Thanks for watching, be sure to like and subscribe for part three! Watch part 1: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-oWl-KF3VeJ0.htmlsi=3q5E_LBhuFdnFYeq
I got one: the webcam foamer. These are the people that sit on railclams 24/7 and call out in the chat every time a train passes. Even if it’s an all GEVO elephant style train.
Branch line railfan here! it’s.. lonely really lonely it’s the same 3 locomotives every time nobody else is ever there but at least we got standard cab dash 8s!!!!!
Better than mine 2 trains a day and rarely is it anything other than a 4 axel loco except every now and than when a NS 5642 or a high hood works the line.
I always do the drone because it makes sure I don't totally miss the train if my phone breaks like usual. Illegal one is most foamers. Perfectionism is me lol, nice work as always.
Bro my dad has a drone and I’m using his TriPod thingy on Railfaning trips to my local Granite City Junction area to just catch a couple trains then go somewhere with the equippment
Branch lining is pretty chill... if it's a shortline and you know the crew you usually can catch a ride. The best part is meeting the owners and wrenching with them on their end cabs for me. Give or take if your a local you kind of are apart of the crew depending on the class 3 railroad.
The illegal part reminded me of a drama in my country's railfan community a month ago. There was a new heritage locomotive on the block and many kids are trespassing the station's safety zone. The station master had to shoo all of them off because they know something bad will happen that this new heritage locomotive is coming. They all had to move into another spot away from the stations, yet they still cause drama online
That part about the scary bridges and overpasses scared me even though I’ve only done it twice I still get scared . Along with that branch line thingy is literally me 😂😂
I'm definitely a branch line railfan. I live on a line that actually does get freight service but it's almost always at the dead of night. The only engines that populate the yard are CSX GP40-2s. The exact same road numbers are there for months and the only "special things" that are ever there is the very occasional SD40-2, which only makes an appearance when I'm not there. Besides CSX, we have a shortline that pretty much speedruns the yard moves so nobody ever sees them. And last and least is the commuter rail that runs right through the other 2 railroad's yard. Nothing special ever comes up or down the line, and the best thing you'll ever actually get to see is a slight number change on CSX.
I live on the NS Morri Branch, it hasn't had a revenue train in over ten years and the occasional storage moves only run late at night. I have to drive 45 minutes to the Pocahontas District to see guaranteed daily trains and something that isn't a Coal Train.
Not railfans in particular, but trespassing is a huge issue around here, specifically by motorists (cars sitting on crossings, running around gates, pedestrians crossing, etc). It's so bad that I've complained to both local police and state troopers multiple times. Monday night my predictions sadly came true, and Amtrak P098 with 164 (Phase IV heritage) hit an SUV at one of the crossings I warned of. Driver sadly killed on impact. I'd filmed that same train a couple mins before and didn't even know for another day since I went to get a burger afterwards. On the overpass note, it's something I'd love to try but the vehicle traffic scares me, plus I'm terrified to go out of sight of my car (all the good spots here are in questionable areas). When I get my pilot's license, I might have a friend film while overflying the yard. Here the only trains you can chase are the ones that either make a station stop or work the yard. Chases are exciting and all, but not worth getting pulled over or into an accident over. I've seen both happen to railfans before. Branch lines are nice too, much easier to chase than mainlines. My mom used to live near one (UP Troy Grove branch in IL) and I only got that job a few times but they had good power each time. Crews are friendly and usually they're predictable. Rural branch lines also offer some nice opportunities for shots that you might not get on the main. Great video as always.
Live near A CSX branchline. 1 daily train in the afternoon and 1 weekly train in the morning (idk what day it always changes). However, almost every train that takes the branchline has a YN2 or an SD70MAC and, on rare occasions, a flared SD70MAC. Its's a great branchline if you are lucky to catch a train on it.
Awesome Vid as always Man! Elevation addict here. I live right beside a branch line, Every Run is Coal, Every Engine is a Norfolk Southern, (or a Leased Loco without the NS) Every 1 to 2 months it runs. That's my experience with Branch Lines. Even though it's the same, I still always get a kick when I see One!
