Ted,
Sorry about not being a little clearer on the mines there. Rosebud 78 mine is located north east of Windber and is accessible, Huskins is located about a mile south of the village of Hillsboro, and is inaccessible.
As far as chasing trains on the South Fork branch it is pretty easy. There isn't much you can do leaglly at South Fork to shoot anything. The best you can do is shoot the power when it runs across Maple St. at the east end of the wye. You can shoot power sitting in the yard, but to do so you have to enter NS property. If you go in shoot it and get out you'll be fine, just don't hang around. From the crossing at Maple St. head back out to PA 53 and then hang a right. Follow this about a mile and a half. The road will make a left hand turn and then cross a bridge. Just before you come to the bridge a road cuts off to the right and swings under the bridge, this is Frankstown Road and it will take you to the crew change pad just on the other side of the bridge, this is also where one of the storage tracks starts. Often times empties will be spotted here and the crew will bring the power down from South Fork and tie onto the train. It is getting grown in here and it is kind of a tough shot to get. The better bet is to shoot from the 53 bridge over the tracks if there is something here. If continuing on 53 follow it about a quarter mile past the bridge over the tracks and the river and hang a left on route 869 which also is marked for the 219 exit. Follow 869 under 219, there will be a road which cuts off to the left after the underpass, you can take this back along what would have been the edge of the dam. The tracks run in what would have been the middle of the old South Fork dam. This is lit nicely in the afternoon. Back to 869, follow it south about another mile or so through the town of St. Michael. 869 will make a fairly sharp left hand turn after town and then shortly after that there will be a road which cuts off to the left and crosses a bridge. This will take you to a crossing which is near the south end of the storage track. This is well lit in the morning and often the power is near the crossing when they tie onto the train.
Again back to 869, continue south about a 1/2 mile or so to the intersection with PA 160, there will be a Sheetz gas station on your right. You can hang a left here on 160 north and shoot a wedgie at the crossing here if you would like. Other wise hang a right and follow 160 south. From the intersection there isn't much to speak of until about 2 miles south at the summit of the grade. You can try to steal a shot of the train in the village of Salix. The tracks cross a small underpass on the left hand side of the 160 near the school bus lot. It is pretty grown in here though these days. Anyway to get to the summit stay on 160 until you reach Krayn Rd. If you hang a left on this road you will cross the tracks on an overpass, you can shoot from here, or you can continue on 160 about another 1000 ft or so to the WIndber Country Club enterance. This will take you down to a grade crossing with the branch. You can park on the east side of the crossing. Lighting here is best for south bounds anytime of the day except early morning as there is a row of trees on the east side of the tracks.
From there regain 160 south and follow it to the town of Elton, about a mile and a half or so beyond the summit. At Elton 160 intersects PA 756. There make a left on to Old Bedford pike. If you follow that back about 500 ft you will come a crossing, there is a lot to the east of the tracks, you can shoot from there. Again good for south bounds or the helpers on the north bounds. Also of note here, after crossing the tracks heading east on Old Bedford Pike there is a road that cuts off to the right immediately beyond the tracks, Centenial Drive, this is the back way to Rosebud 78, but I'll address that later.
Back to 160 south in Elton. From Elton 160 parallels the branch for about a mile and a half before crossing it. There really isn't anything along here, just make sure to watch your speed here as the cops often frequent this stretch of road, also watch for the stupid deer. You can shoot from the 160 crossing, it is best lit in the morning from the east side of the tracks for the south end of the train. Just before the crossing on 160 there is a road that cuts off to the right, Berwick Rd. You can take this road to avoid having to go through Windber. From the 160 crossing the tracks are relatively unaccessible until you get to almost Winber. Follow Berwick Rd. for about two miles. It winds through the woods most of the way, so again watch for wildlife and idiots on quads, I don't know which is worse. The road will hang a goofy double sharp right hander at the end of the woods and there will be a field on your right. After the curve there will be a cross road, hang a left and head down the hill, at the bottom of the hill follow the road to the right and you will pass a substation before going back up another hill. At the top of the hill hang a left, there will be a small park on you left. You can shoot from here if it is not too grown up and the booney pile isn't too big. From there you will be able to see the branch coming almost straight at you before curving to the right. This is the railroad location PAINT, and also home to the switch which leads to the Rosebud 78 load out, this will be the track which cuts off to the right as you look at it. The road you are now on is Main St. follow this down hill about a 3/4 of a mile at which point you will cross under the branch heading toward Central City. After the underpass you will come to a three way intersection. This is where you need to choose between Rosebud 78 or following the branch to Central City.
ROSEBUD 78.
