Working rail roads and their tracks.

[buckeyefarmer]

Here is Ames Brothers Monument in Wyoming. The old rails went right by it. Ames Wiki There was an old roundhouse just NE of the spot you can sort of make it out in this sat image.
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It's right off I80. When I was there I wasn't aware of the roundhouse and was really more out exploring for the current RR tunnel that was shifted south a few miles. I couldn't get close to it due to private property.

The Lincoln highway went by it

 

[Hay Dude]

Heres an old turntable on the Chester Creek Branch Chadds Ford to Wawa line (Wawa means wild geese in Lenin/Lenape Indian tongue)

 

[oliver1555]

The town of Sherman was located right near Ames Monument and that was the highest point on the transcontinental railway. If you look around, you can still see evidence of foundations and there are still some grave markers. Several hundred people lived there.

When I was a kid, you could crawl through an opening at the back of the monument. I never did that.

Just West was the Dale Creek trestle. It was 150 feet high.

 

[MossRoad]

Here is Ames Brothers Monument in Wyoming. The old rails went right by it. Ames Wiki There was an old roundhouse just NE of the spot you can sort of make it out in this sat image.
View attachment 650872
View attachment 650873

It's right off I80. When I was there I wasn't aware of the roundhouse and was really more out exploring for the current RR tunnel that was shifted south a few miles. I couldn't get close to it due to private property.

Yep. I got that one.

 

[MossRoad]

Heres an old turntable on the Chester Creek Branch Chadds Ford to Wawa line (Wawa means wild geese in Lenin/Lenape Indian tongue)

Boy there's a lot of little bridges on that line. I can't find the turntable. What roads is it between?

 

[MossRoad]

I think I have most of the roundhouse, turntable, transfer tables both current and former pinned, but there's always more. :laughing:

 

[Hay Dude]

I cant pin it, but its close to where the Chester Creek Branch curves and joins into the Wawa Station area, where the new train station is being built.

Yes theres a LOT of little 40 to 200 foot long bridges. That railroad had to cross the Chester Creek several times. It is VERY scenic. People would probably take the train just for the scenery if they rebuilt it. The Chester Creek is what took out the railroad when Hurricane Agnes hit. I think itll reopen in another 20 years. Population shift will demand it.

Speaking of turntables, I dont fully understand why they would need one there? Its only a wye. What would be the use where theres so few tracks? Locomotive storage?

Moss, have you categorized the turntables active or inactive? are there any active turntables left in my area? I think Strasburg RR may have one, about 30 miles from me.

 

[MossRoad]

I cant pin it, but its close to where the Chester Creek Branch curves and joins into the Wawa Station area, where the new train station is being built.

Yes theres a LOT of little 40 to 200 foot long bridges. That railroad had to cross the Chester Creek several times. It is VERY scenic. People would probably take the train just for the scenery if they rebuilt it. The Chester Creek is what took out the railroad when Hurricane Agnes hit. I think itll reopen in another 20 years. Population shift will demand it.

Speaking of turntables, I dont fully understand why they would need one there? Its only a wye. What would be the use where theres so few tracks? Locomotive storage?

Moss, have you categorized the turntables active or inactive? are there any active turntables left in my area? I think Strasburg RR may have one, about 30 miles from me.

Strasburg has a RR museum with a turntable.

I'll have to look again when I get home tonight. Don't have that KMZ file for google earth pro on a mobile device. I counted last night and I have about 68 things pinned in PA. As for active and inactive, I can't tell you. I put that information in the pin description.

So I have things like:
- RH, which means Roundhouse that is still visible. Might be active. Might be abandoned. Might be repurposed.
- RH foundation, which means the building is gone, but you can see the foundation.
- TT, which means turntable that's still visible.
- TT foundation, which usually means either the pit is visible, or the ring of the pit, etc...
- Transfer Table, which is a like a turntable if you don't know, but it slides between tracks VS rotates.

Stuff like that.

 

[MossRoad]

Here in South Bend, every once in a while, we'll get a long train of just flat cars with John Deere combines, or large tractors, or sometimes it's just all red Case IH stuff. The entire train, always heading east. It's a sight to see. Never have my camera ready.

 

[Hay Dude]

We mostly see large sheets of steel here from Arcelor Mital (Formerly Lukens Steel) in Coatesville, PA. They are the nations largest steel mill for sheet steel. Thick steel for ship hulls, etc. on the rails from Coatesville, PA to the Ports in Wilmington, DE to be loaded on ships. Pretty cool to watch. Also a lot of liquified natural gas tank cars.