I thought I'd share one of my favorite new train watching spots with those of you in the Atlanta metro area. Downtown Lilburn, GA has a new park and greenway trail, and the parking lot backs up right next to the tracks. You can sit in your car when it's cold and jump out when a train comes. On the scanner you can hear southbounds coming on your scanner, thanks to the detector at MP 552, which is ~3 miles north. Northbound trains will announce the signal at the "Brickyard" which is about 2 miles to the south. The crossing gates go down about 2 minutes before the trains in either direction so there is plenty of time to set up shots. You can also stand on the opposite side of the tracks and see about a mile which is good for shooting northbounds. I sat over there for a while this morning and caught a 7300' southbound whcih was cool except if was about 25 degrees out there in the wind! The Abbeville sub is generally hit or miss through GA, some days being better than others, i.e. today I heard about 12 trains from my house a mile away, tomorrow there may only be 3 or 4. I've gone whole weekends without hearing ANY trains. Anyway, back to Lilburn...It is a safe place to watch with the police station right across the street and lots of people walking on the trails. Don't worry, no one will bother you but they will give you strange looks especially when a train is rolling through and cars are backed up! If you see a black Honda with 1 or 2 guys sitting in it parked in the space closest to the tracks, come say Hi to us! Ah, as I'm typing this in my den I hear another train!
