The Crescent Route
Atlanta - Greenville, SC -- A self-guiding railfan tour
Introduction
This is a continuation of our self-guided tour of the Norfolk Southern's Crescent Route. The Introduction to the over-all tour is here. In this segment, we'll cover a part of our country which alternates between downtown big city, urban sprawl, small town, and decidedly rural. This part of Frograil's Crescent Route Tour is complete, and covers a distance of 149.2 miles. It is a big part of the overall tour, which has the railfan locations along 799 continuous miles described, and has been completed between Birmingham and Washington.
John Moore wrote the entire Atlanta - Seneca portion of this segment, and Tony Hill wrote the Seneca - Greenville portion.
Contents And Navigation:
Contributors
Tom Seeley -- a newcomer to the site who offered to update portions of tours around his home in South Carolina
John Moore -- Intrepid southeast Frograil tour builder -- all text from Atlanta to Seneca
Carter Buchanan -- Provided several corrections to my draft of the Seneca - Clemson portion of the tour.
Tony Hill -- Webmaster, and all text Seneca to Greenville. Any first person singular pronoun used in this entire tour refers to Tony Hill, unless specifically stated otherwise.
Help
Frograil is a large site, and as it gets larger and more comprehensive, it becomes a more valuable tool for railfans around the country and, indeed, around the world. However, the only way it can continue to grow is for folks like you to contribute material. Your contribution can be one favorite train watching site or a large, complex tour, but all contributions cumulatively add to the worth of Frograil as a railfan tool. Contact me here, and we'll work together.
Supplemental And Back-Up Data
The Railroad -- Geography
Norfolk Southern's Georgia Division stretches from Alabama, thru Atlanta, and on to Norcross. From Norcross all the way to Washington, DC, is the Piedmont Division. As the name implies, the latter division traverses the Piedmont thru Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. You won't find mountain railroading like you'll find on our Clinchfield tours, and you also won't find flat, easy terrain like that encountered, say, on the CSX East Coast tours south of Petersburg, Virginia. What you will encounter are rolling hills, many streams and some rivers, and trees -- lots and lots of trees.
However, the entire area of this segment of the Crescent Route tour is rapidly gaining population, and commercial and industrial activity are growing apace. Georgia and South Carolina from Atlanta up to Greenville have been growing like weeds, and the rail traffic in the area has kept pace. Therefore, you'll have a broad variety of railfan ops within this segment -- as mentioned in the Introduction, this segment will take you from downtown Atlanta thru immense urban sprawl to small town to very rural.
The railroad is timetable north to south, irrespective of the fact that it is geographically mostly on a northeast - southwest bias. I'll try to distinguish between compass and timetable directions where necessary, but remember that a compass and maps are tools you should have with you on any Frograil Tour.
The Railroad -- Traffic
Unlike most of the eastern NS system, you won't find a lot of coal moving on this segment, because the mountain at Saluda to the north of Spartanburg dictates that most south- and southeast-bound coal comes either via Roanoke, Salisbury or Bulls Gap and Chattanooga. The same is true of unit grain trains for the poultry industry. However, what you will see, and see a lot of, are intermodal and manifest freights zipping between the northeast megalopolis and the gateway to the south -- Atlanta.
The intermodal traffic poses a problem for railfans, in that these trains are designed to arrive very early in the AM, and therefore tend to depart at a time calculated to meet that objective. Obviously, many of these zoom over this part of the Crescent Route in the middle of the night. Trains departing New Jersey, Allentown, Harrisburg, and Linwood all have to get to the Austell, Georgia, intermodal yard at almost the same time. On the other hand, northbounds are a little more spread out, time-wise, as their destinations are likewise spread out.
That said, you will see a few daylight intermodals, but not many of them. Because of the nature of the intermodal movements, you'll see a lot of manifest traffic during daylight hours. There are probably 20-30 trains a day over this segment of the Crescent Route, but they can come in bunches, so you'll often see a lot of activity followed by dead still for an extended period of time.
The Railroad -- Atlanta. The Atlanta Terminal operations of NS and CSX are worthy of a rather large book, and are far beyond the scope of this tour. As was the case in the Birmingham - Atlanta tour segment, very little effort has been made to present comprehensive railfan minutia within the city. There are several reasons for this. First, neither John nor myself particularly enjoy urban fanning, so we perhaps have spent less effort on it than you would prefer. Second, for a city the size of Atlanta, there are surprisingly few decent railfan locations. Third, because of the first and second reasons given, we need an individual who really enjoys fanning in Atlanta, and who really knows the area, to contribute to these tours from the western to eastern edge of the city.
Mapwork: Much of the tour is not easy if you have no detailed map for back country roads. I definitely recommend you get a DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer, study it before your trip, and copy pertinent pages for your field work. If you plan on fanning in Atlanta, you will need to get an atlas for the urban/suburban areas. You can find information here about Railfan Maps that are available.
Mapwork -- Aerial Images. Beginning in August 2007, Frograil tours will make extensive use of MapQuest and Google Earth aerial images. The coverage is virtually universal throughout the United States, and the resolution is good enough to allow us to supplement some of our field observations, and perhaps more importantly, we can easily correct discrepancies between what's on old street maps and what's on the ground today. However, aerial images are no substitute for an eyes-on observation. We will use them in a few instances where we were unable to see something in person. In any case where we are giving railfan information based purely on an aerial image, we will include a disclaimer to the effect that the information is not based on on-the-ground research.
Photography Ratings: I'm now including photo ratings for many crossings. Please note that these ratings are our opinion of the photographic fields available for pictures, rather than a subjective rating of photogenic/artsy characteristics of the site. All four quadrants of the crossing are evaluated, clockwise, from NE to NW. Each is rated from 1 to 4, with 1 being excellent and 4 being non-existent, either because of a severe drop off, wall of trees, private property, etc. An example would be NE4, SE1, SW3, NW3. This would be a fairly poor location except for AM shots from the southeast quadrant, which should be wide open.
Abbreviations. Some phrases are used repeatedly in this tour, so I've developed some standard Frograil abbreviations:
AG. An at-grade crossing.
CP. Control Point: A specific place where a specific thing happens. For example, "CP CHICOPEE, MP 588.0", is the beginning of double track northbound. You will usually see a green station sign with white lettering at control points. Note that the railroad station list name of each CP is presented in capital letters. You will hear these names frequently on the scanner.
NAG. A not-at-grade crossing. Unless I mention otherwise, these are usually not worth the time and trouble to drive to them.
NARL. Not a railfan location. This is because of any number of reasons, such as lousy photo ops, dangerous, no shoulder on a NAG bridge, etc. As a general rule of thumb, it is wise to avoid NARL's.
NFOG. Not found on the ground. Many of the ancient country roads, fire roads, logging roads, etc., are still on the maps, but don't exist on the ground.
WEBMASTER'S NOTE: I do not recommend or condone walking along the tracks, as this means trespassing or exposing yourself to danger. You will have to be creative, in some instances, to avoid trespassing while getting to the detailed locations included herein, but you will either have to be creative or not visit those sites. At no point in this tour guide, or in any other part of Frograil, is it recommended that you trespass or expose yourself to danger. If you are a fool and have a leg cut off (or worse), don't come crying to me: You have been warned. Trains are big, powerful, and often surprisingly quiet. Don't end up being a statistic.
Atlanta to Greenville, SC -- Site Listing
The Tour
If you are continuing the tour from the Birmingham - Atlanta tour segment, you are sitting in the Masonic Lodge parking lot, across from Amtrak's Peachtree Station. If you are starting the tour here, describing how to get to the parking lot is not easy if you don't have a map in front of you. Directions all thru the greater Atlanta area are made more difficult because seemingly every other street is named "Peach" something or other.
From I-75 northbound in downtown Atlanta, take exit 252A and take Northside Drive South to Deering Road. Take a left onto Deering, and the Amtrak station is at the top of the hill ahead, on the right. Parking is in the Masonic lodge lot across the street (on the left) about half-way up the hill.
Atlanta -- Lenox Road. From the Masonic Lodge parking lot, turn left onto Deering Road NW and proceed to the end of the block, outside the Amtrak Peachtree Station. Turn right onto Peachtree Street and get into the left lane; after 1 block, turn left onto a ramp signed for GA-13 North. Take GA-13 North for 2.7 miles and, as the expressway ends, follow the signs for Cheshire Bridge Road/Lenox Road. Another 0.2 miles ahead, turn left onto Lenox Road NE, and go 1.4 mile to pass over the Crescent Route next to the Lenox MARTA station. CP OTTLEY, MP 629.5, lies just west of here.
Along the way (assuming you've done your map work), you'll have passed potential railfan locations at Armour Drive, Lindbergh Drive, and Piedmont Road. All are NAG/NARL's with very limited views, unfortunately.
The Lenox Road overpass itself has good sidewalks and reasonable views from the bridge; however, there is heavy traffic, and you must be careful. This is a booming area, and you may have to park quite a ways away. This is the edge of Buckhead, the currently trendy part of Atlanta, where all the new luxury condos and nightlife are going in. Your best bet is to park at Lenox Square and walk back (Or, park way away and ride MARTA).
If you want to stoke up on the necessities of life before heading northeast into the more rural areas beyond the Atlanta area, Lenox is the ideal place to do so. Lenox Square Mall is just north of the overpass, and there is virtually every consumer outlet known to man in the general area.