When I used to be a branch line railfan, I saw the same sets of power for as long as I lived there. We got about one local train each day in the evening and every once in a while something else would show up. The power as simply a pair of CSX dash 9s. EMDs almost never came down the line. No joke I spent HOURS near that line every day and only saw a train (that wasn’t the normal local) once. I guess it could’ve been worse but not by much
Branch line rail-fan here. Yeah I mostly rail fan from my yard out of convenience and yeah it’s mostly the same stuff but I have to film everything on the off chance something different comes by. Also I found a local facebook group and now have other rail-fan friends nearby
My local rail line, the Indiana and Ohio, runs many GPs from different patched railroads. Most of the time where I live they're G&W patch, but I once caught an SP patch
Kind of me to be honest but with a scanner and various friends along the line giving me heads up. If you live close enough to the tracks, it's really nice
Ok the branch line one is just funny to me bc I do sometimes railfan a branch line somewhat near me, but recently I’ve actually been seeing a lot of different units including foreign power
I could be a part of the branch line railfan community living Along the Harbor Sub I get a total of 1 YWAT every day and 1 headed the opposite direction that doesn’t really have a schedule. They usually have either two GP60’s or a GP60 and a bluebonnet. Occasionally I’ll get a GP25XE and a bluebonnet to make it a relatively cool catch.
One I can think of is the railfan we who sits in their car and films no matter what the weather or environment is. Especially when there’s a glare on the window or stuff in the way. It also sucks to film off overpasses in an urban area since there’s usually fences that block the few, which I can understand why though.
That’s exactly me! When I’m out and get a chance to catch trains I don’t care what the weather is I’ve been caught in some rain and snow storms at times but it’s weather it’s unpredictable at least in Western Pa
ah, the good old great lakes central railfanning experience. most of the locomotives the GLC uses are standard Geeps. They dont got any AA units anymore, a couple locos in the old TSBY [Tuscola & Saginaw Bay Railway] colors, and most of the roster have the White and Blue colors. We have a couple MRL units, a CEFX unit, 10 year anniversary unit, and thats about it. A interesting lashup of locomotives. But usually you get to see the standard GLC locos with the While and Blue scheme.
I like shortlines because they usually have vintage power and unique operations. I enjoy traveling around to spot them and learning about their routines. Also a second quick note, you mentioning the branch line foamer watching the same power go back and forth is nothing compared to these damn commuter foamers watching literally the same locomotive and two cars go back and forth for 8 hours straight, and getting just as excited every single time.
That's part of my "issue." I live right next to the keystone corridor in Lancaster County, PA, and because of this, I only have Amtrak commuters all day with the exception of 2 daily long-distance trains. My biggest issue with this is only having one freight train per day, THAT'S IT. and it really annoys me because my town does have a branch line, and it is serviced daily by Norfolk Southern... But it's only around 1:00 in the morning because there's no commuters running!!
Thanks for respecting my type of railfan: The Branchline Enjoyer I see the same SW1500s every day on the Columbia And Cowlitz Railroad every day, and, twice, one round trip, I see a BNSF branch line train
im pretty much all of these besides the perfectionist and model railroader. A good friend of mine really got me into train horns and i can tell whats what pretty easily now, still working on getting at least 1 train horn tho. Just my last outing i claimed up a id say 30 - 40 dagree hill down along the Mississippi at Maple Springs to get a shot of a train snaking through a curve with the river, bluff, and Wisconsin all in one shot. I live along a CPKC spur (3 trains a week) and 99% of the time is just GP20Cs, but sometimes CP 3002 or some other geep gets thrown on and it is genuinely a moment to calibrate when that happens, and living on branch/spur you get to know the line very quick and you know where all the good spots are
Yeah I’m definitely a branch line fan but it’s actually a regional, we don’t get trains often, maybe catch 2 a week if I’m lucky, and yes we do see the same power basically all the time. If you got any questions just ask me.
I am a branch line railfan. Here's my average experience: I railfan by the Surf Line. Normally I see some garbage stuff like the SC44 Charger, while occasionally seeing a Genesis. I once even rail fanned there at 10 at night and saw a Warbonnet. That was the only time that I saw a freight train railfanning (emphasis on railfanning, I have seen so many freight trains in Palm Desert).
As a branch line railfan, I usually just drive down the road and set up by the old ACL bridge over the river and catch one of the 2-3 local trains during the day, and the occasional port train, though it usually comes through at night. And sometimes I drive down to the west end of the yard to catch the evening eastbound freight into the yard.
