I got one: the webcam foamer. These are the people that sit on railclams 24/7 and call out in the chat every time a train passes. Even if it’s an all GEVO elephant style train.
Branch line railfan here! it’s.. lonely really lonely it’s the same 3 locomotives every time nobody else is ever there but at least we got standard cab dash 8s!!!!!
Better than mine 2 trains a day and rarely is it anything other than a 4 axel loco except every now and than when a NS 5642 or a high hood works the line.
The illegal part reminded me of a drama in my country's railfan community a month ago. There was a new heritage locomotive on the block and many kids are trespassing the station's safety zone. The station master had to shoo all of them off because they know something bad will happen that this new heritage locomotive is coming. They all had to move into another spot away from the stations, yet they still cause drama online
I always do the drone because it makes sure I don't totally miss the train if my phone breaks like usual. Illegal one is most foamers. Perfectionism is me lol, nice work as always.
Bro my dad has a drone and I’m using his TriPod thingy on Railfaning trips to my local Granite City Junction area to just catch a couple trains then go somewhere with the equippment
Branch lining is pretty chill... if it's a shortline and you know the crew you usually can catch a ride. The best part is meeting the owners and wrenching with them on their end cabs for me. Give or take if your a local you kind of are apart of the crew depending on the class 3 railroad.
That part about the scary bridges and overpasses scared me even though I’ve only done it twice I still get scared . Along with that branch line thingy is literally me 😂😂
Kind of me to be honest but with a scanner and various friends along the line giving me heads up. If you live close enough to the tracks, it's really nice
Live near A CSX branchline. 1 daily train in the afternoon and 1 weekly train in the morning (idk what day it always changes). However, almost every train that takes the branchline has a YN2 or an SD70MAC and, on rare occasions, a flared SD70MAC. Its's a great branchline if you are lucky to catch a train on it.
My local rail line, the Indiana and Ohio, runs many GPs from different patched railroads. Most of the time where I live they're G&W patch, but I once caught an SP patch
Awesome Vid as always Man! Elevation addict here. I live right beside a branch line, Every Run is Coal, Every Engine is a Norfolk Southern, (or a Leased Loco without the NS) Every 1 to 2 months it runs. That's my experience with Branch Lines. Even though it's the same, I still always get a kick when I see One!
I'm definitely a branch line railfan. I live on a line that actually does get freight service but it's almost always at the dead of night. The only engines that populate the yard are CSX GP40-2s. The exact same road numbers are there for months and the only "special things" that are ever there is the very occasional SD40-2, which only makes an appearance when I'm not there. Besides CSX, we have a shortline that pretty much speedruns the yard moves so nobody ever sees them. And last and least is the commuter rail that runs right through the other 2 railroad's yard. Nothing special ever comes up or down the line, and the best thing you'll ever actually get to see is a slight number change on CSX.
When I used to be a branch line railfan, I saw the same sets of power for as long as I lived there. We got about one local train each day in the evening and every once in a while something else would show up. The power as simply a pair of CSX dash 9s. EMDs almost never came down the line. No joke I spent HOURS near that line every day and only saw a train (that wasn’t the normal local) once. I guess it could’ve been worse but not by much
Not railfans in particular, but trespassing is a huge issue around here, specifically by motorists (cars sitting on crossings, running around gates, pedestrians crossing, etc). It's so bad that I've complained to both local police and state troopers multiple times. Monday night my predictions sadly came true, and Amtrak P098 with 164 (Phase IV heritage) hit an SUV at one of the crossings I warned of. Driver sadly killed on impact. I'd filmed that same train a couple mins before and didn't even know for another day since I went to get a burger afterwards. On the overpass note, it's something I'd love to try but the vehicle traffic scares me, plus I'm terrified to go out of sight of my car (all the good spots here are in questionable areas). When I get my pilot's license, I might have a friend film while overflying the yard. Here the only trains you can chase are the ones that either make a station stop or work the yard. Chases are exciting and all, but not worth getting pulled over or into an accident over. I've seen both happen to railfans before. Branch lines are nice too, much easier to chase than mainlines. My mom used to live near one (UP Troy Grove branch in IL) and I only got that job a few times but they had good power each time. Crews are friendly and usually they're predictable. Rural branch lines also offer some nice opportunities for shots that you might not get on the main. Great video as always.
Branch line rail-fan here. Yeah I mostly rail fan from my yard out of convenience and yeah it’s mostly the same stuff but I have to film everything on the off chance something different comes by. Also I found a local facebook group and now have other rail-fan friends nearby
Ok the branch line one is just funny to me bc I do sometimes railfan a branch line somewhat near me, but recently I’ve actually been seeing a lot of different units including foreign power
im pretty much all of these besides the perfectionist and model railroader. A good friend of mine really got me into train horns and i can tell whats what pretty easily now, still working on getting at least 1 train horn tho. Just my last outing i claimed up a id say 30 - 40 dagree hill down along the Mississippi at Maple Springs to get a shot of a train snaking through a curve with the river, bluff, and Wisconsin all in one shot. I live along a CPKC spur (3 trains a week) and 99% of the time is just GP20Cs, but sometimes CP 3002 or some other geep gets thrown on and it is genuinely a moment to calibrate when that happens, and living on branch/spur you get to know the line very quick and you know where all the good spots are
Here in the PNW, we have the PSAP (Puget Sound & Pacific) Railroad. It's a branchline/shortline railroad and you can see about 2-4 trains per day. On average, you can see about 1-2 locals per day with PSAP power, 1-grain train per day off of the BNSF or Union Pacific bound for Aberdeen, WA, 2 weekly empty and loaded trash trains with Union Pacific power, seldom nuclear waste trains. Really interesting operations, they do on that railroad with plenty of opportunities to see trains ranging from small shortline locals to big, loaded grain trains with 6-axle Class 1 power.
