Railfanning In Northwest Ohio & Northeast Indiana

  I had set out to do a few things during this trip but knew that I had envisioned doing so many things that I really had to just play it by ear overall. My big reason of course was that I would be that I was invited to attend Media Day and Opening Day at my favorite amusement park on the planet, none other than Cedar Point! I also wanted to go railfanning in Northwest Ohio and see how far I could drive and still fit in my plans for Cedar Point. As a side note, I bought a brand new 2014 Honda Accord EX back in January and considering just how bad this past winter was (we had multiple visits from that nasty "Polar Vortex" which caused some of the coldest temperatures I've ever experienced, and we also had two blizzards which has never happened before in Buffalo on record) I really wanted to take this trip if for nothing else, to enjoy the much improved weather in my new car!
  I had made the drive down to Sandusky from Buffalo the previous day, making my stop at Chick Fil-A in Erie, one of my favorite restaurants which we still don't have in Buffalo but I hope that changes eventually! The drive overall was uneventful which is always a good thing. I can remember back in 2011 when I made this same trip and ended up sitting on the side of Ohio Route 2 during a very nasty hail storm which was not fun at all! Thankfully this year, it was just cloudy skies the whole way. I would stay at the Fairfield Inn By Marriott Hotel in Sandusky which is the normal hotel I stay at during my fall Amtrak Vacation Trip each year. After getting the car cleaned and having dinner at Long John Silvers (another chain that we don't have in Buffalo anymore!), I called it a day early as I had a huge day planned out for the next day.
  I left the hotel around 6:00am before sunrise (could barely see any light in the eastern sky during this time of year at that hour as the sun rises later the further west you go in the time zone). I decided I wanted to see how much railfanning I could get done before having to get back to Sandusky in time for Media Day events that afternoon at 3:00pm.
  My first stop would be Toledo Union Passenger Terminal to see a late Amtrak Capitol Limited as well as Lake Shore Limited. I walked up to the pedestrian bridge located to the west of the station area and set up the tripod. I had arrived shortly after the Capitol Limited arrived. After getting photos of both Amtrak trains and a few freights, I decided it was time for breakfast! I looked on my Garmin GPS to see where the nearest McDonald's was and I picked one just west of where I was. I received a text message from a buddy back in New York who recommended a railfanning spot in nearby Holland, OH so after a breakfast that included Sausage Gravy and Biscuits (c'mon Mickey D's, you need to bring this product up to New York already, it was delicious!), I drove out to Holloway Road in Holland, OH which features a small park and provides good views of the trains on the Norfolk Southern Chicago Line (former Conrail/New York Central). There is also a former Norfolk & Western caboose on the property on display as well.
  After leaving Holland, I set the GPS to take me to the Amtrak station in Bryan, OH which is served by the Lake Shore Limited (The Capitol Limited passes by here but doesn't stop at this station). After taking a few photos there and checking the time, I figured I was 25 miles from Waterloo, IN so I decided I wanted to say I drove my car in Indiana, so I headed out onto U.S. Route 6 and drove out to Waterloo, IN with the mainline paralleling the roadway almost the whole way there! Once I arrived in Waterloo, I only had enough time to take a few pictures and head back to Ohio as I now had a 3 hour drive ahead of me to get back to Sandusky so as to go to Media Day at Cedar Point! The drive back to Sandusky went off without a hitch and I would spend the rest of my day there. Included here are photos taken on this 9 hour adventure to Northwest Ohio and Northeast Indiana, enjoy...

Amtrak Train #29 - The Capitol Limited departing Toledo Union Passenger Terminal at 6:43am running over an hour late.
This would have been a night photo if the train was on time. Today's train had 3 units lead by GE P42DC #99.

Times are certainly changing on the Chicago Line as evidenced by new signals going up along this section of the old Water Level Route!
Norfolk Southern Train 65R (the train in the distance) is set to pass an eastbound van train (didn't get the symbol), passing by one of
the old Conrail-era signals that will soon be replaced by this overhead set of signals.

