auburnrails
New Member
Hey there,
I will be traveling alone to the midwest late next month for about 5 days of solo railfanning and am interested in any advice or feedback for my journey. My specific interests are seeing plenty of action at times, visiting scenic or interesting areas, and also catching some of the shortline/regional action. I'm not interested in finding old steam engines or museums or that sort of thing. I'm mostly a modern guy.
My itinerary is as follows:
Day 1
I fly into Des Moines in the morning and pick up my rental car.
I end my day in Independence, MO.
My goal today is to maybe check out the greater Des Moines area before meandering south. I'm a MILW fan so would like to maybe cross paths with the ex-MILW Kansas City line but also see any action along the way.
Day 2
I will have time to check out the greater KCMO area before heading west. I will end my day in Emporia.
My goal today will be to catch a lot of BNSF action as well as any regional/shortline stuff. KCS would be a bonus.
Day 3
I will depart Emporia and head north, ending my day in Omaha.
My goal today is to catch any Kansas action worth seeing, including possibly focusing on the UP Marysville sub for a bit, before maybe spending a bit of time around Omaha/Council Bluffs.
Day 4
I will depart Omaha with the goal of heading west. I will end my day in Grand Island. Obviously the big draw will be the heavy UP action as well as the crossing in Grand Island. I think NCRC also visits Grand Island so any input on them would be great.
Day 5
I will have the day to get from Grand Island to Omaha, but can spend that out in the fields, so to speak, or head to Omaha and do the urban thing. I can also check out the ex-RI IAIS line and perhaps some other stuff before dropping off my rental car at 5:30p in Omaha.
This is the third year that my wife has invited me to "check out" for a few days to get some personal time away from work after a crazy summer. I jokingly call it "Railfanpalooza". Two years ago I did Cajon Pass and then the desert east of Barstow. It was awesome. Last year I did northern New Mexico and a pinch of Northern Arizona. This year I elected to visit the midwest since I've only passed through these areas once about 30 years ago on a summer roadtrip.
Any feedback or help would be appreciated. Again, looking for easy-to-follow routes, good places to visit, city advice, etc. Oh, and any good places to eat that are unique to the area.
Thank you
-Dave
I will be traveling alone to the midwest late next month for about 5 days of solo railfanning and am interested in any advice or feedback for my journey. My specific interests are seeing plenty of action at times, visiting scenic or interesting areas, and also catching some of the shortline/regional action. I'm not interested in finding old steam engines or museums or that sort of thing. I'm mostly a modern guy.
My itinerary is as follows:
Day 1
I fly into Des Moines in the morning and pick up my rental car.
I end my day in Independence, MO.
My goal today is to maybe check out the greater Des Moines area before meandering south. I'm a MILW fan so would like to maybe cross paths with the ex-MILW Kansas City line but also see any action along the way.
Day 2
I will have time to check out the greater KCMO area before heading west. I will end my day in Emporia.
My goal today will be to catch a lot of BNSF action as well as any regional/shortline stuff. KCS would be a bonus.
Day 3
I will depart Emporia and head north, ending my day in Omaha.
My goal today is to catch any Kansas action worth seeing, including possibly focusing on the UP Marysville sub for a bit, before maybe spending a bit of time around Omaha/Council Bluffs.
Day 4
I will depart Omaha with the goal of heading west. I will end my day in Grand Island. Obviously the big draw will be the heavy UP action as well as the crossing in Grand Island. I think NCRC also visits Grand Island so any input on them would be great.
Day 5
I will have the day to get from Grand Island to Omaha, but can spend that out in the fields, so to speak, or head to Omaha and do the urban thing. I can also check out the ex-RI IAIS line and perhaps some other stuff before dropping off my rental car at 5:30p in Omaha.
This is the third year that my wife has invited me to "check out" for a few days to get some personal time away from work after a crazy summer. I jokingly call it "Railfanpalooza". Two years ago I did Cajon Pass and then the desert east of Barstow. It was awesome. Last year I did northern New Mexico and a pinch of Northern Arizona. This year I elected to visit the midwest since I've only passed through these areas once about 30 years ago on a summer roadtrip.
Any feedback or help would be appreciated. Again, looking for easy-to-follow routes, good places to visit, city advice, etc. Oh, and any good places to eat that are unique to the area.
Thank you
-Dave
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