Railfanning In Northeast Ohio

Northeastern Ohio offers a large amount of traffic for the railfan, giving you plenty to see. The CSXT Chicago line, which is double tracked, is the former Conrail and the New York Central water level route. The Chicago Line runs from Cleveland, extending eastward to Fairview, PA and then on to Buffalo, NY via the Lakeshore Subdivision. Norfolk Southern Railroad's single-track line generally runs south of the CSXT line, although in many locations is only a few feet away. Both lines are quite busy, with over 50 trains per day between the two lines. Container or truck trailer trains tend to dominate the landscape, although there�s also a wide variety of autoracks, coal drags and mixed freights. Amtrak�s Lake Shore and Capitol Ltd. also stop in Cleveland, but both are late night. While the views along both lines are fairly flat, there are several large bridges and wide open farm fields which make for some excellent photo opportunities.

Division 5 has prepared a listing of potential railfanning spots that you may want to visit.
Railfanning Guide to Northeast Ohio & Northwest Pennsylvania
 
Other railroads in the area:
 
Ashtabula, Carson & Jefferson Railroad - shortline out of Jefferson, Ohio
 
Bessemer & Lake Erie Railroad - operating out of the docks at Conneaut, Ohio
 
Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad - switching operations as far north as Solon, Ohio
 
Norfolk Southern branch - Branch from Pittsburgh, PA to Ashtabula, OH