Data:
GPS Coordinates: 41.587813, -83.496489 (top of Walbridge Yard on
Walbridge Rd/Union St, Walbridge)
ZIP: 43465
Area Code: 419
Access by train/transit:
None - TARTA does not have bus service to Walbridge
Their map in PDF form is
here or
here
(the official TARTA location)
The Scoop:
If you want to see a lot of freight action in a small
space, then Walbridge should be one of your destinations. Walbridge
and Main St give the railfan easy access to a good portion of the CSX
action. Staying in one spot can lucrative most of the time. CSX
freights can often be found waiting for an NS freight at Vickers.
On the Norfolk Southern side of things, the 2/3 track
mainline and the straight track gives one excellent opportunities for photos
or video at almost all of the grade crossings. The two NS signal
bridges on the map are close enough to the grade crossings to be used in
framing your pictures.
The grade crossings on Wade Rd and Drouillard St have been eliminated, I
need to correct my map...... see below for details.
If you're looking for something to eat, I would look up
there off Woodville Road by exit 6, where there seems to be a lot of the
national food chains.
Acknowledgements: Eric Davis for his aerial
shots of the area, the only other person I know besides myself to go around
by airplane and take pictures.
Let me know if you have done the same and send me the pictures, and I will
post them!
Aerial shots were taken from either Google Maps or www.bing.com/maps as noted. Screen captures are made with Snagit, a
Techsmith product... a great tool if you have never used it!
Here, not only were the signals replaced, but Drouillard was re-routed
around to Wales Rd in order to eliminate the crossing - and Wales Rd was
made an overpass.
Before signal
replacement and street realignment
NS - Westbound
I can understand replacing older CPL, PL, and maybe even searchlight signals
(because they require periodic maintenance other than bulb replacement), but
why tri-light" signals???
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. I do these pages because I love spending my time doing them - although I do a reasonable amount of research to make sure the information
presented is accurate! :-) :-)
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, myindexa 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,
oooooooops, oh well! :-)
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.
BTW, 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! BE NICE!!! Contact info
is here. Beware: If used as a source, ANYTHING from Wikipedia must be treated as being possibly being inaccurate, wrong, or not true.