I'm a CN branchline railfan, and as one, I mostly catch trains from my patio (I only live about a few hundred feet from the tracks), and ask my parents to take me to catch one if I can't walk or bike there (I sometimes manage to catch trains without a car or not from my patio). And the most common power from on my line is ES44ACs, ET44ACs, ES44DCs, SD70M-2s, C44-9Ws, and SD75Is. But I have seen lots of cool stuff on my line from when I moved there to the present. When it was my first day of living there I saw a BC Rail C40-8M on a southbound grain train as a mid DPU. I sometimes still pray rare things come and sometimes I'm lucky and sometimes not. But I will still love trains for the rest of my life
I like shortlines because they usually have vintage power and unique operations. I enjoy traveling around to spot them and learning about their routines. Also a second quick note, you mentioning the branch line foamer watching the same power go back and forth is nothing compared to these damn commuter foamers watching literally the same locomotive and two cars go back and forth for 8 hours straight, and getting just as excited every single time.
That's part of my "issue." I live right next to the keystone corridor in Lancaster County, PA, and because of this, I only have Amtrak commuters all day with the exception of 2 daily long-distance trains. My biggest issue with this is only having one freight train per day, THAT'S IT. and it really annoys me because my town does have a branch line, and it is serviced daily by Norfolk Southern... But it's only around 1:00 in the morning because there's no commuters running!!
I live on the NS Morri Branch, it hasn't had a revenue train in over ten years and the occasional storage moves only run late at night. I have to drive 45 minutes to the Pocahontas District to see guaranteed daily trains and something that isn't a Coal Train.
As a branch line railfan, I usually just drive down the road and set up by the old ACL bridge over the river and catch one of the 2-3 local trains during the day, and the occasional port train, though it usually comes through at night. And sometimes I drive down to the west end of the yard to catch the evening eastbound freight into the yard.
I could be a part of the branch line railfan community living Along the Harbor Sub I get a total of 1 YWAT every day and 1 headed the opposite direction that doesn’t really have a schedule. They usually have either two GP60’s or a GP60 and a bluebonnet. Occasionally I’ll get a GP25XE and a bluebonnet to make it a relatively cool catch.
LMAO, man you are so good at these spoof videos, I laugh the entire time, too good George! Hope ya do a part 3!!! Still not really sure what type of Railfan I am, in fact I don't even use that term to describe myself LOL... During the winter I almost become the "model railroader dude" HAH... Hope ya have an awesome weekend buddy, please do more of this style video! -OMK
One I can think of is the railfan we who sits in their car and films no matter what the weather or environment is. Especially when there’s a glare on the window or stuff in the way. It also sucks to film off overpasses in an urban area since there’s usually fences that block the few, which I can understand why though.
That’s exactly me! When I’m out and get a chance to catch trains I don’t care what the weather is I’ve been caught in some rain and snow storms at times but it’s weather it’s unpredictable at least in Western Pa
ah, the good old great lakes central railfanning experience. most of the locomotives the GLC uses are standard Geeps. They dont got any AA units anymore, a couple locos in the old TSBY [Tuscola & Saginaw Bay Railway] colors, and most of the roster have the White and Blue colors. We have a couple MRL units, a CEFX unit, 10 year anniversary unit, and thats about it. A interesting lashup of locomotives. But usually you get to see the standard GLC locos with the While and Blue scheme.
As a railfanner from Michigan, I don't care what each train is like and how unique it is, I just enjoy seeing one in action. Also, you got a new reward... A SUBSCRIBER
Hello everyone! So for the categories listed in this video I would definely be considered a "Branchline Railfan" with myself living along the Norfolk Southern Louisville District which is a secondary mainline running between Louisville, Kentucky-Danville, Kentucky where it links up with the CNO&TP mainline running from Cincinnati, Ohio to Chattanooga, Tennessee. So the average day on the LD goes as follows normally: two trains in the mourning (1-3 Mixed Freights, 2 Intermodals), Afternoon (Dead for several hours with 1-2 mixed freights, 1-2 Intermodals, Occasional Grain Traffic, The Local turnjob from Shelbyville), and Evenings (x1 Coil Train, 1-2 Coal Trains As Needed and sometimes 1-2 Mixed Freights). Normally these trains have the same motive power with myself not getting out much anymore as I used to be EXTREMELY active going out every other day but due to the trains having the same power day in and day out I decided to come out far less due to being burnt out with the motive power and also to focus on other things I like to do with my time in life.
I live next to a branch that goes up a really steep slope. It takes 3 locomotives to pull 30 empty cars up it. The empty train goes up and comes back down full. It’s mostly just grain from the nearby farms and lumber from the nearby mill, they usually use centerbeam cars for the wood but occasionally they will use a flatbed or a logging car. They also sometimes bring boxcars up there and occasionally a tanker, no clue what they do with those
My local line, the NS Buffalo line, rolls behind my house and usually one train rolls by every other day, H57, which makes me a Branchline Railfan, but most of the time i go out to railfan the NS mainline so i’m pretty happy with it.
I used to be a Branchline railfan. I chased Pan Am Railways DO-1 through Portsmouth by bike, and it was great exercise. Lucky for me, the power was a hodgepodge of EMD power in Pan Am blue or Guilford gray and orange. This branch also connects to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and lots of interesting cars have been brought in from time to time.
I am absolutely the model railroader. I love working on my railroad in the basement, but still like the occasional day of fresh air to go and see some real trains.
From a branchline railfan, railfanning is luckily never, or at least from my experiences, never really destroyed by any kinds of related things to ruin a shot. I don't have any fancy equipment, mainly because I'm broke, but yeah, even seeing just the same units every so often is chill and I enjoy the units that the branch line has.