Next up, this crude oil train would pass the same van train the foreground in the photo above this one. It's amazing how many tracks
used to lead into Toledo Union Passenger Terminal in its heyday! The crude oil train is lead by NS GE ES44AC #8121.

Amtrak Train #49 - The Lake Shore Limited, lead this morning by GE P42DC #25 sits at Toledo, which is a crew change point for
today's train. The bridge in the background is the Anthony Wayne Bridge over the Maumee River.

Amtrak Train #49 now departing Toledo and headed for Chicago. Though I was originally hoping to get a night photo of this train
it ended up being really cool seeing it in the morning sun. I actually rode this train entirely in daylight from Sandusky to Chicago
last year and that ended up being an awesome trip. Sometimes you can use a late train to your advantage like that!

Amtrak's Heritage Diner! My advice, ride in these cars while you still can! Amtrak has 25 new Viewliner II dining cars that are currently
on order that will replace these very historic cars! This car, #8552 was originally built for the Northern Pacific Railway's famous train
"The North Coast Limited" and was built by The Budd Company in 1958. These by far are my favorite cars on Amtrak today!

After breakfast, I headed out to Holloway Road and Front Street in the Toledo suburb of Holland, OH for some railfanning.
This former Norfolk & Western Caboose #555031 is on display at a park area located next to the mainline. There is plenty
of parking safely away from the tracks off of Front Street and lots of trains. I spent a little time here as I continued my trip.

The first train I would see today at Holland was Norfolk Southern Train #17J with BNSF GE ES44DC #7766 heading west.

This eastbound van train would be next up, also leading with BNSF power! This time, it's GE ES44DC #7390 doing the honors.
The road crossing on Holloway Road is a quiet crossing so there are no train horns sounded when trains pass through here.

Is this train a tad overpowered??? The third and final train I would see here before heading further west would be NS Train #11J
which was significantly overpowered! I'm sure some of the locomotives in the consist were probably deadheading somewhere!
The leader on this group of big iron horses (ok the diesel version anyway) is GE C40-9W #9691.

My next stop on this railfanning journey has me in the small Northwest Ohio city of Bryan. A small shelter serves as the station that
sees service from Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited. The Capitol Limited also uses this mainline but doesn't stop at this station. The
station building has an enclosed waiting room with chairs and a pop machine but the station overall is not staffed.

Located almost directly across the tracks from the Bryan, OH Amtrak Station is the former Lake Shore & Michigan Southern
(New York Central) passenger station that was originally constructed in the late 1800's. I'm not sure who owns this station but
clearly it hasn't been used in decades.

The only train that came through Bryan during my short visit here was this eastbound van train with GE ES40DC #7580 on the head end.
NS uses the old New York Central freight house and there are some local customers for NS here in Bryan.

This Ohio Historical Marker is displayed at the Bryan Amtrak Station that describes the New York Central's attempt at a high-speed train
test using a couple jet engines mounted on the roof of an RDC! As the sign says, this part of the mainline is a 67 mile straightaway that
runs from Toledo to Butler, IN ! After leaving here, I would head out to Waterloo, IN if for nothing else, I wanted to be able to say I drove
all the way to Indiana essentially from New York, I know, it's goofy, but I like road trips!

And now I'm in Indiana! After seeing I was only 25 miles from here when I was in Bryan, OH, I decided to make the quick drive here
to Amtrak's Station in Waterloo, IN. This is a stop for both the Lake Shore Limited and Capitol Limited and is located about 30 miles
north of Fort Wayne which hasn't had Amtrak service since the Broadway Limited was rerouted out of there in the early 1990's. This
station now serves the Fort Wayne area and features some parking spaces and a simple bus shelter.

Another view of the station, this time looking east. Due to time constraints, I wasn't here for very long and I didn't see any trains
once I got here but did see one while paralleling the mainline while driving on U.S. 6 on the way out here.

And finally, I thought this was somewhat amusing! This is the short and long term parking lot at the busy Waterloo Station!!!
I would have a 3 hour drive back to Sandusky for Media Day at Cedar Point after leaving here, see ya at the park!