Dear Friends,
Growing up 20 miles NW of Pittsburgh, PA I got to listen to trains being built all night in the Conway Yard, billed as "The World's Largest Automated Railway Yard." The creaks, clangs and groans were music to my ears.
If anyone would like to see the yard today, you can go to Google Earth and type in "Conway, PA," and it will take you there.
The possibilities are endless for viewing train related sites the world over.
Too, you can type your address and see where you live.
Best Wishes, and Big Brother IS Watching!
Jack
Been doing that for five years with Map Quest. Google is a little better. I can easily see my truck in the driveway. Fairly easy to follow a right of way when you learn what to look for. A little clearer when no leaves on the trees. I can follow former right of way, specifically those that are rail trails.
Overlay with old railroad maps and you can find quite a lot of info for a road or former road.
Rich
There are a couple of locatons along the Ohio River Blvd. that allow you to view portions of Conway yard without trespassing. One I just found is in Freedom, PA, at the north end of the yard. Also, a few miles south of Conway, Sewickly has a town park that borders the NS main. There is a big concrete elevated platform there that affords a nice trainwatching spot. Only drawback is that there is no cover for shade. There is a little steel works 0-4-0 with a caboose right next to the platform. Farther north, at New Brighton, there is a very nice riverside park where the Beaver River empties into the Ohio that is right next to the big bridge across the Beaver. More good trainwatching there too.
I have had good success with Terraserver (the Microsoft free one). By entering the geographical coordinates, it locates the exact spot.
This is the freight yard and depot for the Yampa Valley UP.
http://terraserver-usa.com/image.aspx?T=1&S=10&Z=13&X=1421&Y=22436&W=3&qs=%7ccraig%7ccolorado%7c