Where did you trainwatch as a kid?

About a 1/4 mile up our road, at the top of the hill, there was a bridge going over a set of train tracks. We'd watch trains from there, and play on the tracks once in a while. A 1/4 mile in the other direction at the bottom of a steep hill, there was another set of tracks. Of course we climbed down the hill and played on those too.

At the end of the street where I lived, two blocks away.

Main N and W line between port in Tidewater (Norfolk/Portsmouth) to Roanoke. Can remember watching steam come around the curve a mile or more down the tracks. Headlight then smoke were visible. My cousins from Texas would visit. They had no steam and we would walk up the street and watch for hours never thinking that it soon would be no more.

The Powhatan Arrow and Pocahontas came by four times a day pulled by J locomotives.

Three blocks in the other direction were the Virginian tracks that were separated from the Seaboard tracks by a small strip of trees. We stood atop a bridge and watched the new blue and yellow FMs come underneath. For some reason, the Seaboard was not as exciting but I well remember the passenger train stopping at the station and then coming to and under the bridge.

Steam in one direction, diesels in the other. Wow!

All but the Virginian tracks remain in place. At night Paula and I love to hear the horns blowing. You can often tell which engineer it is by how long he blows.

My grandad was born in Roanoke and worked for the N and W. Moved to Suffolk and eventually became traffic manager for Planters Nut and Chocolate Company which was a major customer of the N and W. I was born in Bluefield, moved to Suffolk in 1957, went to school in Blacksburg, so the N and W has never been far away.

Those days become more special each day as things change.

King coal is no more but there is plenty of container traffic. Most travels thru here at night both to avoid the vehicular problems and to arrive at the port before daylight. Suffolk is rapidly becoming a large warehouse location for a lot of the port traffic. The two largest buildings are under construction... Amazon.

When I was a kid I saw trains on the LIRR Oyster Bay branch from my parents car, mostly in Glen Cove. Like Brian, I didn't know there was such a thing as railfanning. I just enjoyed seeing trains as we drove around town and since the LIRR is a (mostly) commuter railroad there were lots of short passenger trains to see.

I never have done any railfanning. I'd need to travel a long distance to railfan these days.
Growing up I was always amazed by the trains whenever we were waiting for one at a crossing.
There were some tracks and industries down from my great grandmas house in Owosso, Mi. I'd walk or bike down to the park that was in the same area. We played but I remember watching the trains move around.  GT caboose's were a few that stand out and I remember seeing.

In Cleveland Ohio on the near west side; which was politely saying the less well-to-do part of the west side.
I'm 70 and 45 years gone from the neighborhood and Ohio but always swing by when we visit family.

Jim K

One block from home. The street name says it all:






A few blocks away. This used to be 4 tracks and NYC I think.




Good old CTS rapid transit