DJ, you are becoming one of the premier RR videographers on RU-vid. This particular video was just what I needed after a stressful day. Relaxing music, your soft-reassuring voice and some spectacular vistas from your professional drone shots. Congrats...keep em coming.
amazing video... without that drone we would never get to see "DJ Earth". What a great tool to be able to view and capture on film the real footprint of railroading. Great Stuff. Thank you for sharing.
great idea, DJ, using a drone for modeling possibilities in surveying real railroad landscapes.... nice shot of Pittsburgh.... didn't know Braddock still had a steel plant..... I thought the town was going through hard times (abandonment).... not many small freight customers.... has that been left to the short lines? a tip of the hat from Bellows Falls, Vermont.... oh, and you are right about showing history.... all my derailments are marked with a white cross.... the layout looks like a cemetery...
A spectacular video, DJ. Thanks so much. I can see why model railroaders might like to base their layouts on this prototype: lots and lots of track crammed into narrow spaces amid plenty of industries to serve and interesting western Pennsylvania scenery. ...Roy
I modeled an abandoned spur on my layout. I modeled it overgrown with brush and weeds, missing ties and sections of missing rail. My nephews and I were running trains, and one of them said “uncle Mike, we should fix this part so trains can run there!”
This is an awesome video! I was born & raised in Pittsburgh. Left in 85 when I was 18 to join the Army, reitred from there and now live in Georgia This brings back a lot of memories. Keep up the good work. Just subscribed.
Great video bud! It gave me some thought into my layout with the branch lines. I love that part of Pittsburgh. I love railfanning Haysville with the old PRR signals too. Great work- Joey
DJ you do an incredible job of flying your drone. I would never get an opportunity to view these tracks without your videos. You take your time to explain what we are viewing. It is always fun to get to see things in operation. I appreciate the fact that you indicate you are a licensed drone pilot and you mention to others that may fly drones to do so responsibly. That lends a great deal of credibility to your videos. Keep up the good work and thanks again for making all of these videos possible from an engineers perspective!
Thanks Tom. I am trying to reach as many as possible because I remember what it was like as kid before the internet when I knew nothing and had to guess how things worked or what they looked like behind a fence, lol. The drone is amazing, but not everyone should be doing this as you stated. I enjoy teaching and also modeling, so this is enjoyable for me (minus 8 hrs editing a 10 min video, lol).
Great videos! Love the Pittsburgh area. Born in McKeesport, started living life in Clairton. Been back a million times to visit/attend games but always was awed by the rail lines. Thank you!
I LOVED this video. Not only is it a out trains, but my hometown is featured! So much history in Pgh; modeling it seems ideal, for me. One day, I'll have the space to do it. Thank you!
Your channel is amazing DJ. I stumbled upon your channel looking for knowledge of how railyards work for a fictional story I'm writing and not only did I find the knowledge I was looking for but pure artistry, fun and relaxation. Everything from the tone of your voice, the choice in music, the footage, etc. I suffer with severe clinical anxiety so I didn't just find the info I needed but also videos I can watch that calms my anxiety on your channel. Thank you... I am now a fan!
Your videos are absolutely stunning!! Being a model railroader in South Africa trying to model US lines is tricky. Your videos are exactly what i have been looking for!!! Please keep making these awesome videos!
DJ, your right the drone coverage helps all of us model R&R’s get a different approach to modeling on our layouts, this is great 👍 D J, keep up the work you put into your videos, enjoy them all . Take care bud. 😎👍👍👍🛤🚂from the Eastern Shore of Maryland 🐠🦀🍺
Great video, and excellent commentary. I came across this by accident, but really enjoyed it for the model railroad ideas. Just wish I had the room for all the trackwork, industries, rivers, roads and scenery.
I absolutely love these scenic overviews. I've seen videos of the Union steelworks system with their vintage EMD switchers, but it's amazingly complex seen from above.
I thoroughly enjoyed this video, you show so many places where I've worked and lived. 32nd St and AVRR for one and later in the K & L Gates building in downtown. An ex Pittsburger I'm in South Carolina now, so your tours hit home to me!
Thanks so much for the NS footage! Some of the scenes were almost surreal. The trees on the side of the hill when the intermodel train was running will be a great model project.
Love that footage starting at 7:45. It looks like the perfect spot to model.. bridges, viaducts, raised road, water. That is going on my layout for sure. Thanks for the awesome video Dj.
Great video and info. I lived in Pittsburgh for 2 yars in the late 70's/ It was a really depressed area back then . Its really amazing the turn around in the area since then !!
The video is interesting. I like trains and industrial areas, but you're showing large urban areas that would take a lot of time and space to model, with relatively little track.
exactly. I feel lots of layouts have too much track and not enough scenery to be convincing. I see track plans online, and think "Uhm, where is the rest of the world?" lol.
Outstanding Video! Railfaned these areas many times for ideas. AVR great one of my favorites for industrial switching. I model the ET Valley Yard , URR and Port Perry area. The valley under Westinghouse Bridge Valley is absolutely inspirational.....a Mecca for modelers an railfans alike ! Well done !!