North Atlanta -- Brookhaven/Oglethorpe MARTA. Continue north on Lenox another 0.4 mile and turn right onto GA-141/Peachtree Road NE. At 1.6 mile you will reach the Brookhaven/Oglethorpe MARTA station. Additional parking for the station is available by turning right onto Dresden Drive NE, passing under the MARTA and Crescent lines. Access to the MARTA platform, from which the Crescent line is viewable, requires a ticket. CP ROXBOROUGH, MP 628.8, lies to the west.
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North Atlanta -- Ashford Memorial Park. Continue northeast on Peachtree Road NE/GA-141. Just northeast of Ashford-Dunwoody Road Northeast and the Peachtree Golf Club, take a right onto Redding Road. This road goes under MARTA and then NS, and then you can turn right onto Caldwell Road NE. Follow the signs into the neighborhood park. There are tennis courts and other goodies in Jennie Kirkpatrick Ashford Memorial Park. You'll be lower than the level of the rails, but you're looking to the north or northwest, so good lighting is the norm.
Chamblee. Stay on Peachtree Road. (The 4-lane that continues ahead becomes Peachtree Industrial Boulevard.) CP GODWIN, MP 626.3, and a defect detector at MP 626.5 lie along this section of track. Pass up Chamblee Tucker Road and Chamblee Dunwoody Road, as they are NAG/NARL underpasses. We will, however, eventually leave Chamblee via Chamblee Dunwoody.
The road and the rails parallel each other as they run through downtown Chamblee, MP 624.5. There is a yard on the east side of downtown, which can be viewed in places along Peachtree.
Doraville -- Flowers Road. In downtown Chamblee, 1.0 mile from the 4-lane we left above, turn south on Chamblee-Dunwoody Road. This isn't as straightforward as it sounds, since Peachtree crosses the other road on an overpass. Before reaching the overpass, turn left at Chamblee-Dunwoody Way, go one block, and turn right onto Chamblee-Dunwoody Road. Cross under Peachtree and the railroad, and turn left onto New Peachtree Road. After 1.0 mile, Shallowford Road intersects from the southwest (right). Turn left; the road will still bear the name New Peachtree. From this intersection, proceed 0.9 mile (crossing over I-285), and turn left onto Longmire Way; there is a NAG here, but at the T intersection beyond it (with Winters Chapel to the right and Flowers Road to the left), turn left onto Flowers and find a pull-off.
CP DORAVILLE, MP 622.8, lies back to the west.
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Doraville -- Winters Chapel Road. East of Longmire (right turn at the T), there is a yard extending northeast from the signal bridge visible to the east. This area is a gasoline distribution depot, so be careful, especially if you smoke! Parking is tough here, as there is a curb along the side of the road. If you are a wimp, pass this area up. If not, park somewhere well away and hoof it back here. After all, we want our railfan tourists to be in good health, and that includes walking and "enjoying the air".
Doraville -- Oakcliff Road. Return to Longmire, and take a left to go back to New Peachtree Road. Turn left (northeast). In the vicinity of Oakcliff Road, find a place to park southeast of the intersection of Oakcliff and New Peachtree Road. Hoof it to the overpass. The overpass is safe for pedestrians, but the street is busy, and you will not be able to go back and forth from side to side. You need to be safe and unobtrusive, or you'll invite more attention than you want, and you'll potentially expose yourself to risk.
Note that on older maps of the Atlanta area Oakcliff Road coming up from the south ends at New Peachtree Road. Today, a modern overpass carries traffic over the railroad main line and yard, around the tank farm, and up to Winters Chapel Road to the north.
Mechanicsville -- Old Peachtree Road. Going further northeast on New Peachtree, the street ends at Buford Highway/U.S. 23/GA-13. Turn left onto Buford Highway and go 0.7 mile. Turn left onto Amwiler Road; the AG crossing here (MP 621 stands to the west) is not safe because of traffic, but immediately beyond the crossing, turn right onto Gilleland Lane/Old Peachtree Road. Note that MapQuest shows this simply as Peachtree Street NW, but we will follow John's on-the-ground research. It dead ends 0.3 mile ahead, and provides close access to the railroad.
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Norcross -- Stevens Road. Continue on Buford Highway another 1.8 mile from Amwiler Road to reach Jimmy Carter Boulevard/GA-140. Turn left and go 1 block to take the first right onto South Peachtree Street. Proceed 0.3 mile to an AG on your left at Stevens Road; photo rating is 1 in all quadrants. Looking back to the west, you will see the signals for CP NORCROSS, MP 619.0, where the double track ends. This marks the boundary between the NS Georgia Division to the southwest, and the Piedmont Division to the northeast.
There is another important boundary here, at least for railfans. You're in Gwinnett County now, and while still in the Greater Atlanta Metropolitan Area, you are now in "bedroom community" land, and will have better railfan locations, as presaged by the excellent Stevens Road crossing. Don't get us wrong: There's still far too much street traffic, but life will steadily get more relaxed as we go ever northeast.
Norcross -- Downtown Viewing. Even though you're still in "Greater Atlanta", this is a preview of small town railfanning to come. Between Autry and Jones Streets bounding on the southwest and northeast, respectively, and Thrasher on the west and South Peachtree on the east, you are in small town southeast USA. All along this way is a grassy, open area. Get out the lawn chairs, the coolers, and the scanners. Meet your pals and swap railfan lies. This is excellent viewing just outside the city of Atlanta.
Norcross -- Depot Café. Continue along South Peachtree 0.25 mile to the intersection with Norcross-Tucker Road, and turn left 0.5 mile to reach a T intersection at Jones Street. The Norcross Depot Café occupies the old station on the corner. There is on-street parking here, and north of the track at Jones Street is Thrasher Park with a children's play area and good view of the track. If you're traveling with your family, and small children are part of your group, this is a great place for them to run off a few billion ergs of energy while you cool it by the tracks.
Norcross -- Langford Road. At the corner of Jones Street and South Peachtree Road, go south on Jones 1 block to reach Lawrenceville Street on the left. Turn left onto Lawrenceville Street, proceed along it 0.6 mile (through an ess-curve), and intersect Buford Highway/U.S. 23/GA-13. Turn left onto Buford Highway and go 0.4 mile. Turn left onto Langford Road; the AG crossing 0.2 mile ahead is rated 1 in all quadrants.
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Pittman -- Simpson Circle/South Berkeley Lake Road. Return to Buford Highway and turn left. Proceed 1.7 mile to a traffic light at Simpson Circle/South Berkeley Lake Road and turn left. The AG crossing 0.1 mile ahead is photo rated N-1 E-1 S-1 W-1.
Duluth -- Peachtree Road. Cross the tracks, and continue 0.2 mile to turn right on South Old Peachtree. After 0.4 mile, go straight ahead onto Industrial Park Drive (South Old Peachtree curves right to cross the track). Go 0.7 mile, passing CP CAROLINA, MP 615.0, and crossing three sidings, to a T intersection at Berkeley Lake Road NW/McGee Road. (CP CAROLINA is the beginning of a second main track that runs 3 miles to CP DULUTH.) Turn right onto McGee Road and go 0.1 mile (crossing is NAG/NARL, as it's too busy for safe watching from the bridge) to return to Buford Highway.
Turn left and go 0.5 mile to the light at Pleasant Hill Road. The AG crossing 0.2 mile to your left is NARL, due to car traffic. Continue ahead, northeastward, on Buford Highway for 0.3 mile, just around the curve left, to turn left onto Peachtree Road. There is an AG crossing here, photo NE-1 SE-1 SW-1 NW-1. Note that the street map MapQuest view will let you down here, as no crossing is shown; however, Google and MapQuest aerial maps both show an oblique crossing, and John's on-the-ground research confirmed such a crossing. It's obviously wide open.
North of the crossing, across the tracks, is the Southeastern Railway Museum, http://www.srmduluth.org. Check the web site or call ahead for opening hours; it is run by volunteers and the schedule is limited.
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Duluth -- Main Street. Return to Buford Highway and turn left. (There is a model railroad shop just up from this intersection, on the right.) Go 0.9 mile, then left again onto Main Street. After 0.1 mile, cross the track AG. This is another wide open crossing for photos: #1 for all quadrants. CP DULUTH, MP 612.7, and the east end of the siding from CAROLINA are here.
Duluth -- West Lawrenceville Street/GA-120. [Note: From the crossing at Main Street, I cannot reconcile John's description with the street names indicated in MapQuest's street map or aerial view. We will follow John's on-the-ground directions, as they stem from eyeball observations in July 2007.] Turn left onto Hardy Street (sign)/Hardy Industrial Boulevard (map). Go one short block, and turn right as you reach Duluth Church Cemetery; in July 2007 there was no street sign here, but this is a new alignment for Main Street. Continue through downtown on Main Street.
There is an AG crossing at West Lawrenceville Street/GA-120; trackside parking is available behind the shops west of (before reaching) West Lawrenceville Street. MapQuest and Google aerials show the crossing to be wide open.
Suwanee -- McGinnis Ferry Road. 1.3 mile from entering Main Street is a four-way intersection with Rogers Bridge Road. Turn right onto Rogers Bridge, which crosses the track NAG/NARL (defect detector MP 610.9 lies east of this point), and after 0.1 mile turn left onto Buford Highway/U.S. 23. Although Buford Highway will run alongside the rails for a little while, the tracks eventually make a great curve away to the north, leaving you with no view. By the way, pass up Sugarloaf Parkway, as it is NAG/NARL. From Rogers Bridge Road, proceed 3.9 mile to turn left at McGinnis Ferry Road. The crossing 0.3 mile ahead is NAG, but there is parking in the strip center at the north (far) end of the bridge and a good sidewalk on the bridge.
