RAILFAN GUIDES of the U.S.
Todd's Railfan Guide to
ATLANTA GA
the Downtown Area
In General
Getting Here
Map
Sights
Pictures
Bridges
Signals
Fire & Police
Floobydust
USGS Maps
RAILROAD SIGNALS HOME
Location / Name:
Atlanta GA, Fulton (mostly) and DeKalb Counties
What's Here:
Amtrak's Peachtree Station
MARTA's Armour Yard
CSX's Howell Yard
Data:
GPS Coordinates: as needed
Phone A/C: 404/770
ZIP: 30303
Access by train/transit:
Amtrak
MARTA
The Scoop:
This page is kind of a misnomer, because the area I'm covering here is approximately 3 miles North West of the downtown area. However, in relation ot everything else covered as part of the Atlanta guide, and the surrounding neighborhoods, it is basically "downtown". The aerial shot below measures from downtown to Howell Yard.
Here is an overview of the Norfolk Southern lines in and out of the Atlanta area:
Acknowledgements:
Denver Todd
Websites and other additional information sources of interest for the area:
https://blog.adaptershack.com/category/atlanta-railfan-locations/ Good railfanning info
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgePMguC6CI
Getting to G
Amtrak's Peachtree StationGPS Coordinates: 33.79938, -84.39264
1688 Peachtree Rd NW, Atlanta GA 30309
There is not a whole lot of parking available at the station - 7 spots, and it may be very limited in terms of you being able to park for railfanning purposes... I can't say, I've never been to the station.
Directions:
To get here from I75: take the Northside Dr NW exit (exit 252) and go north to Collier Rd NW, where you want to take a right. This will take you over to Peachtree RD NE, where you will take another right.
From I85: Things are a little more complicated. If you're travelling I85 southbound, after going under Peachtree, the road makes a substantial left curve... stay to the right for the exit ramps off the curve, and once on the exit ramp, stay to the left so you can exit at 17th St NW... then take a left onto 17th St to get over to Peachtree, which is the 2nd major intersection, and take a left there. A few blocks up, the road will split, and Peachtree goes off to the left.
From I85 northbound, take the exit for 10th St NW (it might be exit 250, not sure), and take a right onto it. Again, two blocks over is Peachtree, and you want to make a left onto it.
Station Information
CSX's Howell YardGPS Coordinates: 33.79760, -84.41992 (center of)
There is limited access for taking pictures at Howell Yard. You can get pictures from the Chattahoochee overpass on the north end, and then a couple of spots from Chattahoochee as you continue "east". You lose sight of it for a while, and can't see it again until you pass over the wye on the south end of the yard on Howell Mill Rd.
From the Chattahoochee Ave NW overpass
Coming around the curve (EB) from the overpass, this is what you'll see:
A little further, and we come to the entrance for the TRANSFLO yard:
Staying on Chattahoochee, and then taking a right onto Howell Mill Rd, we will go over the wye at the south end of the yard - the tracks going off to the right in the picture below lead into the yard.
Pix from Hotspots Southeast video
MARTA's Armour Shops and YardGPS Coordinates: 33.81391, -84.37157 (center of building)
Entrance is off of Plasamour Dr NE, but it is gated.
MARTA calls it a Rail Services Facility. There are 13 tracks in the yard, another two for non revenue equipment, 6 tracks in the shop, and it looks like one more for the car wash. Doesn't look like there is a direct route into the shops from the mainline, trains have to "see-saw" back and forth to get from the yard tracks into the shop.
Google Streetview from the Northeast Expressway
From Piedmont Rd NE
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Did U Know?
None for now......
Courtesy of the University of Texas Library, click here for their index page.
Disclaimers:
I love trains, and I love signals. I am not an expert. My webpages reflect what I find on the topic of the page. This is something I have fun with while trying to help others.
Please Note: Since the main focus of my two websites is railroad signals, the railfan guides are oriented towards the signal fan being able to locate them. For those of you into the modeling aspect of our hobby, my indexa page has a list of almost everything railroad oriented I can think of to provide you with at least a few pictures to help you detail your pike.
If this is a railfan page, every effort has been made to make sure that the information contained on this map and in this railfan guide is correct. Once in a while, an error may creep in :-)
My philosophy: Pictures and maps are worth a thousand words, especially for railfanning. Text descriptions only get you so far, especially if you get lost or disoriented. Take along good maps.... a GPS is OK to get somewhere, but maps are still better if you get lost! I belong to AAA, which allows you to get local maps for free when you visit the local branches. ADC puts out a nice series of county maps for the Washington DC area, but their state maps do not have the railroads on them. If you can find em, I like the National Geographic map book of the U.S..... good, clear, and concise graphics, and they do a really good job of showing you where tourist type attractions are, although they too lack the railroads. Other notes about specific areas will show up on that page if known.
Aerial shots were taken from either Google or Bing Maps as noted. Screen captures are made with Snagit, a Techsmith product... a great tool if you have never used it!
By the way, floobydust is a term I picked up 30-40 years ago from a National Semiconductor data book, and means miscellaneous and/or other stuff.
Pictures and additional information is always needed if anyone feels inclined to take 'em, send 'em, and share 'em, or if you have something to add or correct.... credit is always given! Please be NICE!!! Contact info is here
Beware: If used as a source, ANYTHING from Wikipedia must be treated as being possibly inaccurate, wrong, or not true.
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NEW 10/29/2021
Last Modified 30-Oct-2021