic ratings
during the morning are very high. In front of the parking area is the pad
of what may have been the L&N freight station. You can sit there and enjoy
the show, but I preferred the parking area. As the sun swings south and
west, CSX will become more difficult, lighting-wise. There is an
off-railroad location just west of the Vine Street crossing. However,
there is a small interchange yard west of the NS, so there will often be
obstructing cars between you and the main lines.
Security is quite good, as this area is wide open. This is one of
the best train-watching locations I have ever visited, and I highly
recommend it. Decatur should set up one of those railfan pavilions with
scanner, a roof overhead, etc. They would do a brisk business, 12 months a
year.
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DECATUR -- RIVER JUNCTION
(April 22, 2003)
CSX and NS cross the Tennessee River on an NS-owned, jointly-used, very
large, long bridge. The bridge is in the extreme northern part of the
town, immediately north of US-72Alternate/Wilson Road. Coming from the
north, go over the Tennessee on US-72Alternate, and take a right at the busy
intersection just south of the bridge. The road you turn onto, Wilson
Road, carries US-72Alternate traffic thru Decatur. As you drive west on
Wilson, stay alert for the crossing of the railroad, which is in a deep, narrow
cut. Just before the overpass, take a right onto Harborview Drive.
This will take you into an apartment complex.
If you are here during a workday, park anywhere close up to the railroad
tracks. However, after 4PM and on weekends, park out of the complex
somewhere and walk in to the area. This area is slightly lower in
elevation than Wilson Road, and the tracks are just a little below you.
There are 2 ways to fan this location. River Junction is marked by
switches and the electronic tower with "River Jct" stenciled on it. The
main line, which is the joint CSX/NS track leading over the river, goes straight
onto the bridge, and a (probably out of service) spur goes to the west into a
barge/bulk unloading terminal. There is also a spur going east, and that
trackage appears to be heavily used. There is much heavy industry all
along the south bank of the river in the Decatur area.
The bridge itself is somewhat northeast/southwest in orientation, so viewing
from the northwest quadrant of the apartment complex will give good lighting on
southbounds almost all day. Northbounds will vary from lousy to excellent,
depending on the time of year and date.
The other location is just to the south of your previous vantage point, but
still north of Wilson Road. There is a pedestrian walkway over the tracks,
and it gives an interesting view to the north, but the south is in a narrow,
treed in cut. The chain link fence along the bridge has a fairly large
mesh, so pix are fine, unless you use a pretty big lens.
Traffic on the main line is all NS Sheffield - Chattanooga, and CSX Nashville
- Birmingham stuff, so you'll see plenty of trains. CSX has more traffic
than NS.
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FAIRFIELD
(September 6, 1999)
This is the home of US Steel's mammoth Fairfield Works, and there is a most
active and interesting railroad serving that colossus, the Birmingham Southern.
From I-65, take I-20/59 west to exit 118, Warrior Road. Turn right onto
Warrior Road and go maybe a couple of blocks. To the right there will be a
road with a sign which says "US Steel", or something like that. Turn right
onto this road, which is NOT a private property road.
Follow this road until you see a sign which says "Birmingham Southern Railway."
When you enter the BS property, you are on private property, and you would be
well advised to get in, get out, and be on your way. Above all else, do
not leave the parking lot. On the other hand, if you are going to be on
vacation or business, and have some time on your hands, I'd suggest you write BS
ahead of time, and ask for about 15 minutes of on-property time. The worst
that can happen is that they'll say no. Ken says the BS shops are not
embedded within the steel mill complex, and that by getting permission ahead of
time, you'll be cool. He recommends Saturday as a good day to visit.
Ken Roble, Jr., has been kind enough to share these goodies
with us.
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MONTGOMERY
(9503xx)
There's a lot of traffic thru downtown
Montgomery, but it all comes together and runs in front (north) of the big
station. To the west of the station is a big field. This is the place to see the
action in Montgomery. Park well back from the tracks, and stay away from them,
and you'll be OK. [NOTE: This is prime commercial real estate, so don't be
surprised if this area has changed greatly by the time you visit.]
There is an active yard and engine
facility northeast of the station. From Court Street, north of Madison, go west
on Groom until it dead-ends into the yard. 1-4 engines.
LODGING
There is a Holiday Inn (?) in what apparently was a huge old cotton warehouse
just to the east of the station; it's right next to the tracks. This is the
place to stay in Montgomery, but if your spouse complains that she didn't get a
wink of sleep all night, don't blame me. A great place to stay for us railroad
nuts.
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SELMA (9502xx)
CSX Close
in to downtown, my notes don't include any street references, but as I remember,
it was easy to find. Apparently, a train ties up in the evening here, but I
never saw engines other than these, i.e., there is no assigned switcher or road
power.
NS At the
junction of Race Street and Bypass US 80, on the east edge of town. Engines are
to the east of the Bypass and are buried--inaccessible (#&‡Œ§#)! However, you
can catch switching and thru action in the vicinity of the yard office. There is
ample off-railroad property for picture taking in this general area.
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TUSCALOOSA
- Map of the overall Tuscaloosa area
- General description of railroading in the
Tuscaloosa area
- An exhaustive detailing of the railroad crossings
throughout the city of Tuscaloosa
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