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My husband and I love trains. Can anyone tell me about small, quaint towns that have trains? When we retire in a few years that is one of our top priorities--find a small town with trains. Thanks in advance for your input.
Chehalis/Centralia, Washington would be a great place, I also love trains myself and I also love to count the freight cars as they go by, I also love the sound of the railroad crossing lights going off
Location: Oklahoma(formerly SoCalif) Originally Mich,
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Several trains have lost their brakes from being overloaded comin down Cajon Pass between San Bernardino and Barstow in the San Bernardino/San Jacinto mountain of So, California.
Stealthrabbit has it right! Excellent advice. Stevenson WA. I'm a railfan and have a branch line in my back yard but when I want to see more action, the Columbia Gorge is a good place to be.
Bydand, We're looking for a train that runs through it. I also should have stated that we like mountains, cold weather, and snow. I suppose that really narrows areas down quite a bit, doesn't it? Thanks for your replies so far.
Try McCloud, CA. The train is strictly an excursion train, but it runs alot. I am pretty sure there is a regular train route outside of McCloud.
You would LOVE Jim Thorpe, PA!! It is in eastern PA near the Poconos, and its history is rich in railroading and coal mining. (It was originally called Mauch Chunk). It sounds like it would have everything you're looking for- railroad, BEAUTIFUL little town, mountains, and the gorgeous Lehigh River Gorge, with its rail-to-trail path for biking and hiking, and a perfect river for rafting and kayaking. I recently took a train trip there from my town near Scranton, and it was one of the best things I've ever done.
Roanoke, Virginia. Home of the steam engine. Beautiful city. Small, yet has all the things folks look for in big cities like healthcare and shopping and music and art. Mountains. Mild climate. Low cost of living. Nice people. Safe. And trains. Lots and lots of trains.
Cold Spring, NY, hudson river town in Putnam county, a suburb of NYC, very quaint and on the the U.S. Historic Places registry. And it has a (commuter) train stop at the end of main st.
I am a rail-fan and used to have model trains as a kid. We live about a block from the tracks with grain elevator sidings and I like hearing them bumping the cars about putting together a grain train !
Here are a few pics I took between Conrad Montana and Shelby Montana.
Th old General Mills Elevator next to the old Conrad Depot.
Getting ready to blow some barley into a hopper car.
I don't think this is what it looks like although it does get windy on the High-Line.
I think they took it off the tracks to replace the trucks off the side of a siding.
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Rail-Fan ? Yes !