Great video DJ! A little nostalgic for me seeing Pittsburgh since I spent a couple years there for school. I lived a short walk from the 5th street bridge and crossed it daily to go to class. Love all the modeling ideas in these shots!
Really well done! I love watching trains, who doesn't, but this gives that modelers perspective you can't get from trackside. You opened my eyes, thanks.
Awesome drone footage. Been thinking of getting one myself to document all the abandoned trackage through the center of Florida. Many buildings can be recognized but the track is gone. Lots of industry off the beaten path. All this footage of the Pgh area makes me home sick.
Great video! I loved it. I'm building a little early 50's fantasy town for an N scale layout, so I really appreciated seeing the homes & shops in these towns.
Have to make more drone video it different .tired of 👀 a train at ground level. That shot of NS Power going down the track from above was Magnificent and Innovative in train video
DJ, nice preserntation! Even though I have never been to your area and don't plan to model it, I was able to 1) appreciate some nice drone photography and 2) get some ideas for some things I would like to do to my "in progress" layout. Keep 'em coming!
You really enhance the hobby. So many bridges to model .. so little time! The double decker bridge in Pittsburgh .. was that surface rust or was that paint? I couldn't really tell. I love the bridge in and around Pittsburg. I may visit to spend a few days just filming bridges! This a great video .. thank you.
Great video! I'm building my first layout and I don't know a lot about trains. I was unsure if railroad bridges would be built as part of a grade but several of your locations shows bridges angled to the grade. A lot of other great tips, such as how close the track is to streets in residential areas, how the track curves on sections of plate girder bridges. The abandoned track is very interesting, I have a set track plan but I may be able in incorporate something like that. Thanks for sharing!!
I absolutely loved this video. It has 2 things I hold very close to my heart: a) my time in Pittsburgh in the early '90s ( I was there as a foreign student); b) my undying passion for trains and railroad modeling. I don't have a room for railroad modeling, sadly, so I do the next best thing, I play Train Simulator and TSW frequently. I have both the Horse Shoe Curve and the 3rd party Bessemer and Lake Erie (early 1900s) routes. I also have NS and CSX rolling stock. From Connelley Technical Institute (by the now gone Civic Arena) I used to watch the trains go over the double-deck bridge over the Allegheny River. I am currently entertaining the idea of modeling (in Train Simulator) a route that includes or leads to Pittsburgh. Thank you for your videos. Subscribed.
D.J. i really enjoy your channel and the insight you provide. I also am impressed with your videos with the drone. Keep up the great contributions to the hobby!
In reference to removing switches another cool thing I have see done on shorts lines when removing a switch for a siding is removing only the front and points I modeled this with central valley switch ties. Glued the rails on place and have the diverging rails a dirty rust color.
Very nice. Love the shots of Braddock and the tracks at multiple different levels. Got me thinking "how could this be condensed for modeling" and "do I really need that extra bedroom I had planned for the corner in the basement?"
Hi DJ, Very nice video. The track beside the Union Railroad in your video with the NS double stack train is called either the Port Perry Branch or Port Perry Secondary. This is a connector track between the Pittsburgh Line and the Mon Line. All double stacks have to use this line to get around the low clearances in Pittsburgh. The stack trains return to the main line via the OC bridge on Pittsburgh's West end. Speaking of bridges, if you ever get a chance, try and take some drone footage of the NS Ohio Crossing (OC) bridge on the West side of Pittsburgh. The ramps to the bridge are unique and both sides of the bridge at one time had wye tracks. On the Beaver Ave. side of the bridge, the big empty space between the mains was the former Island Ave intermodal terminal. They use to load the Trailer-train piggyback flats cars circus style well into the Conrail era. I believe it was NS that closed the Island Ave. Intermodal terminal and moved all operations to Pitcairn. Cheers, Rich S.
Some great bridges in your neck of the woods! Oklahoma doesn’t have (or need) too many of these large bridges since we only have a few rivers to cross by rail. Mostly we have short deck bridges across creeks. However, there are a few truly wonderful long truss bridges.
Excellent video As I see the tracks I see a use for some old used Atlas track I acquired with some used rolling stock. It would make excellent abandoned industrial track or storage spurs for non running cars and equipment.
Wow.. freakin awesome DJ...I think you need to do more or this fly over stuff.. thanks for sharing and keep up the great work.. Lance .. I might want to give that a try one day..
Very very nice video my friend, im just starting over again on my forth American layout and this has given me so much information, thank you Tony from England UK
AWESOME VIDEOGRAPHY! Great Vantage Point! I Live in Pittsburgh (Verona, 10 miles up the Allegheny River from the point) and have visited each of these rail areas although, your drone showed me areas that I was not able to access. I tend to use Google Earth to follow rails all throughout SW PA. Keep up the great work, DJ. Thank you for shariing your passion with us.