I'm a branchline railfan. I'm currently waiting for drivers ed to start in January, so I can't go anywhere other than the places in my town that are within walking or biking distance. Average power consists of original and rebuilt Pan Am/Guilford GP40s. High/low hoods and wide cabs. Occasionally you can see a Dash-8 sporting CSX paint with patches, or a Dash-8 wearing the Pan Am big blue livery. If you're one of those people who is really good an planning, math, and time management, you can see the Bow Power coal train powered by EDNA-1 that passes through the Nashua yard once every few weeks. If you're lucky, it will be powered by NS Dash-9s. As of late, it's been powered by larger CSX/Pan Am equipment. If you railfan along the Northern Mainline, or the Hillsboro branch, you'll know every engineer and conductor, and will almost always get a horn salute and a wave when they're on their way through town.
Yeah I’m definitely a branch line fan but it’s actually a regional, we don’t get trains often, maybe catch 2 a week if I’m lucky, and yes we do see the same power basically all the time. If you got any questions just ask me.
I am a branchline Railfan. The railroad, FEC, well more of a shortline but whatever, I’ve seen the same train sometimes with the same power or different, but I’ve also Railfanned in GA,PA, And other parts of Florida, And most of the engineers are friendly so I enjoy living around a branchline.
you make great videos I discovered your channel 2 months ago and I'm glad I did thank you for making these videos and thanks to the youtube algorithm for recommending your channel to me
Thanks for respecting my type of railfan: The Branchline Enjoyer I see the same SW1500s every day on the Columbia And Cowlitz Railroad every day, and, twice, one round trip, I see a BNSF branch line train
3:47 yes lmao I am that guy that would try to get that type of set up XD but I never actually caught an elephant style in my life actually cuz I usually be catching Norfolk Southern trains that have a forward and backward engine *very common where I’m at* but I try to get like a sunset time shot most of time, and it turn out to be incredible!
I used to be a branch line railfan, its how you described it. Every day its the same old train coming with the same old CSX Gevo's, with the same old hopper cars and the same old SEMI TRUCK BLOCKING THE VIEW!
I do indeed live by a branchline, an RJCorman one. It runs every two weeks in the mornigs, so i can only catch them over the summer. Usually 3 to 5 rail cars, still neat to see because the line has a switcher locomotive.
I caught BNSF 3727 as a rear DP once, and when Scaletrains released their most recent run of tier 4 gevos I got myself my very own DCC sound BNSF tier 4 #3727. I can definitely relate to a lot of these..😅
As a branch line railfanner I have to drive over an hour to go to my favorite spot. And I can barely leave the place and the only freight spot is an hour and a half away
Long comment: I technically live near a branchline but it's off Fullerton Jct. Where it splits into 2 mainlines. First two tracks BNSF San Bernardino Subdivision. The track that splits off leads to the Orange Sub/the old San Dieagan Route. Also around I think early Mondays & Wednesdays afternoons the Local which usually has an old Santa Fe Caboose/shoving Platform and 2 ex Santa Fe GP60M-3s. Tuesdays and Thursdays they usually service Irvine late night around midnight. Also for other Types of Railfans: The Radio Scanner Guy. You know someone or are that someone that has 3 radios on themselves at all times tuned into 3 different RRs
I’m the type of guy who’s just happy to catch a train. And ecstatic if it’s something more interesting. (especially standard cabs can’t get enough of those.)
I'm just happy when I record trains with more than just Canadian Nationals up front. I've recorded a Canadian Pacific and a CSX. I was just disappointed when I lost the opportunity to record a BNSF, because those are rare where I'm from.
I can't lie I'm a mix of the branch line railfan and a perfectionist, I happen to live close to a Maine and a Branch line. When I have the time to catch the branch line I will go out of my way to see it, but when it comes to the main line I usually only go to it when there's something worth seeing because most of the time it's just ordinary BNSF.
I plead guilty to 2 counts of illegal railfanning; once when i didn't have a good zoom camera, and another when I parked beside a crossing for the shot
Hey, im a branch line Railfan, we get plenty of heritage units everyday. Hoping to see a 2+ loco consist. But other than that, its either single loco with a DPU, 2 engine consist with a DPU sometimes. Its all mixed freight.
I don’t quite know how to describe myself. I live on a very active commuter mainline (I can hear a horn as I write this) but there are only two different freight “jobs” to be seen in a given week. I’ll watch 14 commutes go by to see a freight where one of the units is facing a different way from last time. Both brachline and mainline
I'm a sort of a branch line There's a 30-mile industrial lead in the Gulf Coast, which has all UP SD40s and an SD60. It's an easy chase and really simple. The entire line is a ex SP line with a SP depot as a Yard office. It's a unique local and line to railfan
I am a branch line railfan. Here's my average experience: I railfan by the Surf Line. Normally I see some garbage stuff like the SC44 Charger, while occasionally seeing a Genesis. I once even rail fanned there at 10 at night and saw a Warbonnet. That was the only time that I saw a freight train railfanning (emphasis on railfanning, I have seen so many freight trains in Palm Desert).
I am a train spotter, in tye UK you would be a freight spotter due to you liking freight more than commuter trains (which you see very often in the UK)
As a branch line railfan, we get the interesting shit weekly, all the CN Geeps roll into town and it's a different set of power every week (GP40-2W and GP9RM was my last catch), plus the frequent VIA Trains help.