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Suwanee -- Downtown. At the north end of the strip center on McGinnis Ferry Road, turn right onto Scales Road. Go 0.7 mile and turn right onto Calaboose Street to enter the town of Suwanee. After 2 blocks, you must curve left onto Main Street, and you'll begin to parallel the tracks to the northwest, but a little too far away for good photos. However, trackside parking can be found here a little northwest of Calaboose Street, so get out of the car, roam around, and pick your spot.
Carrols Crossing -- North Price Road. Parallel the track via Main Street (plenty of access, but you're looking southeast) for 0.6 mile to intersect Lawrenceville-Suwanee Road (map) / Suwanee Dam Road (signpost). Continue straight ahead on Brogdon Road for 1.8 mile to a wye-intersection with North Price Road and turn right. After 0.2 mile you cross the track NAG, but there is good parking at either end of the highway overpass. CP SHADOW BROOK, MP 605.2, is west of here, out of sight around the curve; the second track runs 5 miles from here to CP WALTERS, beyond Buford.
Sugar Hill -- Lanier Road. Continue on North Price Road for 1.6 mile (there is a trackside view 0.6 mile from the bridge) into the town of Sugar Hill and intersect Old Suwanee Road. (However, just before curving down to join Old Suwanee Road, there used to be a crossing veering back to the west on what was Pinecrest Drive coming from the northwest. You might want to park in the area and check it out for photo possibilities.) Bear left (east) onto Old Suwanee Road (aka Old Atlanta Highway) for 0.4 mile to Lanier Road, which branches off to the north (left). The AG crossing here is photo rated N-1 E-1 S-1 W-2, and signals for CP SUGAR HILL, MP 602.7, are on the east side of the crossing.
Buford -- Little Mill Road. Continue straight ahead as the road changes its name to Railroad Avenue; it may also be called Sugar Hill Road on some maps. After a brief separation through a curve, the track and road come together again for the run into Buford. 1.8 mile from Lanier Road, there is an AG crossing at Little Mill Road in the west end of Buford, MP 601.0. The entire area around the crossing is wide open.
East of this crossing for several blocks, the space between road and rails is a park, offering excellent access. A defect detector east of town at MP 598.2 will alert you to southbound traffic heading your way.
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Buford -- East. Leave Buford on Main Street going northeastward. There is parking at the point where the track and road curve north leaving town, about 0.6 mile from Little Mill Road. You have a long view of the track in both directions. You will want to explore the area of 5th Street, which used to cross the tracks. You're on a big, sweeping curve, so you should be able to get pix any time of day.
Buford -- Waterworks Road. Main Street/Swanee, or whatever it's called in the eastern reaches of Buford will curve left to cross the track. Mapquest says the street name changes from Swanee to Waterworks Road, but John says it's still Main Street. All are describing the same road, but with different names. This, folks, is an example of why you should do your map work ahead of time. It doesn't matter what this road is named -- it could be World Global Warming Hoax Street -- but if you know where it comes from and where it goes, you'll follow it easily; there is a convenience store beyond the crossing where you can park.
CP WALTERS, MP 600.0, lies just to the southwest.
Rest Haven -- Friendship Road. Beyond the convenience store, turn right onto Peachtree Industrial Boulevard. The track lies close to the road for quite some distance, but is often obscured by trees and the occasional building. After you enter Hall County, maps may show a crossing at Holiday Road, but this crossing has been destroyed; GA-137 is now 0.25 mile further east and is called Friendship Road. Note also that this railfan location is shown as "Rest Haven", but that community is somewhat southeast of Friendship Road. Since it's the closest community indicated by both DeLorme and MapQuest, we use it as a reference point to help you locate the general area.
There is a good vantage from the Friendship Road bridge and parking at the south end of it.
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Flowery Branch -- Bell Road. Where Peachtree Industrial Boulevard intersects with Friendship Road, the former becomes McEver Road. Continue northeast on McEver to reach Gaines Ferry Road/Wade Orr Road and turn right. An additional trackside view is available on a side trip from this point. Turn immediately left onto Bell Drive, which is a gravel road that runs 0.9 mile alongside the track. MapQuest aerial shows plenty of open area between Bell and the tracks, but this might be a good place to have a weed whacker handy.
Flowery Branch -- Lights Ferry Road. Turn left onto paved Dell Drive. Take Dell Drive 0.3 mile to reach McEver Road. Turn left onto McEver and go 0.9 mile to return to Gaines Ferry Road/Wade Orr Road. On reaching it, turn left to rejoin the tour where Bell Drive began. Proceed 0.7 mile south along Gaines Ferry Road (overpass is not recommended) and turn left onto Atlanta Highway/GA-13. Before entering the town of Flowery Branch, you may see (depends on foliage density) off to your left the signal bridge for CP ALLEN, MP 594.7, which begins another siding. About 1.5 mile from the Gaines Ferry/Atlanta Highway intersection, turn left onto Lights Ferry Road (may also be called Snelling Street. It's the first real intersection in town.) and cross the track AG.
Aerial maps are unanimous in demonstrating why John has award photo ratings of 1 on all quadrants. This is one wide open crossing.
Flowery Branch -- Downtown. Immediately north of the crossing on Lights Ferry/Snelling, take a right onto Railroad Avenue. This runs the 6 blocks or so through town, with wide open access to the track, and ends at a T intersection at Chattahoochee Street. Before the T, you'll cross Spring Street. John didn't rate this crossing separately, but from the aerials, it looks to be NE1, SE1, SW4, NW1. At the T with Chattahoochee, turn right. The crossing is rated as 1's all around.
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Flowery Branch -- Radford Road. Turn left onto Atlanta Highway/GA-13. After 0.8 mile, the highway makes a pronounced, almost 90° curve to the right. In the curve, Radford Road (north side of highway) leads to an AG crossing behind the cement plant. Photo ratings are N-1 E-1 S-1 W-1. MP 593 stands on the west side of the crossing.
Flowery Branch -- H. F. Reed Industrial Parkway. Back on GA-13, just beyond the curve just mentioned, turn left (northeast) onto Thurmond Tanner Road. The road will take us away from the tracks for a while, but it can't be helped. Go 1.1 mile, then turn left onto H. F. Reed Industrial Parkway. In this interval, you will cross a spur; there are still rails to the north of the road. The spur seems to be used for storage. At 1.7 mile, Reed Industrial Parkway reaches a NAG crossing on a wide bridge with good views; the NAG is just northeast of the turnout for the spur just mentioned. Beyond the turnout is CP GRIF, MP 592.5, which is the east end of the siding from ALLEN.
Oakwood -- Chamblee Road. Retrace southeastward on Reed Parkway for 0.2 mile and turn left onto West White Road. [Note that MapQuest shows Sims Road crossing the tracks parallel to, and to the east of, Reed Parkway. The road is either private or very, very minor today. The crossing has apparently been cut. West White, contrary to the same MapQuest street view, does connect with Reed Parkway. As of July 2007, West White leads northeast from Reed Parkway, passes the vestigial remains of Sims, and continues northeast.] This leads 0.8 mile through a relatively new industrial park (you cross a spur) before coming to a tee intersection with Chamblee Road. The AG crossing on your left is N-1, E-3, S-2, W-1.
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Oakwood -- Downtown. Turn right (eastward) onto Chamblee and then left onto Railroad Street. MapQuest shows J. Crow Road going north from Railroad Street to a crossing, but it is NFOG in 2007. Proceed 1.1 mile from the intersection at Chamblee into the town of Oakwood, MP 590.1, where trackside parking and the city park (playground) await you. Railroad Street ends in a tee at Main Street.
Oakwood -- Mundy Mill Road/GA-53. Leave Oakwood by crossing the tracks on Main Street and proceeding north 0.2 mile to a tee intersection with Old Oakwood Road. Turn right and go 0.7 mile to intersect Mundy Mill Road/GA-53. Turn right, and the NAG crossing 0.1 mile east on Mundy Mill offers good views of the track; the bridge is nearly centered in a 3-mile stretch of tangent track. Note: If you go by MapQuest's street view, you'll be confused here. Apparently, what was Mundy Mill is now a vestigial remains leading into a small industrial area of some sort. The crossing is no longer in existence. When they built GA-53, there was no need for the Mundy Mill Crossing.
Oakwood -- Tumbling Circle. A little further north along Mundy Mill Road are fast food joints and a Wal-Mart Supercenter. Take a right to continue northeastward on Old Oakwood Road for 1.2 mile and, as the road curves left, turn right onto Tumbling Circle to reach an AG crossing, photo rated 1 in all quadrants. A defect detector, MP 588.7, lies to the west; CP CHICOPEE, MP 588.0, lies to the east and marks the beginning of a second main track that runs 7 miles to CP RED LANE.
Note here another inconsistency with the MapQuest street view. Tumbling Circle shows as coming off Old Oakwood, crossing the tracks, paralleling them, and then going obliquely across the tracks to go back up to Old Oakwood. I can't find the western road or crossing on any aerial, so I'm assuming it's NFOG.
