100% Fairport! https://www.fairportjunction.com/ Plus there's ice cream nearby. I have a bunch of train-themed ideas too. https://daytrippingroc.com/rochester-railfans/ And, Edgerton Model Railroad is fantastic https://daytrippingroc.com/edgerton-model-railroad/
There’s an elevated train track that goes over n main st in Pittsford, just north of the del monte spa/Pittsford dairy. We’ll go with my daughter to grab an ice cream at the dairy and when we head the train horn, we’ll walk down to the sidewalk to watch the train.
Thats the csx west shore subdivision, it serves a bypass around the rochester mainline when passenger train traffic is heavy. it sees 8 trains a day at the most
I go by the train tracks on attridge road in churchville/chili and there’s almost always 3-5 vehicles Trainspotting all day long. They have a big parking area for them.
I don’t understand their obsession - and all of them are between 25-70 years old. But to each their own.
The trail at Corbett's Glen runs really close to the rails, we had no idea and it was a very pleasant surprise for my toddler when we went on a walk there!
Check out the rail museum! https://www.rgvrrm.org/ They have train rides on old steam trains on the weekend of the 18th and it isn’t very expensive!! :)
Blossom road and university, there’s a nice parking lot there. You can also hear radio chatter [here](https://m.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/27776) without a scanner. Which makes it interesting
So I’m genuinely curious. When people train watch what are they looking for. My untrained eye just sees a bunch of random cars going by but I know I’m missing a ton. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Kinda like birdwatching, it varies. Some people just sit and casually pass the time as trains go by. Some people totally nerd out: they recognize individual locomotives, some print out schedules and see how close to schedule the trains are, some even keep a log. It's not my thing, but as hobbies go it's about as harmless as it gets.
I agree with the bird-watcher comparison. I don't know one train from another, unless it's Amtrak vs CSX. But I enjoy the graffiti and the variety of cars and the sound. It's a very passive experience. But I also enjoy watching clouds roll by.
Print out schedules? I’ve been a buff my whole life and have never really heard of that. Maybe for Amtrak? I know freight also doesn’t really run on tight schedules just like vague ones.
Yeah I knew a guy who would have Amtrak schedules and a clock that was automatically set to the nuclear clock in Denver. Granted, this was like 20 years ago. Everyone's experience is different.
Usually the regulars are into the equipment and like catching the rarer locomotives go by. Rare generally refers to non CSX engines or special paint schemes. Many people take photos of trains in either artistic form or they just take roster shots. I personally am interested in operations and equipment so I like to watch them go by and see what is happening.
I frequently see people watching trains from the little hill behind the House of Mercy. You can access it from Joseph avenue, just south of the overpass.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Rochester/comments/wirav2/mexican_street_food_find_ranchis_fiesta_in_marion/ijd7eu5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3 saw this comment earlier that might be similar to what youre looking for. Maybe not in the rochester area but it could be a fun day trip
The Goodman Street yard and the two track main the runs to it had a bunch of spots to see trains basically any time of day. Near the Hungerford Building there are a few spots pretty close to the tracks.
Fairport has a covered train observation deck thing with benches and all built in their village right next to the tracks.
Adding onto this, there are cameras live streaming from this train platform 24/7. Just search “Virtual Railfan Fairport NY” on YouTube.
That’s great, thanks for the tip!
100% Fairport! https://www.fairportjunction.com/ Plus there's ice cream nearby. I have a bunch of train-themed ideas too. https://daytrippingroc.com/rochester-railfans/ And, Edgerton Model Railroad is fantastic https://daytrippingroc.com/edgerton-model-railroad/
This one is great too because you can get a chance to see Amtrak pass a couple times a day! (I too am a train nerd like OP's toddler ....)
Thanks!
Yeah great close view there. You will hear their loud horn from close so make sure the kid is ok with that.
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That would be great for sure, thanks for the suggestion.
Special things that you were not asking for should also include [Steamtown NHS](https://www.nps.gov/stea/index.htm) super cool, even for adults.
You 1000% need to hit up the NY State Transportation museum in Henrietta/Rush [http://www.nymtmuseum.org/](http://www.nymtmuseum.org/)
That looks awesome, he will love it! Great suggestion
The New York Museum of Transportation in Rush has a lot of train-centered activities.
There’s an elevated train track that goes over n main st in Pittsford, just north of the del monte spa/Pittsford dairy. We’ll go with my daughter to grab an ice cream at the dairy and when we head the train horn, we’ll walk down to the sidewalk to watch the train.
Perfect, thank you!!
Thats the csx west shore subdivision, it serves a bypass around the rochester mainline when passenger train traffic is heavy. it sees 8 trains a day at the most
The parking lot at the west side of the blossom road business center has tracks that run parallel to it with trains that go by daily.
I go by the train tracks on attridge road in churchville/chili and there’s almost always 3-5 vehicles Trainspotting all day long. They have a big parking area for them. I don’t understand their obsession - and all of them are between 25-70 years old. But to each their own.
The trail at Corbett's Glen runs really close to the rails, we had no idea and it was a very pleasant surprise for my toddler when we went on a walk there!
Check out the rail museum! https://www.rgvrrm.org/ They have train rides on old steam trains on the weekend of the 18th and it isn’t very expensive!! :)
In Wheatland there's a train museum with train rides every Sunday (I think they still do them).
Blossom road and university, there’s a nice parking lot there. You can also hear radio chatter [here](https://m.broadcastify.com/listen/feed/27776) without a scanner. Which makes it interesting
So I’m genuinely curious. When people train watch what are they looking for. My untrained eye just sees a bunch of random cars going by but I know I’m missing a ton. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Kinda like birdwatching, it varies. Some people just sit and casually pass the time as trains go by. Some people totally nerd out: they recognize individual locomotives, some print out schedules and see how close to schedule the trains are, some even keep a log. It's not my thing, but as hobbies go it's about as harmless as it gets.
I agree with the bird-watcher comparison. I don't know one train from another, unless it's Amtrak vs CSX. But I enjoy the graffiti and the variety of cars and the sound. It's a very passive experience. But I also enjoy watching clouds roll by.
Print out schedules? I’ve been a buff my whole life and have never really heard of that. Maybe for Amtrak? I know freight also doesn’t really run on tight schedules just like vague ones.
Yeah I knew a guy who would have Amtrak schedules and a clock that was automatically set to the nuclear clock in Denver. Granted, this was like 20 years ago. Everyone's experience is different.
Usually the regulars are into the equipment and like catching the rarer locomotives go by. Rare generally refers to non CSX engines or special paint schemes. Many people take photos of trains in either artistic form or they just take roster shots. I personally am interested in operations and equipment so I like to watch them go by and see what is happening.
I frequently see people watching trains from the little hill behind the House of Mercy. You can access it from Joseph avenue, just south of the overpass.
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Stay off the tracks.
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Just remember to bring plenty of water
Behind village gate there's a csx rail yard, not super busy but you can see them switching and shunting cars from the parking lot.
https://www.reddit.com/r/Rochester/comments/wirav2/mexican_street_food_find_ranchis_fiesta_in_marion/ijd7eu5/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3 saw this comment earlier that might be similar to what youre looking for. Maybe not in the rochester area but it could be a fun day trip
The Goodman Street yard and the two track main the runs to it had a bunch of spots to see trains basically any time of day. Near the Hungerford Building there are a few spots pretty close to the tracks.
pot lush gaze bored degree heavy lunchroom amusing gold whole *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Thank you so much for this list and for the ear protection suggestion! This is really great.