Before i got a car i was a branch line railfanner for the most part, occasionally e i was able to get a ride and be dropped off at the mainline which was 15 miles away from my home for a couple hours before i had to go home. The cloest railroad to my house is the Boise cutoff branchline, so i would often bike there, which from my knowledge only one train, the Boise local, runs through the area from the Nampa yard terminal at the mainline to Boise and back, Monday-Friday. I heard that it goes back to Nampa at 3-5 in the afternoon, but only saw it twice out of the 40 times i would go there around that time. Eventually i figured out it came earlier, more often around 2-3, so i started going there earlier and ended up seeing that train more often than not. Branch line railfanning is just like mainline railfanning where it can be a hit or miss, but you will see trains only at a certain time of day verses the mainline where any train can come at any point in a 24 hour period
Perhaps the coolest part about branchline trains is the old power you see on the trains. Old spartan cabs, and if you live in my area, canadian style GP40-2WL locomotives. Some places even have GP7s
I guess I'm a branch line railfan. I see pretty much the same 2 NECR GP40-2LWs and sometimes GP40s (#3040 is the one I remember seeing a lot), although I don't really get to see trains very often because of school so it's always cool to see anyway, and it's still a train after all. I live in northern CT, btw.
Branch line railfan, I’ve done it a few times. The good thing about it though is I get to know the schedule of the freight trains and spend 16 hours a day (in the summer) to see six trains on a Monday and 2-3 every other day. It’s semi nice though because I get to see SD60M’s and SD40-2’s. Though being the exact same thing every time, I do see one BNSF grain train at 11-1:30 every Monday. It’s peaceful to be a branch line railfan, but boring.
As a branch line Railfan, I always see CSX westbound empties and Buckingham Branch locals. I do sometimes go to Doswell or Ashland for some RF&P action though. And the state bought my local branch line (C&O Piedmont Subdivision). They are bringing Amtrak passenger service back to the line for the first time since 1976. My school is literally next to the line and I will be sitting in English class and here comes what I think is a normal csx train. But wait, there’s a heritage unit on it and I am here in English class with no phone. Is what it is though.
And I should add that Buckingham Branch EMDs sound spectacular but seeing the same CSX GEVOs all the time really sucks. I do see a EMD every once in a blue moon.
Thanks for watching, be sure to like and subscribe for part three!
Watch part 1: th-cam.com/video/oWl-KF3VeJ0/w-d-xo.htmlsi=3q5E_LBhuFdnFYeq
Its me again 😂
The thomas fan
I have been a branch line railfan in Boise and you get the same locomotives
I got one: the webcam foamer. These are the people that sit on railclams 24/7 and call out in the chat every time a train passes. Even if it’s an all GEVO elephant style train.
almost everyone on the deshler ohio webcam
@@ToledoRailfanYep!!
They be thinking it's their job ☠️ kinda like Reddit moderators but for trains
@@BNSF14581 minute ago-
Guilty (greencastle cam)
Branch line railfan here! it’s.. lonely
really lonely
it’s the same 3 locomotives every time
nobody else is ever there
but at least we got standard cab dash 8s!!!!!
Standard Cab Dash 8s are a W
I get bullied by they main line fommers luckily the main line was closed for repairs and I got the yummy delicious freight
And you get a bit more Fallen Flags, like me, who has seen 3 IC Death Star SD70s on the same line
Better than mine 2 trains a day and rarely is it anything other than a 4 axel loco except every now and than when a NS 5642 or a high hood works the line.
I’m close to a main line tho which is good
“I have pretty *high* regard…”
I am laughing so hard.
"Peak" humor
I need to stop
The illegal part reminded me of a drama in my country's railfan community a month ago.
There was a new heritage locomotive on the block and many kids are trespassing the station's safety zone. The station master had to shoo all of them off because they know something bad will happen that this new heritage locomotive is coming. They all had to move into another spot away from the stations, yet they still cause drama online
I always do the drone because it makes sure I don't totally miss the train if my phone breaks like usual. Illegal one is most foamers. Perfectionism is me lol, nice work as always.
So nice to have a backup source of video
And then sad when you have to use it lol
Thanks!
Bro my dad has a drone and I’m using his TriPod thingy on Railfaning trips to my local Granite City Junction area to just catch a couple trains then go somewhere with the equippment
Plot twist: The Horn Enjoyer is also a tornado siren enthusiast.
And a firetruck foamer, Purge alarm fan, fire alarm lover, hearing test failer and boat horn chaser
Mechanical loud noise best loud noise
That wouldn’t be much of a plot twist
FACTS
Yeah I like both but I don’t really like the horns.
A a branch line railfan, ALL I GET ARE IOANP, AMICX, ZG2OAB, and the ALMONT COMMUTER EXPRESS. THAT'S ALLLLLL. AND!!!!! THEY DON'T OPERATE A LOT!!!!!
Branch lining is pretty chill... if it's a shortline and you know the crew you usually can catch a ride. The best part is meeting the owners and wrenching with them on their end cabs for me. Give or take if your a local you kind of are apart of the crew depending on the class 3 railroad.
That's me and the ACWR
@@mainlymoore rad
For the horns, those are one of the reasons I like trains. All the different sounds, and there's just something so fascinating about the horns
100%. So so fun to hear a unique horn
Horn fan be like when they find the Wayside horn💀
My favorite horn is the K5LA because it’s on my favorite locomotive
That part about the scary bridges and overpasses scared me even though I’ve only done it twice I still get scared . Along with that branch line thingy is literally me 😂😂
I live by a branch line but I can’t nail down what time the trains come
I forced you to, remember? :)
Nah but bro them bridges in Cloquet are a lot safer then others I've been on...
The part where you said " I actually like model trains..... except for the space they take up" Got me banging nails on track. 💀
I’m a horn enjoyer!! Too poor to have horns for myself, but I sure name em in my descriptions lol. Keep it up!
Not a fan of people who put train horns on their car and blast it out making me think a train is coming and it isn’t.