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Gainesville -- Atlanta Highway. Return to Old Oakwood Road and turn right. The road curves away from the track, and will soon (0.5 mile from Tumbling Circle) end at Mountain View Road/Memorial Park Place. Turn right, and go 1.1 mile (a total of 2.3 mile from Mundy Mill Road) to a T intersection with Memorial Park Road, turn right one-half block to a tee intersection with Atlanta Highway/GA-13, and turn right. The overpass of the tracks is on a broad northeast-southeast curve, and is without the fences that are prevalent thru the area. This is an excellent down on location, but the road is busy, and you need to keep your wits about you on the overpass.
Note: In this area there is some confusion on road names. Older DeLorme Street Atlas software shows the route as Mountain View Road all the way to the Atlanta Highway intersection, cutting off Titshaw Rd for this last half-block, but this no longer matches the signposts. John has given the current signage seen on-the-ground in the narrative, so take his info as the most current.
Gainesville -- Ruby Road. Gainesville, at 30,000 population, is a good sized town, and its regional airport is just to the southeast of the road and railroad. Therefore, consider any area between Atlanta Highway/GA-13 and the airport property to be sensitive from a Homeland Security point of view. Ruby Road used to go south from GA-13, cross the tracks, and enter the airport property. Today, there is a vestigial reminder of the road from GA-13 down to the area of the tracks, but the crossing has been taken out. We do not know if public access is denied or not, but the general area of the crossing looks to be good for photos. You should probably consider it prudent to stay on the west side of the tracks. Indeed, if the area is posted, just leave and head west on Atlanta Highway/GA-13.
Be advised that John Moore, the author of this tour, does not recommend this as a railfan location. I recommend it only as a place to get trackside in a hurry if you know something is coming. Take your shots and leave.
Gainesville -- Dorsey Street. Via Atlanta Highway, go further northeast and take a right onto Industrial Boulevard. Pass up Aviation Boulevard, as it is AG, but very busy, and a guy running around with a camera at this location (the main entrance to the airport) would stick out like a suspect thumb -- NARL. When you get to Dorsey Street, you can take a right and drive to the AG crossing. However, the viewing is not particularly good, and you're still in a somewhat high interest area. This spot is recommended for those who know a train is imminent, and need to get trackside fast. Take your photos and leave.
John rates the crossing (it's an x, not a +) as a N1, E2,S3, W3, and it's about .7 miles after entering Industrial.
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Gainesville -- GA-60. From Dorsey Street, continue northeast via Industrial Boulevard. At the major intersection with GA-60, take a right to go over the tracks. This is a broad overpass, and certainly a railfan location, but be advised that it is VERY busy, and you won't be able to run back and forth from lane to lane. Be circumspect and intelligent here, and you can get good pix.
Gainesville -- Georgia Avenue. Go back up to Industrial Boulevard, take a right and after 2 long blocks, take another right onto Georgia Avenue. This area used to be an interchange point with the CSX predecessor, but now there is no diamond. The NS crossing is rated N2, E1, S1, W1.
Gainesville -- Station Area. Industrial Boulevard will carry you up to Hancock Street. Between Hancock and Bradford streets sits the ex-Southern passenger station, still in use as an Amtrak station today. Both streets offer excellent AG crossing viewing, and the station area itself is likewise excellent for viewing. There are poles and other clutter in the area, but those are relatively minor problems. The tracks are at a 45° angle northeast - southwest, so you'll be able to get good pix any time of day. This is a lawn chair and cooler location, and would be a great place to meet fellow railfans, watch some trains, and swap railfan lies.
Gainesville -- White Sulphur Road #1. From the station area, go north on Bradford Street 0.7 mile to intersect Jesse Jewel Parkway/GA-13, turn right and go 2.2 mile (U.S. 129 joins, then leaves GA-13 in this interval). Turn left onto White Sulphur Road. The Crescent Route crosses GA-13 on a bridge just beyond this turn. On White Sulphur Road, go 0.8 mile to an AG crossing, photo ratings NE-1 SE-1 SW-1 NW-1. This is the first rural, wide open crossing we've seen for a while, so stop for a bit and enjoy it. Note that the railroad, which usually is northeast - southwest, is virtually dead north - south here, so you're in a location where you'll get few decent shots of northbounds.
White Sulphur -- Lake Road. Continue another 1.5 mile and turn left onto The Lake Road/Lake Road Circle/Navajo Circle. The AG crossing here is photo N-1 E-2 S-3 W-1. MP 580 is at the west side of the crossing.
White Sulphur -- White Sulphur Road # 2. Return to White Sulphur Road and turn left; go 0.6 mile to reach an AG crossing, photo N-2 E-2 S-2 W-2. This is the second crossing on White Sulphur Road, and the 3rd if you include Lake Road just to the west of the road. If you'll be spending some time in this area, you'll want to check out all four crossings, including the next one, to decide what works best for you. All are obviously pretty good.
White Sulphur -- White Sulphur Road # 3. Another 0.6 mile brings you to another AG crossing, photo N-1 E-1 S-1 W-1. Defect detector MP 575.1 is located to the east. This is the actual community of White Sulphur.
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Lula -- Cagle Road #1. Cross the tracks and proceed 0.6 mile to intersect Lanier Parkway/U.S. 23/SR-365. Turn left onto the Parkway, and go 3.7 miles to turn right onto Cagle Road. Maps show Cagle Road going through from near the last crossing, but it is NFOG. Also, some maps show a crossing via Pine Drive, which was accessed from Hillcrest Drive back in White Sulphur. It is long gone -- NFOG. Yet another crossing, this one from U.S. 23, is via Bill Minor Road, or at least that's what maps show, but it, too, is a long gone NFOG.
This first crossing of Cagle Road near Lula is an excellent railfan location: Photo rated N-1 E-1 S-1 W-1.
Lula -- Cagle Road #2. Continue 0.6 mile to another AG crossing which, if anything, is even more open than the last, especially from the north. CP CAGLE, MP 574.0, lies east of the crossing; the second track here runs to CP YONAH at MP 569.0.
Lula -- Lula Road/GA-52. Continue another 1.0 mile to a T intersection with Lula Road/GA-52 and turn right. After 0.3 mile you come to an AG (photo NE-1 SE-1 SW-1 NW-1). Looking at this crossing via any of the aerial maps available should make any railfan salivate, as John does not overestimate the photo fields here. This crossing is like those found in the Midwest, not here in the Piedmont. Like the crossings back at White Sulphur, you'll probably want to scout out the two Cagle Road crossings and this one to determine what works best for you.
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Lula -- GA-51 Overpass. Go another 0.5 mile south on GA-52, and turn left on GA-51/Cornelia Highway/Main Street. The NAG ahead crosses over the railroad at the western point of a wye. The southern leg leads toward Commerce GA, and the northeast point continues the Crescent Route to the north. Older maps show an un-named road (no doubt the predecessor of the new GA-51) with an AG crossing, but that crossing is long gone, and most of the old road is gone or vestigial remains, at most. The bridge itself is modern and wide, and is an OK fan location, especially if there is any action thru the wye.
The bridge is wide and relatively safe, but keep your wits about you when up there.
Lula. Proceed from the bridge and continue into the town of Lula until you reach the intersection with Athens Street. The community center, built in the style of a depot, at MP 572.2, is across the tracks to your right.
Lula -- East End. Lula is a small town that was apparently designed for railfans! Old Cornelia Highway to the north/west of the tracks, and Old County Line Road/Railroad Avenue/Lula Farm Road to the south/east parallel the tracks for quite a ways, with a few crossings along the way. For the most part, however, the area is so open that you won't need to get to a crossing to get good pix. Beyond 2nd Street, the road to the south/east leaves the railroad, but Old Cornelia Highway continues to hug the rails for miles, with a wide open crossing at Barefoot Road, beyond which the tracks are mostly solidly treed in.
Lula -- CP YONAH. To reach CP YONAH, MP 569.0, turn right on Moccasin Gap Road/CR-131, cross the track AG, and turn left onto Bertha Gragg Road/CR-236 (a dirt road not in the best condition). Both of the crossings (Moccasin Gap Road and Bertha Clagg Road) are wide open for photos. However, especially around the latter, you have to be careful to avoid trespassing on the southeast quadrant.
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Lula -- Barrett/Yonah-Homer Roads. At YONAH, rejoin Old Cornelia Highway/GA-51 and turn right; if you passed up the Bertha Gragg/YONAH side trip, just clock another 0.3 mile along GA-51. You'll shortly see a large church on the left, and Barrett Road will be on the right, Barrett has a good, open crossing. Between YONAH and Barrett, the tracks are close to the road, but are treed in.
Get back on Old Cornelia and drive to Yonah-Homer Road, take a right, and park near the tracks. Photo ratings are N-1 E-1 S-3 W-1. To the southeast of the crossing and Yonah-Homer is a large industrial facility that is an active railroad customer. To service the customer, a spur track comes off the main to the northeast of the crossing.
Raoul. At the Yonah-Homer crossing, turn left immediately south of the tracks onto North County Line Road/CR-243 to follow along the east and south side of the track. The road becomes dirt surfaced after 0.4 mile, but becomes paved again 0.5 mile further along, after crossing Garland White Road. Along the first part of this road, there will be a relaxed S curve next to a commercial or industrial facility on the south, and just beyond that curve is a 3-way county line meet. You will leave Hall County behind and enter Habersham County, with Banks County all along the way to the southeast.
There is a crossing at Garland White Road, but it is not up to the quality of most that we've detailed. It's perfectly fine for a quick snatch and grab photo if you know something is coming soon, however. From Yonah-Homer Road all the way into Alto, Old Cornelia Highway continues to parallel the track on the north and west, but the view is most often obscured. From CR-243, you'll have, generally speaking, better views and light from here into Alto. As the road bends from northerly to northeasterly, there is a crossing shown on older maps, but it is NFOG.
