new in philly

hello everyone, I am just looking for help with places to watch/photo trains, are there any timetables the freight run to? or is it a matter of sit and wait for them to turn up? my local pass staion is Torresdale, but where I live in Krewstown there is a single line that has freight on it, I saw 8734 on it today with a 6*** class, but it was just luck I saw it when walking the dog.

Any help and advice would be appreciated, especially place for large amounts of freight work.

First lemme say welcome to Philly... the City That Hits You Back. Just kiddin'.

OK, if I am correct on my geography, Krewstown Rd is near Pennypack Park and is very close to the CSX (formerly Reading) Trenton Line. So for freight, you're in luck. Lots of mixed freights, intermodals, and unit trash trains ply the Trenton Line at various times of day. You may even see the Tropicana Juice Train.

A few ideas...
1. Join the Yahoo discussion group that deals with that line. You'll get lots of info on individual train movements.
2. Buy a scanner. I believe the freq for the Trenton Line is 160.980.
3. Get accustomed to the train symbols and the trains that run regularly at the times of day you're able to fan. Odd numbered symbols (i.e., K277 unit trash) are southbound, even numbered symbols (i.e., Q172 UPS intermodal) are northbound.

Best o' luck.
-Urban

If you want to see freight, lots of freight you should go to Belmont in Philly's Fairmount Park, just a quarter mile from the expressway. Look up the locatiojn on mapquest. However on Weekends from April through October the spot is harder to get to because they close the river drives for the yuppies to jog and blade. Almost all frieghts, NS, CSX and a few CP's go through here. Welcome to our fair city.