As a fellow branch line railfan, I can confirm it’s the same power over and over but now have the powers of driving to another place 🤣
Here’s one I came up with. ATCS railfan, just sits at home, watches the mainlines light up and get occupied, or goes out and plans ahead using ATCS
Kind of me to be honest but with a scanner and various friends along the line giving me heads up. If you live close enough to the tracks, it's really nice
Live near A CSX branchline. 1 daily train in the afternoon and 1 weekly train in the morning (idk what day it always changes). However, almost every train that takes the branchline has a YN2 or an SD70MAC and, on rare occasions, a flared SD70MAC.
Its's a great branchline if you are lucky to catch a train on it.
Wow I'd love to go there, that sounds like fun
@@BNSF1458 It may be a very far drive for you.
@@ToledoRailfan I'm always up for an adventure
I’m a branch line railfan in Ontario. I see the average SD40-2s and GP38-2Ws. Here on the Huron Central line we have daily trains.
My local rail line, the Indiana and Ohio, runs many GPs from different patched railroads. Most of the time where I live they're G&W patch, but I once caught an SP patch
Awesome Vid as always Man! Elevation addict here. I live right beside a branch line, Every Run is Coal, Every Engine is a Norfolk Southern, (or a Leased Loco without the NS) Every 1 to 2 months it runs. That's my experience with Branch Lines. Even though it's the same, I still always get a kick when I see One!
If you only see a couple a month, that definitely makes it super special
@@BNSF1458 Indeed! Keep Up the Great Work Man!
I'm definitely a branch line railfan. I live on a line that actually does get freight service but it's almost always at the dead of night. The only engines that populate the yard are CSX GP40-2s. The exact same road numbers are there for months and the only "special things" that are ever there is the very occasional SD40-2, which only makes an appearance when I'm not there. Besides CSX, we have a shortline that pretty much speedruns the yard moves so nobody ever sees them. And last and least is the commuter rail that runs right through the other 2 railroad's yard. Nothing special ever comes up or down the line, and the best thing you'll ever actually get to see is a slight number change on CSX.
I have the exact same situation, but instead of CSX, it's NS.
When I used to be a branch line railfan, I saw the same sets of power for as long as I lived there. We got about one local train each day in the evening and every once in a while something else would show up. The power as simply a pair of CSX dash 9s. EMDs almost never came down the line. No joke I spent HOURS near that line every day and only saw a train (that wasn’t the normal local) once. I guess it could’ve been worse but not by much
Not railfans in particular, but trespassing is a huge issue around here, specifically by motorists (cars sitting on crossings, running around gates, pedestrians crossing, etc). It's so bad that I've complained to both local police and state troopers multiple times. Monday night my predictions sadly came true, and Amtrak P098 with 164 (Phase IV heritage) hit an SUV at one of the crossings I warned of. Driver sadly killed on impact. I'd filmed that same train a couple mins before and didn't even know for another day since I went to get a burger afterwards.
On the overpass note, it's something I'd love to try but the vehicle traffic scares me, plus I'm terrified to go out of sight of my car (all the good spots here are in questionable areas). When I get my pilot's license, I might have a friend film while overflying the yard.
Here the only trains you can chase are the ones that either make a station stop or work the yard. Chases are exciting and all, but not worth getting pulled over or into an accident over. I've seen both happen to railfans before.
Branch lines are nice too, much easier to chase than mainlines. My mom used to live near one (UP Troy Grove branch in IL) and I only got that job a few times but they had good power each time. Crews are friendly and usually they're predictable. Rural branch lines also offer some nice opportunities for shots that you might not get on the main.
Great video as always.
Branch line rail-fan here. Yeah I mostly rail fan from my yard out of convenience and yeah it’s mostly the same stuff but I have to film everything on the off chance something different comes by. Also I found a local facebook group and now have other rail-fan friends nearby
Ok the branch line one is just funny to me bc I do sometimes railfan a branch line somewhat near me, but recently I’ve actually been seeing a lot of different units including foreign power
im pretty much all of these besides the perfectionist and model railroader. A good friend of mine really got me into train horns and i can tell whats what pretty easily now, still working on getting at least 1 train horn tho.
Just my last outing i claimed up a id say 30 - 40 dagree hill down along the Mississippi at Maple Springs to get a shot of a train snaking through a curve with the river, bluff, and Wisconsin all in one shot.
I live along a CPKC spur (3 trains a week) and 99% of the time is just GP20Cs, but sometimes CP 3002 or some other geep gets thrown on and it is genuinely a moment to calibrate when that happens, and living on branch/spur you get to know the line very quick and you know where all the good spots are
Hah I saw that video you took from up there I believe, totally worth it with how nice that shot is
Thank you I’m a branch line person
Branch line fanning is awesome when you’ve got the GP38s in a BN scheme
Which line are you referring to?
Oh maybe the branch lines all around northern IL. The BNSF branch to West Chicago has almost always had a previous railroad unit on the consist
As a horn enjoyer I can confirm this is accurate
On my local branch line, we have the same 2 GP38's with the same cars every time.
It is very lonely...
Here in the PNW, we have the PSAP (Puget Sound & Pacific) Railroad. It's a branchline/shortline railroad and you can see about 2-4 trains per day. On average, you can see about 1-2 locals per day with PSAP power, 1-grain train per day off of the BNSF or Union Pacific bound for Aberdeen, WA, 2 weekly empty and loaded trash trains with Union Pacific power, seldom nuclear waste trains. Really interesting operations, they do on that railroad with plenty of opportunities to see trains ranging from small shortline locals to big, loaded grain trains with 6-axle Class 1 power.
"The Horn Enjoyer". 😂
You should do the signal checker the person who checks all the signals to tell if there’s a train coming or not.