When you get to the community of Raoul, you will intersect with Alto Village Road, and should turn left to get to the crossing. North of the crossing is what was Old Cornelia Highway, which is call Willingham Avenue here. The crossing is rated solid 1's on all quads. CP RAOUL, MP 565.9, is in this segment. As you leave Raoul on Willingham, there is another crossing worth visiting. Pass Smokey Road to the left, and look for Grant Mill on the right. Take the right and get to the crossing. It's not as good a photo location as the Alto Village crossing, but there is probably less street traffic.
Webmaster's Note: Oddly, you will not find Raoul in your DeLorme Atlas.
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Alto -- Wynn Shoals Road. Turn right onto Gainesville Highway/Willingham Avenue and leave Raoul. There is a complicated intersection that leads to a private overpass of the road and railroad, leading only to a very large industrial facility. As the road only goes to that facility, it is NARL. At Wynn Shoals Road, take a right to a nice, wide open crossing. The large mill mentioned in the previous sentences is well to your south.
Alto. Continue northeast on Willingham Avenue into the town of Alto. At the intersection with B. C. Grant Road there is a convenience store across the highway from the railroad, which should make a good base for railfanning in the town. As in most of these small northeast Georgia towns, the road and track are parallel and separated by only a grassy strip of land. The railroad is on a virtually exact 45° bias thru town, and railfanning is drop dead easy. Defect detector MP 564.0 lies about half a mile east of town.
Baldwin -- Kitchens Road. From the convenience store, continue northeast on Gainesville Highway. Leaving Alto, pass up Wheeler Road, as the crossing is treed in. Before you get to the Habersham/Banks county line, take a right onto either Apple Pie Ridge Road or Kitchens Road. Apple Pie will T with Kitchens. South of the T is an excellent crossing.
Just south of the crossing, Nix Road will parallel the tracks very closely to the southwest. In the aerials, the area looks treed in, but you might find some opportunities along the way. To the east of the crossing, a spur track goes to the north, leading to what appears to be a storage/industrial facility (plastic pellets, maybe?). Regardless of what is being stored and distributed, there are as many as 30 railcars up there. Just east of where the spur to the north departs, there is a spur to the south side of the tracks, also leading to an industrial facility. In the aerial of this plant, there were another 18-30 rail cars. Don't be surprised to find a local doing some work in this area.
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Baldwin -- U.S. 441/GA-15. Go back up to Willingham Road/Gainesville Highway, turn right, and you'll soon see the plant that the northern spur (see above paragraph) serves, and then you'll come to a NAG/NARL overpass of the tracks. At that point, you'll see the plant that the southern spur served. East of the bridge, out of sight around a slight curve in the track, is CP BALDWIN, MP 562.0. Double track extends 20 miles from BALDWIN to TUGALO, at the South Carolina state line. The town of Baldwin is one of the few along this part of Georgia in which the railroad is not right down the center of the town. Indeed, it has curved well north of us as we enter Baldwin.
In Baldwin, turn left on Airport Road and go 0.7 mile and turn right onto Industrial Boulevard. [NOTE WELL: The NAG on Airport Road is a one-lane underpass with 12 foot vertical clearance. If you want to avoid this, continue along Gainesville Highway/Willingham Avenue to U.S. 441, turn left 0.5 mile to reach Industrial Boulevard; turn right.] Go one block to U.S. 441/GA-15. The NAG overpass 0.4 mile to the right (southeast) is wide enough to stand on comfortably, but the road is a major 4-lane highway, so stay alert. We don't recommend that you spend a lot of time on the bridge.
Cornelia. The tour continues by crossing U.S. 441 and staying on Industrial Boulevard for 1.1 mile. Note that as you enter Cornelia, the road name changes to Irving Street. Pass up the NAG crossing on the GA-105 Loop. When you can't proceed further on Irving, because the road ahead is one-way toward you, turn left at Wells Street one block to Hodges Street, turn right one block to Main Street, and right again one block. (The one-way is only 1 block long, so you're just going around the block to the north to reach the other end of it.) Turn left to reach the old station in Cornelia, MP 559.8, which is now a local museum. The remains of a wye lie north of the station, and GA-105/Clarkesville Street curves along the west side of it. The aerials from both MapQuest and Google Earth clearly show the location of the wye, as well as the station within it. The station area gives good viewing from the north, and you can walk a long block to the southwest to get open viewing from the south.
Cornelia -- Chase Road. Leave the station by returning to Main Street and turn left (south) to cross AG. Go 0.2 mile to a traffic light at a 5-point intersection, and turn left more than 90 degrees onto Wyly Street. Note that MapQuest shows this road as being U.S. 123, which I cannot confirm on any other map I've seen. After 0.7 mile, turn left onto Chase Road to reach a NAG overpass with good views.
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Mt Airy -- Sunlit Hollow Road. Continue east on Wyly Street/Dicks Hill Parkway. You can take a left as you come into Mt Airy, onto 1st Street, and then a left onto Doc Keller Drive, but the crossing is either a nasty NAG/NARL underpass or it has simply been removed. Looking at the aerials alone does not make clear what is going on there, but it's definitely NARL. The crossing which used to be via 6th Street has been taken out of service. The crossing on 7th Street still exists, but is NAG/NARL, as it looks very narrow. 1.2 mile beyond Chase Road, you cross the railroad NAG after leaving Mt Airy. CP MT AIRY, MP 558.0 is just west of the overpass.
A short distance past the overpass, look for a very minor road, Sunlit Hollow Road, on your right. Take it and park near the tracks. This may be a private road, but it appears to be OK for fanning, as you are close to the the highway.
Toccoa -- Summit Ridge Road. About 0.7 mile beyond the bridge and Mt Airy, turn right onto Nancy Town Road. Beyond the NAG bridge, turn left onto Welcome Home Road. Follow it for 1.6 mile, crossing back over the track NAG to return to Dicks Hill Parkway/GA-13; turn right. This latter overpass must be over a fairly deep cut, as you can't even see the tracks from the aerials -- only trees and shadows. From this point, the road makes a huge loop away north of the track here, but it can't be helped; there are a few farms, but generally the area between the railroad and the highway is undeveloped. Access is possible, but the view is limited and, there is simply not enough return for the effort to reach it. Examples are Sellars Drive and Ayersville Road. While away from the road, the track passes a defect detector at MP 552.3, and CP AYERSVILLE, MP 552.0. One of the reasons you have few railfanning opportunities thru here is that the countryside has quickly become much more rugged and convoluted.
Proceeding along Dicks Hill Parkway/GA-13, you will cross the track (NAG) at 6.5 mile, then continue on 3.0 mile further to intersect U.S. 123. Part of this segment is a winding mountain road, down the side of Dicks Hill, with the drop-off on your side of the road; if driving or towing an RV, be particularly alert. Proceed through the intersection onto U.S. 123 North and look for Pine View Road to the left. Take it north to Rock Quarry Road, turn left, and then take a right onto Summit Ridge Road. While the aerials show this as a wide open crossing, neither John nor I personally visited it, so take this one with a grain of salt.
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Toccoa -- Station Area. Return to U.S. 123, take a left, and continue on to Toccoa. There is no crossing anywhere beyond Summit Ridge and downtown Toccoa. As you come into the built up area, you'll cross the Hartwell/Great Walton which goes down to Elberton. As you continue into town, those tracks will hug the street on the west. A little further north, and the tracks and road will bend 90° to go due east. This curve is the southeast leg of a wye, with the southwest leg going to a small yard a little to the west. It doesn't look as if there is public access for viewing of the yard area, but it's worth an exploration.
Drive on into the downtown area, and turn left on Sage Street, go 2 blocks (crossing tracks), and turn left 1 block to the Amtrak station at MP 547.3. There is a local history museum here. There are a few other streets that cross the track in town, all NAG -- Sage is the only at grade crossing in the entire downtown area. You can get pix in the area from just east of Sage to just west of the station, and you can find a few spots in the same area south of the tracks, but the downtown area really isn't great for fanning.
Toccoa -- Big A Road. Leave the station by going north 2 blocks along North Alexander Street to turn right onto Tugalo Street/Alternate SR-17. Follow Alternate SR-17 (it curves right off of Tugalo Street onto Big A Road) 1.1 mile to intersect U.S. 123 and turn left onto Currahee Street/U.S. 123 North. CP PARK, MP 545.0, lies east of here. A NAG overpass just before reaching Currahee Street provides a vantage; park at the strip center just beyond the bridge.
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Toccoa -- Lake Louise Road. Proceed 3.1 mile along U.S. 123 to Lake Louise Road on the left, also signposted for the Baptist Conference Center. The AG crossing, 0.2 mile from the highway, is photo rated NE-2 SE-1 SW-1 NW-2. This is the first at grade crossing since Sage Street in town, and the first of any type of crossing worth visiting since Big A Road.
Jarrett. Return to U.S. 123 and turn left. Proceed 2.3 mile to a left turn onto Riverdale Road. Follow it 0.7 mile, through a 90° left curve (at Traveler's Rest State Historic Site (http://gastateparks.org/info/travelers/), and bear right at the fork beyond, to a NAG crossing. The railroad bridge over the Tugaloo River is visible in the middle distance; it is an open deck plate bridge and is easily visible because the lack of ballast makes the ties stand out. There is no close approach to the track or bridge on either side of the river, unless you're in a boat. CP TUGALO, MP 542.1, lies a little west of this crossing. This is our last railfan location in Georgia.
