Best Time for railfanning in Fairport,NY and/or Pittsford,NY

Hi New York State Railfans,
I have been interested in trains since the beginning of my life, particularly model trains. Just recently I have started to expressing an interest for railfanning and video taping trains either in Pittsford, NY along the West Shore Subdivision or in Fairport, NY along the Rochester Sub. I do not know enough yet on when trains come in these two locations. I was wondering if any one would be able to tell me if there were certain days when trains come very frequently and when then didn't ,and if possible, general times on when they came. This would help me so I could be able to know what days would be the very best for railfanning. Or if anyone would tell me where I could find info on when trains come in those two locations that would be great too.

Thanks,
Connor

Railfanning the west shore in Pittsford can be inconsistent, some days quite a few trains, others not many. Fairport should be a much more consistant choice. Most days, mid morning to mid after noon will see several trains. Amtrak 48, Q004, Q158, Q018, Q020, Q017, Q009, Q263, Q262 and Q119.
Mixed freights are more unpredictable, but do sometimes show up. Add K trains to the mix and it's often 12-15 trains in a 3-4 hour time frame. And Amtrak runs one each way in the two o'clock area.
Sundays and Mondays typically are a little slower.

Thanks for the fantastic info! This will help me a bunch. I was also wondering about how you identify a train with those numbers and letters such as, Q003. Do you get that information by listening through a scanner of CSX radio?

conshorttrains wrote:Thanks for the fantastic info! This will help me a bunch. I was also wondering about how you identify a train with those numbers and letters such as, Q003. Do you get that information by listening through a scanner of CSX radio?

That is correct, however it is not always easy to make out over the scanner just because of static, quiet voices, etc.

Charlie

Charlie,
That info answered a question I have been wondering about for a long time. Thank You!
Thanks,
Connor

Monday is a slow day, and from 4pm until after the dinner hour there is usually a fleet of westbounds. Bottom line, just about any time you can sit in Fairport and see some action. The Shore is only used when there is traffic backed up in Rochester and the dispatcher needs to run some trains around the city. Sitting in Fairport where the lines merge is a good idea...then you won't miss any of these. As for symbols, it takes a while to get to know them. I railfan the west side of Rochester quite a bit (and all over western new york and northern PA as well)...take a look here at some of my shots if you're interested...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53728467@N08/

You're welcome Connor and welcome to the forums!

Charlie

Just my 2 cents worth. Usually evenings CSX will run some trains over the West Shore due to congestion in Rochester. Q381 and Q377 both work at Goodman St. yard and Amtraks 281 and 283(Westbounds) are due in at the station. So quite often the dispatcher will run a few trains over the West Shore during these times. But predicting this is more difficult than predicting the Rochester weather. With a good radio you may hear the Dsp. giving a heads up to a crew that they will be going down the West Shore. Unfortuanately, this time of year these moves are in the dark too. Good luck.

Thank you all for the great information! If you have anymore information about trains in the Fairport or Pittsford area, please let me know!
Thanks again,
Connor

I've spent a fair amount of time at Chili Jct (usually Saturday evenings in warmer weather) and I agree with Roadster's assessment- the West Shore does seem to get busier later in the day. There is one catch on the trains using the West Shore in the evening- some are westbound and some are eastbound. The westbound trains are easy shots, but the eastbound trains are a pain to shoot due to low sun. Hopefully, you will get more westbound than eastbound action in the Pittsford area.

My favorite viewing spot in Pittsford is from the Erie Canal path, spotting the trains as they cross the trestle over the canal. Other good spots to watch are at the bridge over North Main Street (NY Rt. 96) and the grade crossing at Monroe Avenue (NY Rt. 31). The Monroe Ave. location also gives a neat view of approaching westbounds as they cross the canal trestle. I agree that the most active time seems to be late in the day.

David

I railfanned there a lot over the past couple weeks. Its so unpredictable to determine when trains will run down the West Shore. Fairport is a good spot. Pittsford by the Erie Canal is a good spot too on the West Shore. Your best bet is to sit at Fairport to get everything.

Fairport is the better of the two towns. Especially when the train action picks up in the mid-late afternoon. I like being down near them signals, it's a good spot. You can catch all the trains from the west shore and the main. It's also great when you get a train meet. Which it happens nearly everyday, you just got be there at the right time. Pittsford on the other hand, it's a good spot to catch the trains crossing over Eire Canal. But there is not much train action. Maybe 1 or 2 trains every hour or two. Not much action on the West shore than there is on the Rochester Sub. But also you would miss some trains on the Rochester Sub that may have some good power. But it's to my opinion, that Fairport is much better than Pittsford. We all have our spots along the CSX line.