Yes
I'm a CN branchline railfan, and as one, I mostly catch trains from my patio (I only live about a few hundred feet from the tracks), and ask my parents to take me to catch one if I can't walk or bike there (I sometimes manage to catch trains without a car or not from my patio). And the most common power from on my line is ES44ACs, ET44ACs, ES44DCs, SD70M-2s, C44-9Ws, and SD75Is. But I have seen lots of cool stuff on my line from when I moved there to the present. When it was my first day of living there I saw a BC Rail C40-8M on a southbound grain train as a mid DPU. I sometimes still pray rare things come and sometimes I'm lucky and sometimes not. But I will still love trains for the rest of my life
I like shortlines because they usually have vintage power and unique operations. I enjoy traveling around to spot them and learning about their routines. Also a second quick note, you mentioning the branch line foamer watching the same power go back and forth is nothing compared to these damn commuter foamers watching literally the same locomotive and two cars go back and forth for 8 hours straight, and getting just as excited every single time.
So dang true
That's part of my "issue." I live right next to the keystone corridor in Lancaster County, PA, and because of this, I only have Amtrak commuters all day with the exception of 2 daily long-distance trains. My biggest issue with this is only having one freight train per day, THAT'S IT. and it really annoys me because my town does have a branch line, and it is serviced daily by Norfolk Southern... But it's only around 1:00 in the morning because there's no commuters running!!
I live on the NS Morri Branch, it hasn't had a revenue train in over ten years and the occasional storage moves only run late at night. I have to drive 45 minutes to the Pocahontas District to see guaranteed daily trains and something that isn't a Coal Train.
Knox Creek branch off of the Clinch Valley District is pretty busy most the time
As a branch line railfan, I usually just drive down the road and set up by the old ACL bridge over the river and catch one of the 2-3 local trains during the day, and the occasional port train, though it usually comes through at night. And sometimes I drive down to the west end of the yard to catch the evening eastbound freight into the yard.
wilmington?
Where is this?
@@railfancam Yup, suprised you knew that tbh
@@22NCRAILFAN23 Wilmington, NC. Really cool railroad history but not much otherwise in terms of railroad traffic
@@toastman279I've been intending to go there to see the battleship. Any advice for railfanning in the area?
I could be a part of the branch line railfan community living Along the Harbor Sub I get a total of 1 YWAT every day and 1 headed the opposite direction that doesn’t really have a schedule. They usually have either two GP60’s or a GP60 and a bluebonnet. Occasionally I’ll get a GP25XE and a bluebonnet to make it a relatively cool catch.
The introvert railfan: this railfan hardly ever goes out and treats railfanning as a reward
And never speaks to anybody
@@BNSF1458 I mean, I don’t classify as any of these railfans lol but this was funny.
Literally me (sadly enough)
LMAO, man you are so good at these spoof videos, I laugh the entire time, too good George! Hope ya do a part 3!!! Still not really sure what type of Railfan I am, in fact I don't even use that term to describe myself LOL... During the winter I almost become the "model railroader dude" HAH... Hope ya have an awesome weekend buddy, please do more of this style video! -OMK
Recently subscribed and I'm really enjoying these videos! Please keep doing them.
Thanks, I certainly will
Also you described a specific foamer in the community perfectly.
Many, many foamers.
(the illegal part right?)
@@CoenOinkeyTrainsYup.
One I can think of is the railfan we who sits in their car and films no matter what the weather or environment is. Especially when there’s a glare on the window or stuff in the way. It also sucks to film off overpasses in an urban area since there’s usually fences that block the few, which I can understand why though.
That’s exactly me! When I’m out and get a chance to catch trains I don’t care what the weather is I’ve been caught in some rain and snow storms at times but it’s weather it’s unpredictable at least in Western Pa
@@bhproductions1061 dude, same here, and I'm on the eastern side!
@@bhproductions1061Iowa's weather is unpredictable as well. One time we got a snow storm in May.
ah, the good old great lakes central railfanning experience. most of the locomotives the GLC uses are standard Geeps. They dont got any AA units anymore, a couple locos in the old TSBY [Tuscola & Saginaw Bay Railway] colors, and most of the roster have the White and Blue colors. We have a couple MRL units, a CEFX unit, 10 year anniversary unit, and thats about it. A interesting lashup of locomotives. But usually you get to see the standard GLC locos with the While and Blue scheme.
As a railfanner from Michigan, I don't care what each train is like and how unique it is, I just enjoy seeing one in action. Also, you got a new reward...
A SUBSCRIBER
Thanks!
@@BNSF1458 You're welcome!
Hello everyone! So for the categories listed in this video I would definely be considered a "Branchline Railfan" with myself living along the Norfolk Southern Louisville District which is a secondary mainline running between Louisville, Kentucky-Danville, Kentucky where it links up with the CNO&TP mainline running from Cincinnati, Ohio to Chattanooga, Tennessee. So the average day on the LD goes as follows normally: two trains in the mourning (1-3 Mixed Freights, 2 Intermodals), Afternoon (Dead for several hours with 1-2 mixed freights, 1-2 Intermodals, Occasional Grain Traffic, The Local turnjob from Shelbyville), and Evenings (x1 Coil Train, 1-2 Coal Trains As Needed and sometimes 1-2 Mixed Freights). Normally these trains have the same motive power with myself not getting out much anymore as I used to be EXTREMELY active going out every other day but due to the trains having the same power day in and day out I decided to come out far less due to being burnt out with the motive power and also to focus on other things I like to do with my time in life.
Repetitive power is just sad
@@BNSF1458come to Michigan I live on a CSX main that only gets 2 manifest trains and one local
I’m the poor railfan with no camera and just likes to blissfully watch trains
I got one railroad crossing enthusiasts (they are also most likely elevator and church bells enthusiasts)
Keep this series coming. I'm still laughing. Sad part is how I'm part of certain ones that you mentioned. lol.
