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Berea is where we start. The parking lot is gone but there are still some places to shoot from. It can get crowded on weekends. The Pufferbelly parking lot is good for trains coming and going from the Short Line. The blue star indicates the Berea tower.

Here are some pictures. I've also listed a small map with some key spots indicated, and I've provided a brief written description of each area

At this point, I should mention the Ohio Gazetteer by Delorme. It shows all the roads that I mention. Also there is a county atlas put out by Commercial Survey Company for Cuyahoga, Lorain-Medina and Erie-Huron counties.  It is excellent, and it's easily recognized by it's red cover It costs only $5 and is available everywhere.


Olmsted Falls
About two miles west of Berea just off of Bagley road on Garfield street is an old depot at milepost 196. The depot is the home of a model railroad club. There is a Pennsy caboose parked in the yard. It is a good place to park and take pictures except in the winter there are pole shadows. The red cross shows the location of the old depot on Garfield street. From here go back to Bagley and go east 1/8th of a mile to Columbia and turn right. Go south one mile to where the Columbus line crosses Columbia Road. This is marked by the red dot.
   
Elyria

The Amtrak station in downtown Elyria is an excellent spot. There is plenty of parking. It is on the corner of East Bridge Street and East River Road. You can hear westbounds at the Olmsted detector about 6 miles to the east. There are two other spots in Elyria, Olive Street crossing and Abbe Road crossing where you can watch westbound trains working the small yard. The red cross is the Amtrak station, the blue stars are the other 2 locations.


Vermilion
Downtown Vermilion is great with a small park and plenty of parking. This is MP 220.9 right at the detector. Good for westbounds and eastbounds. From there, go East on Rt 6 about 3 miles to Sunnyside road. Turn right, then go south one mile to the tracks. Best for PM westbounds. A lot of trains stop at Fairlane just to the east. Park on the southside at a safe distance from the tracks. Trains can be moving very fast through here. The red cross represents the Sunnyside NS crossing. Get back on Route 6 and go west through Vermilion to Coen Rd about 1 mile west of downtown, turn left and cross the tracks. You can park just south of the tracks. Best for eastbounds in the morning. Amtrak #44 comes through about 11:30 am. Just south on Coen Road, NS crosses. This is where the new connection has been installed. It is for eastbounds from NS to ex-CR or westbounds from ex-CR to NS. This spot is best for eastbounds in the am. There is a detector 7 miles west and one 11 miles to the east. Referring to the map, the new connection is between the two blue stars. 

 

Huron
At mile post 232, Huron has two good spots. Number 1 is at river road. Summer early AM eastbound shots can use the signal for a prop. Number 2 is at Rte 13 on Main Street. Good all day long. Best in PM to work signal bridge into shot. Park in the convenience market lot. The donut shop at Rte 2 and main street has excellent muffins, but they close at noon. Huron has an elevator complex which has 2 switchers and 1 stored. This is served by NS daily. This track runs under the NS main line at River road. There is also an ore dock next to the elevator this is served by W&LE. The Wheeling usually shows up in the morning with 50-60 empties and takes all day to be loaded by a front end loader. Best time is pm. When you are done, drive south on River road following the Huron branch about 2 miles to Knight Rd, left on Knight to 2nd road Jeffries, turn right on Jeffries, south 1 mile to the NS at a place called Shinrock siding.  

 

Shinrock
The red dot indicates Shinrock siding. This is where the Wheeling gets on the Huron branch.  They pull into the siding from the west, then run around the train to recouple and head north to Huron. Since the units are usually coupled back to back, you can get 2 sets of shots. The Wheeling symbols are 340/341. From here you can follow the NS into Bellevue or go back up to NS Chicago line

 

Rye Beach Road
Back in Huron we head west on Route 6 to Rye Beach Rd. Turn left, go south to tracks. A good place for Eastbounds with the signal for a prop. From here you can follow the tracks on Route 6 or take the bypass all the way around Sandusky to Route 101 exit at 101 and turn right. Go northeast on 101 to Superior turn left.  1/2 mile to Venice Rd, rt6, Turn right on Venice go 1/4 mile, turn left on Huron just before NS tracks. Go north to Conrail main.

 

 

Sandusky
We are now at CP 242.  The red cross shows this location. A good spot to sit all day.  The Sandusky detector is at MP 239, 3 miles to the east. The Gypsum detector is at MP 251, 9 miles to the west.  Here NS runs transfers from the coal dock to their Sandusky yard. They have to call the NS Toledo East dispatcher to get across.  Normal power is SD9's.  To the east is NS's Sandusky yard and the Amtrak station.  The station is on the north side of the tracks and is tough to work into a picture because the yard is usually full and cars are in the way. A single GP-38 works the yard.  Leaving CP 242, go back to Venice road and head west following the tracks.  You will end up on Barrett road which is right along side the tracks.  At MP 244 to MP 246, there is water between the road and the tracks.  Some shots can be taken from here.  The blue star shows this location. Follow Barrett into Bayview, go south on Rte 269 to Rte 2, turn right, go west across the Bay bridge. Exit on Rte 53, go to the first light, turn left on State road and go west 1/2 mile to Lake road. Turn left and go south to the tracks.

 

Gypsum
There is good parking here right at the signal and the Gypsum detector.  The red cross indicates the location of the Gypsum detector. Retrace your steps and get back on Rte 6 west and go around Port Clinton because there aren't any decent shots in Port Clinton because the tracks are elevated. Cross the river and get off at Rte 163, turn left and go west to Oak Harbor. Turn right on Rte 19 and go north to the tracks

 

Oak Harbor
There is an old depot here that is now used by M of W people.  To the west the NS line from Toledo to Bellvue crosses overhead.  There is a lot more traffic on this line now that the connector track is in. Trains coming east off the ex-Conrail line going south to Bellevue. Trains coming north from Bellevue going west to Toledo on the ex-CR main. Here you are between the La Carne detector at MP 260.9 to the east and the Graytown detector at MP 272.9 to the west.  Nice shot in midsummer am for east bounds coming around the curve under the NS bridge. Just to the west is the new connector from CR to NS. The new connector is between the blue stars. The red cross is the place for EB shots.