Train Crossings in Vinings (Atlanta, Savannah: hotel, home, neighborhoods)

[juanm21]

Hello everyone!

First of all thank you for welcoming me into your forum, I've been reading a few threads and it seems like a wonderful community.

My name is Juan Menendez, I work for a documentary production company. We're working on a film about a self-taught artist based in the Vinings area. As so, we have done a lot of filming there and plan to do some more in June.

The question is whether anyone knows roughly at what time the trains cross at the Paces Ferry Rd. SE crossing in Vinings?

I found this forum through a question asked back in 2007 which talked about how loud the trains used to be and then about the designation of a quiet zone, so I thought this might be the best place to ask. Hopefully somewhere on here has an idea of the timings.

Thank you!

Juan

[Need4Camaro]

To be honest I’ve never seen them cross there but hey they left their tracks right?

I think it happens early morning probably somewhere between 12am and 5am

I know many railroads have agreements with municipalities to avoid running during congestion hours as to avoid clogging up busy streets at railroad crossings.

[juanm21]

Hi Need4Camaro,

Thanks for your quick reply!

I've heard that it used to get quite congested at that crossing, so it would make sense to try to do it as early as possible. I read on this forum that they usually do 9am, noon, and 6pm, but that was a while ago.

Let's see if anyone else has other times since we wouldn't be able to film in the dark.

Thank you!

Juan

[cparker73]

You wouldn't happen to be making a documentary about Nellie Mae Rowe, would you? I literally just learned about her tonight while doing a bit of research on poor Black Atlanta neighborhoods and suburbs that are now high-rent districts like Lynwood Park in Brookhaven and Vinings Station, which was home to a lot of railroad workers.

I never have come across a train during my morning commute through Vinings anytime between 7-8am. Paces Ferry Road is chronically backed up from the tracks to I-285 most of the morning until 9ish. It's not a bad spot to be stuck because of one of the best Buckhead skyline views you can get that sometimes make you think you're looking at downtown Atlanta and not just one of the city's neighborhoods.

[MattCW]

There is no schedule, the trains run when they run. While the W&A line between Atlanta and Chattanooga isn't as busy as it once was, it's still a very busy railroad seeing as many as 20 trains per day. While a lot of the trains have "usual times" those "usual times" are more like a general block of 4-6 hours per train. A good example (though not this line) is CSX's Q198, Fairburn to Savannah via Augusta. It typically leaves Fairburn between 8am and 11am, but can easily run as late as 1pm. The trains on the line through Vinings are the same. If you have, or know someone who has a scanner or ham radio, that would be the best way to get a heads up, but that would still only be a few minutes at best.

[Citykid3785]

I don't have any concrete info, other than to say I don't go to Vinings often, but I've been stopped by the train twice.

And one of the times was right around 6pm on a saturday. I remember because my wife and I were on a date night, and we stopped to get coffee at the Read Shoppe before dinner, and we almost missed out dinner reservations because of the silly train!!!

[evannole]

There's no schedule... They just come when they come. We live a mile off Marietta Square (same rail line) and typically hear 1-2 trains an hour. Thankfully, at this distance, it's very pleasant.

It's a very active line, so you normally shouldn't have to wait long, but if you want to time it precisely, you might want to station someone at the next crossing south (Woodland Brook) or north (Smyrna - Atlanta Road and Spring/Roswell Streets) and have them give you a call as the train passes there. Woodland Brook is very close (probably under 5 minutes from the Vinings crossing), and the Smyrna crossing is probably 5-10 minutes away, assuming that the train doesn't stop for operational reasons.

[juanm21]

Hi everyone,

Wow, I am so grateful for all the kind and helpful responses!

@cparker73: Well, I'm not supposed to talk about the project since it's technically hush hush for now, but I'm surprised that you guessed it so I'll let you in on the secret. It is a project about Nellie Mae Rowe! We think people outside of Vinings haven't heard of her work and it's a shame since she made such beautiful pieces. I hope you keep looking into NMR, since the more you look, the more you'll find when it comes to her.

@MattCW: It's good to know it's still a busy rail line, sounds like we'll definitely get the chance to catch one if we wait for a little while. Good to know they run late too so that we don't get too specific about a time.

@Citykid3785: Sorry to hear about your date night, but good to know the silly trains run often!

@evannole: Thank you so much for the location information, that is invaluable. I'll scout out those locations to fin the best place to film from.

Thanks again everyone, I appreciate the help!

Best,

Juan

[lorilove]

I have definitely been stopped by that train during the day but have not paid attention to time.

I live about 3 miles north of that intersection - right near the train tracks and I regularly see the train on Wednesdays (or Thursdays) around 7pm when I am out for a run.

[Born 2 Roll]

I’ve been stopped by a train at that crossing (at the Paces Ferry Road railroad crossing) at least about 3 times while running service routes and calls in that area in the past.

One time I recall being stopped by a train at that crossing in the late afternoon (probably about the 4-6 pm time range?) while trying to get to the Hotel Indigo on Paces Ferry Road back when it was a Wyndham Hotel.

Another time I recall being stopped by a train at that crossing on a Friday night (probably about around the 9:30-10:30 pm time range) while trying to get to the QuikTrip gas station for a fuel refilling and a break while out on another service call in that area.

And another time I might have been stopped by a train (about around 7pm, maybe?) while trying to get to the old New York Pizza Exchange restaurant (that is now a Chipotle) in the Vinings Station shopping center that is located just west of the railroad crossing in question on Paces Ferry Road.

I think that I might have been stopped by a train at that crossing more times than that, but those are 3 times that I can remember.