Best Place to Fan

[x2humbucker]

I want to see where everyone's favorite places to fan from are. Basically, if you had the time and gas to get to one spot to railfan from in each of these states, where would it be. Base it on number of trains seen, varying power that you'll see, historical reasons, or what ever you'd like. What are your go-to spots?

1) Michigan
2) Ohio
3) Indiana
4) Illinois
5) Other

[x2humbucker]

I'll start with mine. 1) I would go to Delray for Michigan. There are a number of lines that run through there and a goo amount of traffic. The downside is that it's not the greatest neighborhood. 2) In Ohio, I'd go to the bridge in Toledo on the North end of the Maumee. I like the pictures that come off of that bridge and all of the industry around there. 3) I haven't been able to make it to Indiana yet so I can't place location for IN. 4) I haven't been able to fan in Illinois either, but I would defiantly go to Chicago. 4) Out of those states, I am a fan of Harper's Ferry in WV. The Amtrak station give's nice access to the tracks and good sight line over the bridge. It also has so much history in the region.

[Saturnalia]

Porter, IN
Edelstein, IL
Joliet, IL
Fort Madison, IA
Harpers Ferry, WV
Natural Tunnel
Horseshoe curve
Fostoria
Deshler
Duluth

In no particular order...

[railohio]

1) Michigan -- Monroe
2) Ohio -- Deshler
3) Indiana -- Muncie
4) Illinois -- Rochelle
5) Other -- Byron Hill, Wis.

[Ypsi]

1) Romulus MI. NS Wabash and CSX Saginaw Sub. if you go at the right time you can get solid traffic, and I almost always have felt safe there
2) Holland OH. NS Chicago Line. Not too much waiting and freight trains at speed, also public parking and safe.
3) Elkhart IN. NS Chicago Line. Lots traffic, and a nice group of people/ regulars at the Elkhart Amtrak station.
4) West Chicago IL. UP overland route and CN ex-EJE. Neat to be near JB tower and tons of trains, CN, Metra, and UP
5) Sioux Lookout ON. CN Transcon Route. Neat spot with all of the super long CN trains and the random mix of CN power adds to it, along with the tri weekly Canadian (which is how we ended up in such a spot).

[cbehr91]

1) Michigan - never fanned in Michigan
2) Ohio - Degraff curve
3) Indiana - Terre Haute
4) Illinois - anywhere on the Racetrack
5) Other - North East, PA

[legostudios34]

Best place in the southeast is either Austell, GA or McQuade Street in Jacksonville, FL. Lots of trains and variety at either place, just be careful at the latter and bring a friend, it's a really bad neighborhood.

[MSchwiebert]

One for Indiana not mentioned yet is Wellsboro. When I lived in Fort Wayne, that was my preferred "all day" site in Indiana.

[J T]

1. Moffat Sub
2. Donner Pass
3. Everywhere else.

[astrovanman1989]

duluth mn is nice i go there every year and work on a alco rs-1 and a baldwin s-12 switcher hopefully some day our rs-1 will pull some passenger trains between duluth and two harbors it has a few more problems to fix low oil pressure and cn rr dosent like the handrails in the stepwells

[GreatLakesRailfan]

Michigan- Port Huron- it's close and between the two subdivisions for traffic to come from/go to plus the single track tunnel under the St. Clair River, there's the potential for quite a bit of daylight action...

Indiana- I like the Logansport/Kokomo area a lot. Between the action on the Wabash, the east end of the TP&W in Logansport and the Winamac Southern between Logansport and Kokomo, there's quite a bit to see at times. Plus it's a nice change of scenery from what I see at home.

Illinois- I'm (still) partial to Rochelle, but not for the reason you might think. I like to book a room for a night or two at one of the hotels in town and spend my time chasing trains around the area. Between the two lines that cross in Rochelle, the CP a dozen miles or so to the north and the ex-Chicago Central (now CN) that cuts southeast from Rockford, I like the variety that exists in the area. I'm pretty sure there's other neat stuff to the south, but I've spent a lot of time in the area between Carpentersville (just north of Elgin) and Rochelle and still prefer it to most other areas in Illinois for personal reasons...

Ohio- I've really only been to Toledo, Fostoria and Deshler. I'd like to see more of the railfan locations in the state, but time hasn't permitted doing so, so far...

Other- When time/finances permit (especially time), I like to railfan in Minnesota's Twin Cities. There's a lot of action to be seen, and I have a close friend working for the UP up there...

[Bulby]

Michigan: no favorite
Ohio: Defiance
Indiana: Elkhart
Illinois: Smithfield Hill or Rawalts Hill
Honorable Mention: Gettysburg, PA

[redside20]

Michigan-Durand, Lapeer,
Ohio-Vermilion, Bellevue, Leipsic, North Findlay, Greenwich..anywhere along the ex NKP..The Indy Line west of Marion
Indiana-Fort Wayne, Lafayette,
West Virginia-St Albans, Charleston, Huntington, NRG.
Kentucky-Corbin
Haven't railfanned Illinois, Pennsylvania, or New York enough to judge

[LSRC]

1) Michigan: No favorite
2) Ohio: Cincinnati
3) Indiana: New Albany, Warsaw, or Bear Run
4) Illinois: Rondout
5) Minnesota: Winona or Northfield
Kentucky: Anywhere on the LCL sub
Missouri: Kirkwood
Pennsylvania: TunnelHill/Gallitizin
Wisconsin: Madison