South Carolina
Percival Crossroads. Return to U.S. 123, turn left, and go 0.5 mile to reach the Tugaloo River. The railroad bridge is clearly visible to your left as you approach the river. After crossing the Tugaloo River, you are in South Carolina. Continue on U.S. 123 and proceed 8 miles past Cleveland Pike Road (NAG/NARL), Jenkins Bridge - Langston Hill Road (NAG/NARL), and the first intersection with Pickens Road. At Percival Crossroads, take a left onto Pickens Road, and then a right onto Carver Road, and keep to the left at the first fork. At Lons Hill Road, take a right to get to the crossing. It is difficult to tell from the aerials whether this crossing is at grade or not, but it appears to be so. The fact that the road ends a short distance beyond the crossing would appear to support this supposition. Neither John nor I have personally visited this location.
Westminster -- Alexander Street. As you approach Westminster via U.S. 123, West King Street will go off to your right. Take that road. The crossing at Earl Drive is NFOG. Likewise, Duval Street is NFOG -- the whole street, not just the crossing! At Alexander Street (left)/Thrift Drive (right), take a left and drive to an AG crossing. The crossing is quite open, and is probably the best crossing in the Westminster area for pix.
Westminster Station Area. Go back down to King Street to continue into town. The overpass at Park Avenue was not observed, and it may or may not be a railfan location. U.S. 76 joins U.S. 123 in the northwest corner of Westminster, and goes northwest - southeast through town on a rather broad curve, going under the tracks on a broad underpass. That underpass is NARL, but we need to continue east on King Street to get to that area. Past Park Avenue, King Street will curve broadly around a mill or some sort of facility, and come to a 90° turn to the left. Take the turn to get out to U.S. 76/U.S. 123/Windsor Street. Take a right and go one very long block to a left on Isundega Street, and then take your first right onto Main Street. Park in the large lot on the north side of the street.
This is what's here: At the northwest of this area, Walhalla Street curves down from the north to become the southeast-bound Main Street. The NAG/NARL underpass of Walhalla/Main is the northwest limit of this railfan location. Between Main Street on the south, and North Avenue on the north of the tracks, there is great viewing all thru several blocks. The station itself is southeast of where you parked your car. In January 2006, arson destroyed much of the old depot in Westminster, which was on the National Register of Historic Places. The town has rebuilt it into a simple meeting place facility. Viewing is not quite as nice southeast of Lucky Street on the south side of the tracks, but continues to be very fine for quite a ways beyond on the north side.
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Westminster -- Bibb Street. Begin to leave town via North Street on the north side of the tracks (reached via the underpass at Grey Street just south of the depot). Pass up the NAG/NARL underpass at Oak Street, but not the AG crossing at Bibb Street. You'll have to shoot from either of the two northern quads, as the south quads are part of folks' lawns. However, the viewing is quite good from the north.
Richland -- Driver Hill Road. If at Bibb Street, cross the tracks and turn right on U.S. 123. You can also continue from the depot in Winchester along Main Street 2 blocks to Lucky Street/SR 37-80, turn right and in 1 block intersect U.S. 123 and turn left (U.S. 123 East). At 1.9 mile, turn left onto Old Seneca Road/CR 37-13. In this stretch of U.S. 123, between downtown Winchester and Old Seneca Road, you'll be alongside the track all the way, but foliage densities will cause quite a range of good to poor views.
Continue east on Old Seneca Road and turn left onto Driver Hill Road. The AG crossing ahead is photo rated NE-2 SE-1 SW-1 NW-1.
Richland -- SC-11/Foothills Parkway. Cross the track and bear right to stay on Driver Hill Road. After curving over a hill, the road ends 0.4 mile at a T intersection with SC-11/Foothills Parkway. Turn right; you will cross above the track on a very commodious overpass. Shadows will be a problem early and late, but personal safety should not be an issue as long as you remember where you are and don't get careless.
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Seneca -- Station. From the overpass on Foothills Parkway, go south to the main intersection with U.S. 76/U.S. 123, which is a major 4-lane highway here. There is abundant life support on U.S. 76/U.S. 123, which is pretty much a bypass of both Seneca and Clemson. [NOTE: Carter Buchanan provided some updating of the Seneca and Clemson locations.] You can take a right onto SC-59/West North 1st Street to go into the downtown area. Note that this road is displayed as U.S. 76 Business on older maps. Note that you can go directly into Seneca via SC-59 from I-85, but the lovely lady at the Welcome Center told me SC-11 is a much easier drive, and it certainly was easy. As you head downtown on SC-59/West North 1st Street, the railroad on your right is a fairly modest one, and is the NS ex-Blue Ridge Railroad coming down from Walhalla.
You will soon notice, however, that the rails have grown in size, and are most definitely shiny, as Norfolk Southern's Piedmont Division (AKA the Crescent Route) has come in from the west, and the two railroads are parallel in theory. In actuality, however, the ex-Southern crosses over the secondary line, and exits Seneca north of the latter. Where both lines are together in downtown Seneca is the logical place for a station, and sure enough, there is a very nice one. From SC-59, Main Street is one block south, and Railroad Street is 2 blocks south, with the station south of Railroad Street. There is excellent viewing from either side of the station, but you'll be looking into the sun virtually all day. On the south side of the station, on South 1st Street, you have an excellent photo field, but the tracks are on a fairly significant embankment, so photos will take some thought, luck, and work.
From the station itself, the 2 northernmost tracks are the NS main, and the southern 2 tracks are part of the yard/interchange tracks from the afore-mentioned ex-Blue Ridge, as the branch departs Seneca for Anderson from this location today. The station is at approximately MP 522.8.
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Seneca -- East Main Street. In front of the station, the NS tracks are almost dead east-west. However, just a couple of blocks east, they swing very emphatically north, forming the west leg of a still existing wye. You can easily access this trackage by going east on Railroad Street, and then one block north to Main Street. Take a right and cross the 2 main tracks; take an immediate right and park off to the right. Frankly, photo ops are not impressive here, at NE4, SE1, SW4, NW4, but as you can imagine, that southeast quadrant is dynamite for southbounds in the morning.
We'll now begin to drive out of Seneca, and follow the railroad due north and then we'll take another 90° turn to the east.
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Seneca -- Hanvey Road. Continue east on East Main, cross the east leg of the wye, and then take a left to go north on Lindsay Road. You'll be right next to the tracks on Lindsay, but everything is treed in, and there are no railfan locations along this stretch. When you get to U.S. 76, go straight across and enter what looks like someone's driveway. This dirt road is Hanvey Road, and will wander around by several houses and through narrow corridors of tall pines. You'll come to Anderson Road (sign is about 100’ W of tracks at SC-130) that will take you over the tracks at a good railfan crossing: NE2, SE1, SW1, NW4. You may think you're in the middle of nowhere, but there are plenty of houses in the area, and traffic is a factor, so be alert.
The railroad is on an almost perfect 45° northeast-southwest bias, so you will be able to get pix almost any time of day.
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Seneca -- Sizemore Road. Here's a crossing that's almost the opposite of the last one, at least as far as photography is concerned. From the Anderson Road crossing, continue to SC 130, turn right and continue north until you reach an intersection with a road going back away from your right. This is Sizemore Road and it will take you to a crossing that rates at NE1, SE4, SW4, NW1. Again, the angle of the tracks makes for interesting photo opportunities.
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Courteney. Return to SC 130 from Sizemore Road, and take a right to go north. When this highway goes due north after less than a mile, veer to the right to follow the curve of the tracks as they become eastbound via a broad curve. The road you are now on is Old Clemson Highway. Pass the wood yard, and then take a right on Corinth Road to crossing 717 194S. You'll know it because you'll see a tall signal bridge over the double tracked railroad. Park past the tracks and walk back. To the west is a set of facing signals, a set of crossovers, and then the east-facing signals. This is timetable location "COURTENEY" at MP519.6. Note that Courteney is variously shown as Courtenay on some maps. It is spelled this way on the equipment enclosure at the crossing.
Viewing is NE4, SE1, SW2, NW4.
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Clemson -- Station Area. Continue east on Old Clemson Highway until you cross the tracks on a NAG/NARL. When you go over the overpass, look east and you'll see the signals at the Keowee interlocking, where double track southbound begins. There was a road to the interlocking plant just south of the overpass, but the entire area has recently been bulldozed, and is apparently going to be developed for commercial occupation. Until that all settles out, Keowee is going to be impractical as a railfan location. Keowee is at MP 517.0.
Old Clemson Road will end at U.S. 76, and you should take a left to continue on into Clemson. A crossing at Jacobs road about .7 mile east of the intersection was not observed. As you approach the northwest arm of vast Hartwell Lake, the railroad will become significantly built up on a high fill. The U.S. 76 bridge over the lake provides a terrific view of the railroad bridge, but is narrow and has very high traffic. Unfortunately, it is NARL.
The elevated trackage continues on into Clemson itself, along U.S. 76, which is ridiculously overbuilt and over-commercialized. To get to the station, take a left onto SC-133, and just before going under the tracks, take a sharp, steep right to go up the hill to the tracks. The station is pleasant, and in daily use by Amtrak, but photos in the area are not worth a hoot, because of the heavy fencing south of the tracks. So, take your pix of the station, go back out the way you came in, and go right and under the tracks. Take your first right, and go up into the community of Calhoun, proper. You'll be literally right across the street from the station. There is excellent viewing from the north, but the tracks are east-west, and you'll be facing into the sun all day. The station is at MP514.2.
