Norfolk Southern Chicago Line - Swanton Ohio

Here we are at a classic Northwest Ohio hot spot, Swanton Ohio. The old New York Central Trilights still stand, but not for long as replacements are up and almost ready to be patched in. Soon the trilights and dwarf will no longer stand and the modern "Darth Vader" signals on the cantilever will take over. But for now, we will take what we can get. Swanton is a small town located at MP 307 on the Norfolk Southern Chicago Line. They see upwards of 80 trains or more a day, and is also the location of a lengthy passing siding. There is convenient railfanning parking in Swanton, so it is an ideal spot to hang out and watch some trains. We spent about 4 hour or so and got 14 trains at Swanton, which made it a decent day indeed. It was also a learning experience for me as I am figuring out my new camcorder. Soon I will upgrade in tripod as the one I was using is too light and does not pan well. In the future I plan on having a fluid head tripod that is heavier, and has a better head for stability; But for now I'll take what I can get.

In this video we see all 14 or so trains in length (except for one which was a "learning experience" on wind and tripods) on a snowy day at Swanton Ohio. Included are some decent catches, a bit of foreign power, NS 6969 (heh heh), and a very late and short Amtrak Lake Shore Limited.

Train symbols (also in video):

NS 14Q
NS 25Z
NS 24M
NS 15N
NS 52Q
NS 21T
NS 20E
NS 66W
NS WB Intermodal
NS I1V
NS 67N
Amtrak 49 (7 and a half hours later!)
NS 38E
NS I1G

14 trains including a very late Amtrak in 4 hours, the action came fast with little time in between, which is how we like it. It was a good day at Swanton, despite the snow and wind, and we hope to be back this spring and summer to catch more action at this nice little town in Northwest Ohio.

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