The train horn is boring unless you’re in the seat, but the caboose horn? Euphoria every time
The horn enjoyer is totally me! Except I don’t have many horns. I blast meh horns and listen to train horn clips almost every day!
"Horns>Music"
@@BNSF1458 Horns literally are music!
I’m a branch line railfan. It’s Allen town to Jim Thorpe Pa. It’s just a Norfolk southern line. Love the company.
Chicago land rail fans: those lucky guys that can catch anything they want that day with little to no effort!
Don't know if that counts though
I live next to a branch that goes up a really steep slope. It takes 3 locomotives to pull 30 empty cars up it. The empty train goes up and comes back down full.
It’s mostly just grain from the nearby farms and lumber from the nearby mill, they usually use centerbeam cars for the wood but occasionally they will use a flatbed or a logging car. They also sometimes bring boxcars up there and occasionally a tanker, no clue what they do with those
That sounds really cool
Im sadly a branchline, my parents dont give a shit about railfanning and i never see any new trains just the same every single damn time
Why not work to move or to live internationally?
My local line, the NS Buffalo line, rolls behind my house and usually one train rolls by every other day, H57, which makes me a Branchline Railfan, but most of the time i go out to railfan the NS mainline so i’m pretty happy with it.
As a branch line enjoyer myself, I only railfan there, I have so much traffic that goes through there and so much foreign power its fun
Branch line railfan here, Tuesday and Thursday afternoon going north, Wednesday and Friday afternoon going south :)
I used to be a Branchline railfan. I chased Pan Am Railways DO-1 through Portsmouth by bike, and it was great exercise. Lucky for me, the power was a hodgepodge of EMD power in Pan Am blue or Guilford gray and orange. This branch also connects to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and lots of interesting cars have been brought in from time to time.
Awesome!
I am absolutely the model railroader. I love working on my railroad in the basement, but still like the occasional day of fresh air to go and see some real trains.
This cracked me up!!😂 love the jokes
From a branchline railfan, railfanning is luckily never, or at least from my experiences, never really destroyed by any kinds of related things to ruin a shot. I don't have any fancy equipment, mainly because I'm broke, but yeah, even seeing just the same units every so often is chill and I enjoy the units that the branch line has.
I'm a branchline railfan. I'm currently waiting for drivers ed to start in January, so I can't go anywhere other than the places in my town that are within walking or biking distance.
Average power consists of original and rebuilt Pan Am/Guilford GP40s. High/low hoods and wide cabs. Occasionally you can see a Dash-8 sporting CSX paint with patches, or a Dash-8 wearing the Pan Am big blue livery.
If you're one of those people who is really good an planning, math, and time management, you can see the Bow Power coal train powered by EDNA-1 that passes through the Nashua yard once every few weeks. If you're lucky, it will be powered by NS Dash-9s. As of late, it's been powered by larger CSX/Pan Am equipment.
If you railfan along the Northern Mainline, or the Hillsboro branch, you'll know every engineer and conductor, and will almost always get a horn salute and a wave when they're on their way through town.
I love how I just watched the original, now I’m watching this RECENTLY uploaded part 2
Yeah I’m definitely a branch line fan but it’s actually a regional, we don’t get trains often, maybe catch 2 a week if I’m lucky, and yes we do see the same power basically all the time. If you got any questions just ask me.
I’m a branchline railfan, I railfan the PNWR in Banks, OR, and I get some varied power but usually it’s just a 5-7 car train out of a mill
2:43 is 100% me. I live close to a NS line that only sees 7-8 trains a day. What sucks is that I used to live closer to a CSX and NS yard.
Awesome video
Yeah
@@thebigsandyrailfanwho the he!! Are you
I am a branchline Railfan. The railroad, FEC, well more of a shortline but whatever, I’ve seen the same train sometimes with the same power or different, but I’ve also Railfanned in GA,PA, And other parts of Florida, And most of the engineers are friendly so I enjoy living around a branchline.
Man these last few videos have been too funny 😂😂😂
More to come!
you make great videos I discovered your channel 2 months ago and I'm glad I did thank you for making these videos and thanks to the youtube algorithm for recommending your channel to me
Thanks for respecting my type of railfan: The Branchline Enjoyer I see the same SW1500s every day on the Columbia And Cowlitz Railroad every day, and, twice, one round trip, I see a BNSF branch line train
3:47 yes lmao I am that guy that would try to get that type of set up XD but I never actually caught an elephant style in my life actually cuz I usually be catching Norfolk Southern trains that have a forward and backward engine *very common where I’m at* but I try to get like a sunset time shot most of time, and it turn out to be incredible!
I used to be a branch line railfan, its how you described it. Every day its the same old train coming with the same old CSX Gevo's, with the same old hopper cars and the same old SEMI TRUCK BLOCKING THE VIEW!
I do indeed live by a branchline, an RJCorman one. It runs every two weeks in the mornigs, so i can only catch them over the summer. Usually 3 to 5 rail cars, still neat to see because the line has a switcher locomotive.
Switchers are just so good
I caught BNSF 3727 as a rear DP once, and when Scaletrains released their most recent run of tier 4 gevos I got myself my very own DCC sound BNSF tier 4 #3727. I can definitely relate to a lot of these..😅
big horn guy, just kinda soothes my brain idk why. i want an early model K5LA.
That would have been funny if you lost your drone there!!! lol 😂, luckily you still have it!!!! 😂
I woulda been out $700 ☠️
@@BNSF1458 LMAO!!!!! 🤣 🤣🤣
As a branch line railfanner I have to drive over an hour to go to my favorite spot. And I can barely leave the place and the only freight spot is an hour and a half away
Long comment:
I technically live near a branchline but it's off Fullerton Jct. Where it splits into 2 mainlines.
