atlanta car, train and plane spotting (Dunwoody, Peachtree City: houses, transfer, neighborhoods)

[darekk]

hi guys,

i'm a new guy in town, new guy in state and even a new guy in america as such.
i just transfered in here with my wife and 2 boys (3 and 5 yrs) for a period of one year from back home in europe.

irrespective of my address change, one thing for sure remains not changed - love for cars (#1), trains (#2) and planes (#3) that me and my two boys share. it should not come as a surprise then, that instead of getting ourselves a corporate camry, we chose to go for cadillac brougham from the eighties.

but we would like more of it. america's automotive heritage and current picture is so different from what we have back home, that it's a head turner for us. you might not see anything special about it, but we stand in awe watching dualie pick-ups, 18-wheelers with long nose hiding an engine or even ancient looking yellow buses. it's so much different. we don't care about benzes or bmw as every taxi back home seems to be one of those - a beat up ram or rusty camaro is much more interesting view for us.

we want to enjoy it as much as we can. so here comes the question to you. where would you suggest us to go, to get some of this american love with car and truck? where is the best spot to make some pics of truckers with their shiny peterbilts and kenworths lined-up? where can we stroll along or look inside yellow school buses? where do the harley guys hang-out? where do musclecar owners meet? where can we make best pics of interesting cars and trucks, listent to roaring v8s and meet car-maniacs like ourselves? what are the events that we should attend that smell of gasoline and rubber? where are the places where we could see or buy car related memorabilia?

our second love is trains - we'd love to see them up close or observe as they manouver with un-ending lines of wagons.

thirdly - planes and airports. military and civilian.


guys, i'm sure many of you will not understand us automotive-freaks.
but i know there's some gasoline pumping in american veins.

give us a tip.

darekk

[rackensack]

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an automotive section on Fridays and Saturdays. Typically, this section will include a section listing car club meetings, shows, etc. Some focus on particular makes/models/eras, others are general "hot rod" type shows, etc. -- all over the place regarding what sort of thing you're likely to see. It'll also have articles on car collectors, etc. Pick up a copy and browse through it and make a note of events that might be of interest.

As for trucks, your best bet's probably going to be to check out some of the truck plazas along the interstate highways. These are large truck stops with convenience stores, fuel sales, usually with 24 hour restaurants attached, and with shower facilities, etc., for truckers. They tend to be located at the outer fringes of metropolitan areas, particularly those near the junctions of multiple interstates. Pilot, Flying J, Love's, and TravelCenters of America (TA) are the names of the major players that come to mind offhand. Just do a Google search for any of those names and the phrase "truck plaza" to find the corporate web sites for these companies, which will also have listings of their locations.

Norfolk Southern's Inman Yard is one of the largest intermodal classification yards around -- it's certainly Atlanta's biggest. And the CSX Tilford Yard is adjacent. Problem is there's not really a good spot to watch from that's safe (not the best part of town) and discrete -- law enforcement tends to be suspicious these days of people hanging around major transportation facilities just checking things out. From King Memorial MARTA station on the East line to East Lake station, there the MARTA tracks parallel a major CSX route, and between King Memorial and Inman Park is the CSX Hulsey Yard, another major intermodal yard -- the yard, the cranes, containers and the multiple tracks are all visible from the MARTA trains.

Along the Northeast MARTA line, from Lindbergh to Doraville, the MARTA line basically parallels the Norfolk Southern line, offering a pretty good view of the tracks and the trains that run on them. Farther out along the Norfolk Southern line, in Norcross, Thrasher Park is a great little city park that sits right alongside the NS mainline; in the past, it was rare to spend any time there without seeing at least one train pass by. The Amtrak Crescent (Atlanta's only passenger train) also uses this line, so in the early evening hours as it's passing through you can usually see it. Catercorner from Thrasher Park is the old Norcross train station, which is now a pretty decent family restaurant with (naturally) a lot of train memorabilia and such.

For planes, the best place to watch without arousing suspicion is the observation area at Peachtree-DeKalb Airport along Clairmont Road. There's an open observation deck, and the Downwind Restaurant adjacent to the deck even does kids birthday parties on Saturday mornings before opening to the general public.

Hope that'll at least give you some ideas to get you started.

[go falcons]

Summerville Ga, from what I have been told has a Rail Road Festival held in October .From what I understand steam engines come down from the railroad museum in Chattanooga and turn around in Summerville for thier return trip back to Tennessee.
Also Falcon Field in Peachtree City and Dobbins Airforce base in Marrietta, both have air shows which they put on usually once a year. Peachtree City's is held in October .
I live in Peachtree City and it is really cool to see the planes fly in for the show and practice.
Falcon Field is also home to the Confederate Airforce which houses several air craft from the World War ll era.It is worth seeing in my opinion. They give tours weekly.Just google confederate air force and you should find thier site.

[George Chong]

Planes: PDK - DeKalb Peachtree Airport and you could have lunch at the Downwind Restaurant and Lounge at PDK Airport in Atlanta and watch the planes come and go.

Cars: Next week is the AJC Car Show AJC Auto Show

Trains: Take a scenic trip Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

[darekk]

Originally Posted by rackensack

(...)
Hope that'll at least give you some ideas to get you started.

That was great help indeed!

Thanks.

I'll grab a copy of this AJC to look for interesting events and surely will try to find a good truckers plaza.

I'll look at map to see where could be some good spots to look at train lines you mentioned. Or maybe you have a suggestion i.e. "go to x street at y street"

I live in Dunwoody so Peachtree Dekalb Airport is a very short drive. Thanks

I was surprised to learn that there is just one daily passenger train.
I live in a town of 8000 inhabitants back in Poland, and we have tracks leading in 6 directions with I guess around a 100 of daily connections.

US is a car / plane nation I see.

[darekk]

Originally Posted by George Chong

Cars: Next week is the AJC Car Show AJC Auto Show

Trains: Take a scenic trip Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

Definite must sees.

[darekk]

Originally Posted by go falcons

Dobbins Airforce base in Marrietta.

That's close!
Will go there for sure.

Thanks

[TakeAhike]

Southeastern Railway Museum, Duluth, GA>>>
Southeastern Railroad Museum, Duluth, Georgia

You could have lunch at the Depot/Norcross Station Cafe. Historic train depot and everyone says the food is good>>>

http://www.accessatlanta.com/restaurants/content/restaurants/neighborhoods/1205/15norcrossstationcafe.html (broken link)

[rbutera]

Drive North about 2 hours to Blue Ridge Georgia and ride the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway. Info at Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

I love the mountains up there and you could consider spending the weekend.

Another option, though a bit further, is the Great Smokey Mountain Railway. Info at Home Page - GSMR

Some other tips more local to Atlanta.

MARTA's Avondale yard facility is more observable than most other MARTA and railway yards in Atlanta. A bicycle trail ("The Path") runs around one side of it, though the best view is actually from riding the MARTA train (the tracks descend from above). Just look for the Avondale MARTA station on a map - the station itself is at the west end of the yard.

Also, the MARTA platform at the Chamblee rail station provides a great overall view of Peachtree-Dekalb airport. It's a different perspective from being at the restaurant or playground along the taxiway.

[George Chong]

Atlanta was once named Terminus as it was a railroad hub.

I saw this article in today's newspaper and thought of you:

Memorable stops | ajc.com (http://www.ajc.com/print/content/printedition/2009/03/08/train0308.html - broken link)