LMAO, man you are so good at these spoof videos, I laugh the entire time, too good George! Hope ya do a part 3!!! Still not really sure what type of Railfan I am, in fact I don't even use that term to describe myself LOL... During the winter I almost become the "model railroader dude" HAH... Hope ya have an awesome weekend buddy, please do more of this style video! -OMK
I am a branchline Railfan. The railroad, FEC, well more of a shortline but whatever, I’ve seen the same train sometimes with the same power or different, but I’ve also Railfanned in GA,PA, And other parts of Florida, And most of the engineers are friendly so I enjoy living around a branchline.
I plead guilty to 2 counts of illegal railfanning; once when i didn't have a good zoom camera, and another when I parked beside a crossing for the shot
I’m the type of guy who’s just happy to catch a train. And ecstatic if it’s something more interesting. (especially standard cabs can’t get enough of those.)
I'm a CN branchline railfan, and as one, I mostly catch trains from my patio (I only live about a few hundred feet from the tracks), and ask my parents to take me to catch one if I can't walk or bike there (I sometimes manage to catch trains without a car or not from my patio). And the most common power from on my line is ES44ACs, ET44ACs, ES44DCs, SD70M-2s, C44-9Ws, and SD75Is. But I have seen lots of cool stuff on my line from when I moved there to the present. When it was my first day of living there I saw a BC Rail C40-8M on a southbound grain train as a mid DPU. I sometimes still pray rare things come and sometimes I'm lucky and sometimes not. But I will still love trains for the rest of my life
I have a few ideas: 1) The railfan who risk himself to climb up on a locomotive and tried to open its door. 2) The weeb railfan who likes anime and trains. ✋Whenever there’s an rare anime graffiti on whichever freight train, the person can name the series easily.
Here in the PNW, we have the PSAP (Puget Sound & Pacific) Railroad. It's a branchline/shortline railroad and you can see about 2-4 trains per day. On average, you can see about 1-2 locals per day with PSAP power, 1-grain train per day off of the BNSF or Union Pacific bound for Aberdeen, WA, 2 weekly empty and loaded trash trains with Union Pacific power, seldom nuclear waste trains. Really interesting operations, they do on that railroad with plenty of opportunities to see trains ranging from small shortline locals to big, loaded grain trains with 6-axle Class 1 power.
Hey, I have a BNSF SD70ACe in N scale purely because I saw one on my branch line mixed in with the usual CN regulars and was like "wow, don't see that every day" :3
I used to be a branch line railfan, its how you described it. Every day its the same old train coming with the same old CSX Gevo's, with the same old hopper cars and the same old SEMI TRUCK BLOCKING THE VIEW!
I can't lie I'm a mix of the branch line railfan and a perfectionist, I happen to live close to a Maine and a Branch line. When I have the time to catch the branch line I will go out of my way to see it, but when it comes to the main line I usually only go to it when there's something worth seeing because most of the time it's just ordinary BNSF.
I'm just happy when I record trains with more than just Canadian Nationals up front. I've recorded a Canadian Pacific and a CSX. I was just disappointed when I lost the opportunity to record a BNSF, because those are rare where I'm from.
I don’t quite know how to describe myself. I live on a very active commuter mainline (I can hear a horn as I write this) but there are only two different freight “jobs” to be seen in a given week. I’ll watch 14 commutes go by to see a freight where one of the units is facing a different way from last time. Both brachline and mainline
I guess I'm a branch line railfan. I see pretty much the same 2 NECR GP40-2LWs and sometimes GP40s (#3040 is the one I remember seeing a lot), although I don't really get to see trains very often because of school so it's always cool to see anyway, and it's still a train after all. I live in northern CT, btw.
Long comment: I technically live near a branchline but it's off Fullerton Jct. Where it splits into 2 mainlines. First two tracks BNSF San Bernardino Subdivision. The track that splits off leads to the Orange Sub/the old San Dieagan Route. Also around I think early Mondays & Wednesdays afternoons the Local which usually has an old Santa Fe Caboose/shoving Platform and 2 ex Santa Fe GP60M-3s. Tuesdays and Thursdays they usually service Irvine late night around midnight. Also for other Types of Railfans: The Radio Scanner Guy. You know someone or are that someone that has 3 radios on themselves at all times tuned into 3 different RRs
As a branch line railfanner I have to drive over an hour to go to my favorite spot. And I can barely leave the place and the only freight spot is an hour and a half away
I am a train spotter, in tye UK you would be a freight spotter due to you liking freight more than commuter trains (which you see very often in the UK)
I'm a sort of a branch line There's a 30-mile industrial lead in the Gulf Coast, which has all UP SD40s and an SD60. It's an easy chase and really simple. The entire line is a ex SP line with a SP depot as a Yard office. It's a unique local and line to railfan
Hey, im a branch line Railfan, we get plenty of heritage units everyday. Hoping to see a 2+ loco consist. But other than that, its either single loco with a DPU, 2 engine consist with a DPU sometimes. Its all mixed freight.
