Best time in the summer to railfan
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Best time in the summer to railfan
Hello, me and my grandfather are deciding to spread our legs and get out of 1 train a day country in Central Michigan and head to Ohio. We plan to check out Marion, Fostoria and Deshler. What would the best time in the summer be to see some rail action and decent weather
Last edited by dalek ling on Fri Jun 07, 2024 10:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Best time in the summer to railfan
All three of those spots shouldn’t have any particularly good or bad time.
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Re: Best time in the summer to railfan
Something get deleted or edited away here perhaps?Saturnalia wrote: ↑Fri Jun 07, 2024 8:35 pmAll three of those spots shouldn’t have any particularly good or bad time.
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Re: Best time in the summer to railfan
Regarding Fostoria---- unless things have changed since the railpark has opened, it is best to go there on an overcast or cool day. I remember when I was there with my son, there was a complete lack of shade, and on a hot day there was no relief from the sun.But, maybe that has gotten better nowadays. Although, the number of trains has decreased, and the tower has been closed for some time now.
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Re: Best time in the summer to railfan
How many go through now?joeyuboats wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2024 11:55 amRegarding Fostoria---- unless things have changed since the railpark has opened, it is best to go there on an overcast or cool day. I remember when I was there with my son, there was a complete lack of shade, and on a hot day there was no relief from the sun.But, maybe that has gotten better nowadays. Although, the number of trains has decreased, and the tower has been closed for some time now.
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Re: Best time in the summer to railfan
Don't really know, as I have not been there in quite a while. My son kept track one time, to see if it matched the number that TRAINS magazine said--- and it was pretty close. But from what I read now, it's about half of what it used to be. Probably won't be back, due to health issues--- but it was a darn impressive place at one time.
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Re: Best time in the summer to railfan
Nope. Short and simple. All three of those hotspots should be consistently busy both throughout the year, season and day. Not particularly "good time" that's better than anything else.Jetlink wrote: ↑Sat Jun 08, 2024 1:24 amSomething get deleted or edited away here perhaps?Saturnalia wrote: ↑Fri Jun 07, 2024 8:35 pmAll three of those spots shouldn’t have any particularly good or bad time.
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Re: Best time in the summer to railfan
Oh Yes, I agree. However when I viewed the post and quoted you originally the OP's post was missing. Yours was the top in the thread. It was obviously an answer to a question. But the question wasn't visible. So I suspected something. Now however the OP's post is at the top. With a note that it was edited. Perhaps a mod had it hidden for a while . Or it wasn't visible to me while the OP was editing and my timing was particularly poor.Saturnalia wrote: ↑Mon Jun 10, 2024 6:37 amNope. Short and simple. All three of those hotspots should be consistently busy both throughout the year, season and day. Not particularly "good time" that's better than anything else.Jetlink wrote: ↑Sat Jun 08, 2024 1:24 amSomething get deleted or edited away here perhaps?Saturnalia wrote: ↑Fri Jun 07, 2024 8:35 pmAll three of those spots shouldn’t have any particularly good or bad time.
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Re: Best time in the summer to railfan
Decent weather is all relative. Maybe you want sun for photos, overcast for sitting back and relaxing to watch trains, windy for kites between trains, who knows, up to you. Check the weather forecast and see what temps/conditions work for you: https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/us/oh/deshlerdalek ling wrote: ↑Fri Jun 07, 2024 6:56 pmWhat would the best time in the summer be to see some rail action and decent weather
Trains go woot woot all summer, pick a date that works for your schedule and go. Typically locals work weekdays most often, some work weekends, so one would think a weekday wherever is typically better than a weekend for train counts. Add in more MOW on weekdays it seems though, so you might hit some work window and not see much.
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Re: Best time in the summer to railfan
Here's a google sheets log of every train that goes thru Deshler. Unknown if there is one for Fostoria or Marion:dalek ling wrote: ↑Fri Jun 07, 2024 6:56 pmHello, me and my grandfather are deciding to spread our legs and get out of 1 train a day country in Central Michigan and head to Ohio. We plan to check out Marion, Fostoria and Deshler. What would the best time in the summer be to see some rail action and decent weather
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... =781366548
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Re: Best time in the summer to railfan
June or July imo. Longest days of the year and we tend to get the warmest temps those two months as well. It does not matter where you go or all three you will see tons of trains to keep you occupied
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Re: Best time in the summer to railfan
dalek ling wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2024 5:40 pmHow many go through now?joeyuboats wrote: ↑Sun Jun 09, 2024 11:55 amRegarding Fostoria---- unless things have changed since the railpark has opened, it is best to go there on an overcast or cool day. I remember when I was there with my son, there was a complete lack of shade, and on a hot day there was no relief from the sun.But, maybe that has gotten better nowadays. Although, the number of trains has decreased, and the tower has been closed for some time now.
Fostoria still see's roughly 60-70 trains a day.
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Re: Best time in the summer to railfan
I seem to remember the TRAINS magazine saying that there were about 150 trains through Fostoria, in a 24 hour period--- and that was REAL close to correct, as my son kept count, and there were 70 something in the 12 hours we were there, back in early 2000's.