The large, rather eclectic-looking building north of the street is the Calhoun Corners Restaurant. It is an excellent white-table-cloth restaurant, especially for special occasion dinners. There are 3 rather large windows on the second floor which probably give a view of the mainline action.
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Clemson -- Mauldin Road. As you may have gathered, Clemson is not much of a railfan area, so go back to U.S. 76 and continue eastbound. Shortly, the road will split, with U.S. 76 going southeast, and U.S. 123 going east. Take the latter, and you'll shortly see SC-93 going north. Take the left onto SC-93/Old Greenville Road and drive a few miles north. You'll pass Old Central Road, which goes back southwest and over the tracks, but it is NAG/NARL. The cut is a very scenic, wide, kudzu-covered expanse, but the bridge is really too narrow from which to fan. In the summer, you can lose a small car in the kudzu. I just don't think it's worth it.
You'll come to Mauldin Road going to your left, and will also see the tracks coming in from the left. Take Mauldin and park just past the tracks on the left. I'm going to give you the photo ratings, but be aware that I may have the ratings upside down, because I drew the diagram upside down while doing the on-the-ground research: NE1, SE2, SW3, NW1. All in all, a pretty good spot, but we're coming to a much better location in just a couple of miles.
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Central. The small town of Central, just a couple miles north of Mauldin Road, is an excellent place to sit and watch trains. Watkins and Bank streets go left over the tracks. Between them is a large, open area that is excellent. This would have to be a late afternoon location for photos, but for lawn chairs and scanners, this is a fine place to hang out. South of the tracks is a fairly steep drop, so it is no photo location. Walk another block or so east, where Church Street comes up from the south, there is a large grassy area for pix from the south.
The location north of the tracks is quieter, while the area south of the tracks in the Church street area is best for photos. Take your pick. There is a bright red N&W caboose south of SC-93 in the Church Street area.
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Johnson. This is a timetable-listed interlocking at the start of double track southbound. As you go north from Central on SC-93, you'll be very close to the tracks for several miles, but they are heavily treed in. There is a picturesque, rickety wooden road bridge over the tracks. It's cool, but it is also suicidal to use as a railfan location. Forget it. Instead, look for signal masts over the trees about 2 miles north of the wooden bridge. You'll then note a small dirt road heading down towards the tracks. As of 2022, it has become seriously overgrown and almost completely invisible as you drive down SC-93. Park on the right, opposite the dirt road. [NOTE WELL: There is a very major paper and wood products plant entrance just about 1/2 mile to the north of where you are parked. The traffic on SC-93 is fast and heavy during the week, and it's hard to see vehicles coming up the hill from the north. You must be very alert, and park well off the road.]
Walk 1/3 - 1/2 ways down the dirt road, and Johnson interlocking will be laid out before you in a broad, attractive, kudzu-covered cut. You are well over and back from the tracks here, and will probably not be bothered by railroad personnel. If you walk down to the tracks, you are blatantly trespassing and are putting yourself in danger, so don't consider doing so. I personally think this is a great place to watch the morning's trains. There is no access from the west, and the tracks are virtually 90° due north-south here.
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Norris. Continuing north on SC-93, you'll come to the community of Norris. Take a left and drive to the tracks. It's pretty good at NE1, SE3, SW3, NW1, but this is another one that I drew upside down, so you may find the opposite ratings, but either way, good pix should be no problem for you. You'll note the MP 507 marker.
Side note: A reader helped the Clemson U Habitat for Humanity blitz build a house on campus that was then delivered by house movers to its final resting place just across this crossing. The reader followed the truck and at this crossing, as soon as the house got across the tracks, which are on a sharp curve in both directions, the gates came down and a freight came around the curve that the reader had to wait for!
Traber. Get back on SC-93 and take a left to continue north and east. The road will go up and over the tracks on a NAG/NARL, and then parallel the tracks on a northeast bias for a few miles, but they are treed in. When the tracks make a big bend to the southeast, take a right onto Old Norris Road. Travel for several more miles, and you'll pass Farmers Hill Road. You can park next to the crossing signal. From there, but not from ON the tracks, which curve in both directions, you can see the Traber interlocking and signal and the end of double track, at MP 504.1. But it’s a ways away. If you get back onto Old Norris Road and go east about 0.1 miles there is a nearly invisible gravel turnoff onto RR property that gives a closer view of Traber features noted above. There is also a dragging equipment detector visible from this point. If you continue further east on Old Norris Road about 0.4 miles from the first small turnoff there is another one. This is beyond the signals for Traber and pretty far from the interlocking. When you continue east on Old Norris from these points and get close to Liberty, Old Norris will veer north and away from the tracks. The next right turn is South Norman, and you should take this over the tracks and park either beside the crossing or in the small church parking lot a 100 yards or so north, if appropriate if not in use for church activites. Photo ratings are NE2, SE2, SW1, NW2.
Looking to the south, probably 1/3 mile and possibly 1/2 mile, you'll barely see the signals for the Traber interlocking, the end of double track southbound, at MP 504.1. The crossing you're parked at is pretty good for photos.
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Liberty -- U.S. 178. From Traber, take a left onto Ruhamah Road, and head on into Liberty. Ruhamah will become Calhoun Street, and will T at Peachtree Street. Take a left and then in about 100 feet right onto Mills into the downtown area. Just before turning onto Mills, Peachtree crosses the tracks and you could park in the church lot on the left side. The shoulder on each side of the bridge is safe if you pay attention, but once on the bridge the view of the tracks in either direction does not show any RR infrastructure; just the two tracks. Mills takes a couple of 90° turns, and will intersect with Park Plaza and Lee Street; turn left on either street and you'll end up at the crossing of U.S. 178 and the double tracked railroad. In the area of the immediate crossing itself, the area is wide open, at NE1, SE1, SW4, NW1. The reason for the SW4 if because of stuff in your line of sight. Walk back across Lee Street and stand in the northwest corner of the vinyl window manufacturing plant and outlet, and you'll get a great view of northbounds from the southwest quadrant. Be sure to check in at the vinyl plant before lurking around for picture taking.
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Liberty -- Clardy Road. Cross the tracks on U.S. 178 to reach E. Main St./SC-93. Turn right to take SC-93 northbound and turn left on Clardy Road. Park to the left before the tracks. This area is a truck turnaround, and you need to park well to the south west in the lot. It will be noisy during weekdays, because there is an aggregates plant across Clardy to the north. There is some old kiln-type equipment in the area, so you'll have to move around a little, but the photo ratings are quite good at NE1, SE1, SW2, NW1. Be sure to be well away from the plant and trucks. The intermediate signals ("Beverly") to the southwest are visible, but some binocs might help.
Metler. Continue north on SC-93, and you'll pass Quarry Road which shows as a crossing, but it is the entrance to a Vulcan Materials quarry, and is off limits to railfans. The next crossroads is with Amsterdam Road/State Rd S-39-127, and you should turn left to head back towards the tracks at Old Liberty Rd. Turn left and a bridge crosses the tracks. To continue, make a right turn to follow the tracks on Old Liberty Road. You'll hug the treed in tracks for 1-2 miles, and then the road will swing sharply southeast. At that point, there is a crossing via Enon Church Road. Cross the tracks and park in the ex-woodlot to the left. The feature here is a set of crossovers north of the road. This timetable location is Metler, and is at MP 498.5. Hey, it's less than 500 miles to Washington, DC! Photo ratings are NE3, SE1, SW1, NW3.
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Easley -- West Main. To reach the next site in Easley, go back down Enon Church Road, and then continue straight onto what is now Old Liberty Road. This will bring you into the west side of town. It will dead end at a “slanted T”. Turn left and proceed to the light at the five-way intersection at odd angles. Take a sharp left onto SC-8 and proceed to the light at Fleetwood Drive, which goes to the right. Just before the light SC-8 crosses the tracks on an overpass. Turn at the light and in a short block park at the Doodle Park on the left. It’s a nice park with real restrooms inside the shell of a boxcar, drinking fountains, shaded picnic tables, playground toys for children, etc. The Doodle Path along the defunct Doodle Railroad from Easley to Pickens passes here. It is a pleasant walking-biking path and in about 0.5 miles it comes quite close to the NS tracks. Walking west on it does not encounter the NS tracks, but walking east will, after about half a mile.
To view the tracks from the bridge walk back to Main Street to the overpass of the NS tracks. There are sidewalks on both sides of the bridge. The push-to-walk lights at the crosswalk actually work! Do NOT cross SC-8 anywhere EXCEPT at the crosswalk. Just don’t! To the west is the NS MP 497 sign but otherwise a rather ho-hum view, but to the east (a great PM shot) is a nice ravine with kudzu-covered hillsides. This is an excellent southern, summer shot. Note that Main/SC-8 is busy and noisy, so be very careful.
Easley -- Cumberland Avenue. Return to W. Main St. via a right turn from Fleetwood Dr., cross the bridge, then turn left on Blair St., which becomes Cumberland Avenue at the right turn bend. Along Cumberland in the vicinity of the defunct Easley Farm Supply viewing is tight, but to the east of the buildings of the retailer, there is some open area with decent train-watching access. There are some very old buildings that are archeologically interesting, but that also interfere with our photo lines of sight. As a picture taker, I don't think this is a very good area for pix; however, to a real photographer, Cumberland Avenue offers potential for some very fine railroad photos. There is a grade crossing near the end of Cumberland before it intersects with W. Main St.