At the intersection hang a left, this will lead you up under the tracks in a sharp S curve, you will then continue up hill and be able to look down on the tracks. You can park along here and shoot trains coming across the underpass here, this is best lit in the morning. The road you are on is Bedford St. however after a few blocks it makes a slight right hand turn at which point it turns into Graham Ave. This is the main street in Windber, and after passing the Sheetz on the left, turns into PA 160 south. About three blocks after the Sheetz the tracks cross Graham Ave. at a sharp angle. The tracks run pretty much east west here, so set up accordingly for the time of day that you are there. Just after the crossing on the left is the old station, which I think is now the library?, as soon as you pass the station there will be a stop light, hang a left here and cross the tracks. After crossing the tracks hang a right at the stop sign, there will be a dollar store on your right and a bank across the street to the right. This is Somerset Ave. follow it one block and then hang a left on 17th St. There is also a crossing on Somerset Ave. just past here, you can shoot trains rounding the curve there. Once on 17th St. follow it a couple of hundred of feet until just before it crosses the tracks, at that point bear to the left and continue up a small hill. This will take you through the center of the town of Mine 36. After about a mile the road will make a sharp S curve towards the tracks. In the middle of the S curve there will be a gravel lot on the right. You can pull in here. This is the end of the siding for the loadout and is the point where the power will tie on. There is a tie wall here that you can shoot off of, you can also jump down across the tracks and shoot from a small field on the other side. This is lit nicely in the afternoon for the end of the train facing south at this point. If you follow the road through the S curve it comes right next to the tracks and it is about a 1/2 mile to the actual tipple, which is litterally right next to the road. The tracks continue up about a 1/2 mile past the tipple. Trains are split in half to be loaded here and it normally takes about 4 hours to load a train. I have never had a problem taking pictures here either with the railroad or the mine, but just be courteous of their property when shooting there and you shouldn't have a problem, also the crews that work out of South Fork are generally pretty railfan friendly. If you would continue on this road it will lead you back to the crossing at Elton that was mentioned earlier.
PBS Central City.
For this take the road to the right at the intersection after the underpass on Main St. This is route 601. Just after making the right you can hang a right into a gravel lot. This will give you a nice view of the Paint Creek trestle. This is nicely lit through out the morning, and is one of the more scenic views on the branch. Continue south on PA 601 crossing over PA 56, about two blocks after that 601 will begin to curve to the left and go uphill, there is one last shot before the tracks head into the woods for a couple of miles, if you hang a right just before that hill you will go down about a 1/4 mile and cross the tracks. Just over the tracks there is a pull in on the right hand side. It is a tight shot looking north, but shooting towards the south is okay, you can also climb the hill here to get an elevated view. This is best lit in the early afternoon, or when it is overcast.
From here south the tracks are really inaccessible for most of the way to Central City. There are a couple of shots but if you pick one, you are probably only going to get just that one, as you won't have time to get in and then get back out. There are shots at Seanor, Nag, Hillsboro (not all that great), and Rockingham. To get to Seanor go back to PA 601 and hang a right continuing up the hill. Stay on 601 south for about 2 or 3 miles, it will wind down a hill before crossing the tracks in the village of Seanor. There is another trestle here, which is south of the crossing. I haven't shot here since the Conrail days, so I really don't know how the vegetation situation is there.
For Nag, which is nice in the morning, again make the right onto 601 south and go up the hill, however as you begin to crest the first hill continue straight ahead instead of bearing to the right, this is Horn Rd. Continue on this for about 2 miles at which point you will intersect PA 160 at a location known as Pomroy's Corner. There will be a gas station on the left hand side of the intersection and an ice cream place on the right (which is pretty good). 160 comes in from the left and then hangs a left ending up in front of you, make a right here on to Camp Dr. Follow this about a mile and a half. It will wind down towards the creek at which point a road will come in from the left. Cross the creek and soon after you will wind under the tracks, after crossing under the tracks you can park along side the road, there is a decent view here looking towards the west of the tracks coming across the underpass, nice in the morning. Nag is occaisionally used as a recrew point.
From Nag head back under the tracks and cross the creek, after that hang a right on Church Dr. follow this about 3/4 mile until it runs into Berkey Rd. hang a left, this will take you to PA 160 (if you don't want to go to Nag just go straight at Pomroy's Corner on 160 south), make a right on to PA 160 off of Berkey Rd. If you want the Hillsboro shot hang a right on Hillsboro road about a 1/2 mile south of Berkey Rd. Other wise stay on 160 South. The next shot is Rockingham, which is about another 3 or 4 miles south on 160 from Berkey Rd. It is accessible by making a right on to Whispering Pines Rd. You will cross the creek and then swing under the tracks. Again as with Nag, park along side of the road and you can shoot back towards the underpass. This is best lit in the early afternoon.
About a 1/2 mile further south of Rockingham on 160 is the town of Cairnbrook. If you make the first right in town you will come to a crossing near the Shade high school. They sometimes will park trains here waiting for a new crew. Lighting is good here all day for trains north of the crossing. If you continue on 160 south Cairnbrook turns into Central City, at which point 160 hangs a right. You can stay on 160 and follow it to a crossing which is let nice in the morning, or you can ignore the turn in 160 and follow the road another three blocks at which point it runs into Lambert St. There hang a right and follow the road to the tracks. Just before the crossing there is a gravel road to the right, you can take this back along the tracks about 200/300 feet and there is a little bit of a field, this provides a nice view of the south end of the trains in the mornings. If you go across the tracks hang a left right after you do on Statler Rd. This will take you alongside the tracks and will get you as close to the load out as you can get. There really isn't much back here photography wise, but you can still go back there to watch them move cars around.
Also of note, trains operating on the branch will recieve track warrants. For these they will use the railroad names, JK is South Fork, PAINT is the switch for Rosebud. Most trains will be given from JK to PAINT, JK to NAG, or JK to CAIRN.
That pretty much covers the South Fork Branch.
Finally the other track that you saw is the CSX S&C Sub which runs into Johnstown. This is serviced by train D703 out of Rockwood. The train runs Monday through Friday morning. It usually arrives in Johnstown between 7 and 8 am and is heading south out of town between 9 and 11 am, depending on the work load. If you want more info on this let me know.
Any other questions?
Scooter