Uh-oh I think I’m a branch line railfan 😂 Mainly because I live right next to a Norfolk Southern track. The crew is probably like “this guy again?!?” lol. When I eventually get a scanner, I’ll probably branch out a bit more 😅 Ps- love your vids!
I am absolutely the model railroader. I love working on my railroad in the basement, but still like the occasional day of fresh air to go and see some real trains.
From a branchline railfan, railfanning is luckily never, or at least from my experiences, never really destroyed by any kinds of related things to ruin a shot. I don't have any fancy equipment, mainly because I'm broke, but yeah, even seeing just the same units every so often is chill and I enjoy the units that the branch line has.
I live next to a branch that goes up a really steep slope. It takes 3 locomotives to pull 30 empty cars up it. The empty train goes up and comes back down full. It’s mostly just grain from the nearby farms and lumber from the nearby mill, they usually use centerbeam cars for the wood but occasionally they will use a flatbed or a logging car. They also sometimes bring boxcars up there and occasionally a tanker, no clue what they do with those
you make great videos I discovered your channel 2 months ago and I'm glad I did thank you for making these videos and thanks to the youtube algorithm for recommending your channel to me
As a railfanner from Michigan, I don't care what each train is like and how unique it is, I just enjoy seeing one in action. Also, you got a new reward... A SUBSCRIBER
I'm the 11th type of railfan, the old geezer who can remember the smell of fresh paint on a brand new SD40-2 being broken in on the BN race track right after delivery. We can remember when GP9s could still be seen in mainline service painted in C&O and B&O, BRC ALCOs belching smoke like a wanabe steam loco pulling a transfer out of Clearing yard. But most of all we shot on Kodachrome slide film. I am laughing my ass off now as I have run into and have known all the types you mentioned so far. Here is a tip. If you want to piss off a foamer or nerd just tell them that you are there for the photography and not the choo choo.
I'm a branchline railfan. I'm currently waiting for drivers ed to start in January, so I can't go anywhere other than the places in my town that are within walking or biking distance. Average power consists of original and rebuilt Pan Am/Guilford GP40s. High/low hoods and wide cabs. Occasionally you can see a Dash-8 sporting CSX paint with patches, or a Dash-8 wearing the Pan Am big blue livery. If you're one of those people who is really good an planning, math, and time management, you can see the Bow Power coal train powered by EDNA-1 that passes through the Nashua yard once every few weeks. If you're lucky, it will be powered by NS Dash-9s. As of late, it's been powered by larger CSX/Pan Am equipment. If you railfan along the Northern Mainline, or the Hillsboro branch, you'll know every engineer and conductor, and will almost always get a horn salute and a wave when they're on their way through town.
Great video again! Quick question, I’ve seen people with the same art stile as you (amtrackguy365 as an example). So, how do you make the pfp? Do you draw it or edit a photo?
I used to be a Branchline railfan. I chased Pan Am Railways DO-1 through Portsmouth by bike, and it was great exercise. Lucky for me, the power was a hodgepodge of EMD power in Pan Am blue or Guilford gray and orange. This branch also connects to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and lots of interesting cars have been brought in from time to time.
As a Branchline Foamer, all I see are small engines or SD70s on the CN line, but if I am lucky, I might see an SD75i or a IC Death Star Unit, and I do have the Norfolk Southern line like right next to the CN Line, so I often Railfan there too, I’m sort of explaining what I catch and I foam really crazy when I see a train on that line, heck one time when I went to the Flea Market, I saw a CN SD70 duo on that line with a Illinois Central SD70 in 2nd, man, I wish that line could get more traffic
As a branch line railfan, we get the interesting shit weekly, all the CN Geeps roll into town and it's a different set of power every week (GP40-2W and GP9RM was my last catch), plus the frequent VIA Trains help.
Branch line guy here thankfully it’s connected to both CN and CP so I get them but if not it’s two trains one week days with 2 SD60Ms and a SD40 or SD45
I'm the model railroader in this part LMAO I usually do that stuff when I see something irl I have in HO scale and I do stay inside if it's bad weather