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Easley -- 1st Street. Continue northeast on Main Street, and you'll get to the 1st Street crossing of the tracks. There are several interesting things here, but keep in mind that Main Street is just slightly northeast/southwest here, so 1st Street is almost dead north-south. So, imagine that you take a left on 1st Street to go over the tracks. The first 2 tracks are the NS mains, and the obviously second-class citizen 3rd track is the Pickens Railroad "main". Just to the west of the crossing is a "Yard Limit" sign on the Pickens track. If you turn right to go east on Northeast Main Street past the Pickens track, you'll shortly see the Southern green station sign for "Easley" between the Pickens and Southern tracks. Just to the northeast of this point, you'll see the Crescent Route MP 496 sign.
As you crossed the tracks on 1st Street, you probably saw the NS signals just to the east of the crossing, right beside the MP 496 sign on the north side of the tracks. These will help you anticipate future movements for those of us who are not scanner fans.
North of the tracks at 1st street is a small cemetery with a paved path suitable for parking and walking. At the west end this becomes the Doodle Path, along the defunct Doodle railroad from Easley to Pickens. It is a pleasant walking-biking path and in about 0.5 miles it comes quite close to the NS tracks. It eventually passes the north end of Cumberland Avenue also, discussed above.
Easley -- Glenwood. Continue through town on East Main Street until you get to Dennis Drive. It is only labeled Dennis Drive on the N side of East Main St.! Take a left and cross the tracks, and then take an immediate right into what appears to be an open area intermittently used for storage by the railroad, or left in front of a little used building . There is plenty of room to park away from the tracks and any old ties or other stored material. This is an afternoon photo location, as the ratings are S1, N3. However, it's a nice area just to sit and watch trains, but stay well back from the tracks.
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Easley -- Haywood. From the railroad storage area, continue a few feet north to Hagood Street, take a right, and continue east, until Saco Lowell Road veers off to the left. Take it and drive to Allan Street. There is a large commercial/industrial building on Allan at the northwest corner of the railroad crossing. Pick out you favorite photo locations: NE4, SE1, SW1, NW1. This is a darned good photo location, it's fairly quiet, and there is a defect detector just a mile north to alert you scanner hounds ("Lathem" at MP 492.5).
Immediately east of Allan Road are the signals protecting the start of single track northbound. Note that the NS doesn't use passing sidings, per se. The railroad has several miles (5-10, usually) of double track followed by a similar amount of single track. That allows most meets to be running meets, and adds greatly to the efficiency of the railroad. Since most of the traffic over the route is time-sensitive, this is important. It's rather irregular to see a train stopped at a signal, so the system appears to be very fluid.
Lathem. Cross the tracks via Allan Street and take a left merge on to U.S. 123 north. At Rock Springs Road/Prince Perry Road, take a left and go back over the tracks on a NAG/NARL bridge, and take a right onto onto Rolling Hills Circle. The road passes a Walmart and other businesses before intersecting with Town Center Way. A right turn will take you to a grade crossing; there are some adjacent businesses where you might park to view the crossing. This area is so busy and commercial it is probably not an effective place to try to sit down and watch trains.
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Lathem -- East. Continue on Rolling Hills Circle past Sam's Club and Tractor Supply, around a curve to the northeast and across a traffic circle onto on what is still called Latham Road. You'll reach a rather unique intersection where Latham Road, Latham Lane and Latham Street come together -- I am not making this up. Take a right onto Latham Street and drive to the tracks. The railroad is east-west and the street is sharply northwest-southeast, so take these compass directions with a grain of salt: NE4, SW3, SW2, NW4. Not much of a location, but if you need to get trackside in a hurry, you can catch a train here. Looking east with binoculars you can just make out the MP 491 sign.
Crosswell. From the crossing, go back the way you came a short distance to a right on Kay Drive, which will take you back to Latham Road. Take a right and continue northeast for a few miles, and Latham ends at North Fishtrap Road. Park in the area; just south of the bridge is a small fenced-in cell tower with enough space to park, but lock your car because you won’t be able to get back in time if someone decides to “explore” it while you are on the bridge! Walk over the NAG bridge, and for once, this NAG crossing is an excellent photo location. The road is north-south, and the railroad is on a decidedly southwest - northeast bias: E1, W1. To the west, single track goes thru a very nice, deep kudzu-covered ravine. This is a very good Southern Railway photo op in the summer. The Crosswell signal (MP 489.2) is visible, and the double track from Greenville ends. To the east, another attractive ravine with double tracks is the eye candy.
Fishtrap Road is busy, so even though the bridge is nice and wide and has wide shoulders on both sides, you've got to be careful and mindful of where you are at all times. The road to and from the bridge does not have shoulders and is quite busy.
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Crosswell -- Saluda River. Go north on Fishtrap Road to your first right, Sonora Drive. This will take you to Saluda Dam Road and another right. After only about 300 yards, you'll go over the Saluda River and into Greenville County. The railroad crosses the Saluda River valley on a high, very attractive bridge. There is ample room to park, and you can walk back and forth looking for that ideal photo location, but you're going to be looking into the sun all day, as the bridge is due south from the road.
There are a few small roads at the east end of the valley, but I didn't check them out on the ground. The tracks are 15-20’ above Oba road and completely invisible and inaccessible. Despite what maps may say, Oba is not a loop; it is a cul de sac. Using Oba road to railfan at all is a waste of time.
Greenville -- Fallis. Continue east on Saluda Dam Road all the way to U.S. 25/Whitehorse Road. Take a right and continue to the major intersection with West Blue Ridge Drive/SC-253, and take another right to head about 400 yards to an overpass of the tracks. The bridge is not a good railfan location at all, as of 2022. There is a LOT of traffic, so be warned. The reason it's listed as a railfan location is because directly under the overpass is the set of double crossovers named "Fallis" by the railroad. No geographic location identified as Fallis can be found on any of my maps, but this certainly must be the place listed. MP 486.5.
To view the other end of the Fallis crossovers, From the West Blue Ridge/SC-253 overpass, continue south to a T with the Old Easley Highway. Take a left to continue east to the overpass for White Horse Rd./U.S. 25; the signal is just beyond the overpass between the road and the tracks. There is no good place to stop here. It is possible to view the tracks from the U.S. 25 bridge across the tracks. However, this route is even busier than SC-253 and far more dangerous for pedestrians! Pedestrian deaths along U.S. 25 have been an ongoing problem that the city of Greenville has not yet solved. That being said, it is possible to park on either side of U.S. 25 near the north end of the bridge, and there is a sidewalk on each side of the bridge. The Fallis signal tower is right at the east side of the bridge, and the crossovers are visible from the west side, but it would be insane to try to walk across U.S. 25!
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Greenville -- Queen Street Overpass. Continue on the Old Easley Highway. You'll pass a large cemetery on your right, and shortly afterwards, Old Easley Highway will cross above the CSX Belton Subdivision track, then end at Pendleton Street. Continue in the same easterly direction to Lois Ave. and turn left onto Lois. Go under the tracks, bear right onto Woodside Ave. and follow this street to East Main St. Turn right and follow East Main through several bends until it runs into Cain St. Go straight on Cain until it reaches Queen Street. A right turn will take you over the southern yard throat on an overpass. The bridge has a protected walkway. [Webmaster's Note: You are in a very rough area here, and it can be dangerous. Do not fan this area if you are by yourself. Do not fan it at night, period. Do not flash expensive photographic or digital recording equipment in this area.] So, if the area is so rough, why include it? Because it's a great place to watch the south end of the Greenville Yard. That said, Carter Buchanan points out that most of the NS thru traffic is nocturnal, and maybe it's a good idea to just avoid this area. Use mature judgement.
You can stand on the bridge and see everything coming in and out of the yard, as well as any local/switching work in the yard throat. The angle of the tracks is about 45°-2225°, so you'll have decent lighting to the northeast most of the day, and to the southwest most of the morning. Just north of the bridge is a large signal bridge and crossovers, which is the location of South Greenville Interlocking, at MP 484.1
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Greenville -- Yard Office/Amtrak Station. From the Queen St. overpass, continue on Cain Street, which will T at Willard. Turn right and in a block or so there will be a CSX Transflo facility on your left. Willard will T at West Washington Street, and you should take a right to go back under the main line. When you get out of the underpass, take an immediate left and go up the hill. The nice-looking office building is a combination NS office building and Amtrak Station. There is a large employee and Amtrak parking lot. Park fairly far down towards the southern end of the parking lot, remain in your car, and you'll probably not be bothered. If you get out in the yard itself, you will be arrested. The yard itself is almost north-south, and the three tracks leaving the yard towards South Greenville begin the curve that carries the railroad southwesterly through the part of the city we've just traversed.
This is an excellent AM photo location, at E1, but there is no photo access from the west, because you have to walk across the yard to get there. The station itself is only open between 9:45 PM and 6:15 or 6:45 AM, as both Crescents stop in the wee hours. Through trains use the area directly in front of the station as a crew change point. The Piedmont Division's dispatchers are in the office/station building.
Thanks to Carter Buchanan for some clarification of this location.
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This is the end of the Atlanta - Greenville segment of the Crescent Route Frograil Tour. However, the Greenville - Charlotte segment departs from this very parking lot, so if you wish to continue on, click here.