First two tracks BNSF San Bernardino Subdivision.
The track that splits off leads to the Orange Sub/the old San Dieagan Route.
Also around I think early Mondays & Wednesdays afternoons the Local which usually has an old Santa Fe Caboose/shoving Platform and 2 ex Santa Fe GP60M-3s. Tuesdays and Thursdays they usually service Irvine late night around midnight.
Also for other Types of Railfans: The Radio Scanner Guy. You know someone or are that someone that has 3 radios on themselves at all times tuned into 3 different RRs
I’m the type of guy who’s just happy to catch a train. And ecstatic if it’s something more interesting. (especially standard cabs can’t get enough of those.)
I'm just happy when I record trains with more than just Canadian Nationals up front. I've recorded a Canadian Pacific and a CSX. I was just disappointed when I lost the opportunity to record a BNSF, because those are rare where I'm from.
I am a branch line fan, it’s alway GP20C-ECO’s
there was a whole community of rail fans? dang. i just count the cars.
Oh yeah
I can't lie I'm a mix of the branch line railfan and a perfectionist, I happen to live close to a Maine and a Branch line. When I have the time to catch the branch line I will go out of my way to see it, but when it comes to the main line I usually only go to it when there's something worth seeing because most of the time it's just ordinary BNSF.
LOL... apparently I'm the "model railroader"!
I plead guilty to 2 counts of illegal railfanning; once when i didn't have a good zoom camera, and another when I parked beside a crossing for the shot
I consider myself a horn enjoyer. I don’t own any train horns myself, but if I get a heads up about train with a good horn, I’m catching it.
Hey, im a branch line Railfan, we get plenty of heritage units everyday. Hoping to see a 2+ loco consist. But other than that, its either single loco with a DPU, 2 engine consist with a DPU sometimes. Its all mixed freight.
I Railfan a branch line system and it hurts for the fact I always see the same exact A421 going from Toronto to Port Robinson every weekend.
I don’t quite know how to describe myself. I live on a very active commuter mainline (I can hear a horn as I write this) but there are only two different freight “jobs” to be seen in a given week. I’ll watch 14 commutes go by to see a freight where one of the units is facing a different way from last time. Both brachline and mainline
What is the commuter railroad?
Horn enjoyer is defiantly me,
“is that a k5la narrow font with a 53124 manifold?!?!!”
I'm a sort of a branch line There's a 30-mile industrial lead in the Gulf Coast, which has all UP SD40s and an SD60. It's an easy chase and really simple. The entire line is a ex SP line with a SP depot as a Yard office. It's a unique local and line to railfan
I am a branch line railfan. Here's my average experience:
I railfan by the Surf Line. Normally I see some garbage stuff like the SC44 Charger, while occasionally seeing a Genesis. I once even rail fanned there at 10 at night and saw a Warbonnet. That was the only time that I saw a freight train railfanning (emphasis on railfanning, I have seen so many freight trains in Palm Desert).
I am a train spotter, in tye UK you would be a freight spotter due to you liking freight more than commuter trains (which you see very often in the UK)
As a branch line railfan, we get the interesting shit weekly, all the CN Geeps roll into town and it's a different set of power every week (GP40-2W and GP9RM was my last catch), plus the frequent VIA Trains help.
I'm jealous
@@BNSF1458It's once a week at whateverthefuck times, really, don't be lol.
Before i got a car i was a branch line railfanner for the most part, occasionally e i was able to get a ride and be dropped off at the mainline which was 15 miles away from my home for a couple hours before i had to go home. The cloest railroad to my house is the Boise cutoff branchline, so i would often bike there, which from my knowledge only one train, the Boise local, runs through the area from the Nampa yard terminal at the mainline to Boise and back, Monday-Friday. I heard that it goes back to Nampa at 3-5 in the afternoon, but only saw it twice out of the 40 times i would go there around that time. Eventually i figured out it came earlier, more often around 2-3, so i started going there earlier and ended up seeing that train more often than not. Branch line railfanning is just like mainline railfanning where it can be a hit or miss, but you will see trains only at a certain time of day verses the mainline where any train can come at any point in a 24 hour period
Perhaps the coolest part about branchline trains is the old power you see on the trains. Old spartan cabs, and if you live in my area, canadian style GP40-2WL locomotives. Some places even have GP7s
I guess I'm a branch line railfan. I see pretty much the same 2 NECR GP40-2LWs and sometimes GP40s (#3040 is the one I remember seeing a lot), although I don't really get to see trains very often because of school so it's always cool to see anyway, and it's still a train after all. I live in northern CT, btw.
Branch line railfan, I’ve done it a few times. The good thing about it though is I get to know the schedule of the freight trains and spend 16 hours a day (in the summer) to see six trains on a Monday and 2-3 every other day. It’s semi nice though because I get to see SD60M’s and SD40-2’s. Though being the exact same thing every time, I do see one BNSF grain train at 11-1:30 every Monday. It’s peaceful to be a branch line railfan, but boring.
As a branch line Railfan, I always see CSX westbound empties and Buckingham Branch locals. I do sometimes go to Doswell or Ashland for some RF&P action though. And the state bought my local branch line (C&O Piedmont Subdivision). They are bringing Amtrak passenger service back to the line for the first time since 1976. My school is literally next to the line and I will be sitting in English class and here comes what I think is a normal csx train. But wait, there’s a heritage unit on it and I am here in English class with no phone. Is what it is though.
And I should add that Buckingham Branch EMDs sound spectacular but seeing the same CSX GEVOs all the time really sucks. I do see a EMD every once in a blue moon.