I'm lucky enough this year to be able to spend some time (most of September) travelling around the USA, with the aim of catching up with some family (and see the sights) and some long awaited railfanning. I'll be spending a week in New York City, a few days in Chicago and a few days in San Fransisco, before heading down to LA for a week. I'd be interested in hearing where everyone's fave railfanning spots are and their fave local train shops (with a strong N scale presence of course! ) I'll be in NYC from the 3rd till the 10th, but there probably won't be much time for railfanning. There should time to check out a few shops. I will be limited to public transport for most of the trip. After arriving in Chicago on the 10th, I'll be attending the International Hobby Expo on the 11th, probably sightseeing on the 12th (hopefully Rochelle, the layout at the Science Muesum, Des Plaines Hobbies and whatever else takes our fancy) and the Midwest Model Intermodal Group list get together on the 12th/13th. Once out west, I'm arranging to fulfill a life-long dream of checking out the Tehachapi Loop and hopefully a lot of other hotspots - Cajon, Beaumont and the Ports of LB/LA etc. I should be in town before the weekend of the 20-21st I'll be eager to check out famous Espee sights and anywhere with hot intermodal action. I'll be looking at travelling from SF to LA on the Coast Starlight/Pacific Surfliners, maybe with a nights stopover along the way - perhaps somewhere where elements of the SP are still visible. So where are your hotspots and what do you recommend? Thanks!
Don't know about NYC or California, but: My few suggestions for the Chicago area would be: Elmhurst (on the UP ex CNW) Joliet (on BNSF ex Santa Fe) Somewhere (Highlands? Brookfield? any other suggestions?) on the BNSF ex-BN Triple Track Any of those should get you a good number of trains, and are accessible all (week)day by rail from central Chicago (or at least they seemed to be last time I was there, probably best to check!!.) There are a bunch of other locations we visited, but I'm not sure I would reccomend them if you are not driving & travelling alone (Blue Island and Dolton Jcn come to mind...)
In my region of the USA, we have what is known as "The Funnel." east from Spokane, Washington, to Sandpoint, Idaho. So named, due to traffic jamming track capacity much of the time. After the BN merger, management stupidly abandoned part of the Great Northern tracks between Sandpoint and Spokane. Which put all traffic on the old NP single track line. Mixed in the area, are the UP line to Canada, one each BNSF and UP branch lines. Plus at Sandpoint, Montana Rail Link connects. Stalking the area, is at least one well known railfan/photographer and N scaler. (No. It's not me. ) Boxcab E50
Can't do better to find out about the Funnel, than by taking a look at Ted Curphey's website All about the Funnel, and much more
