Railfanning in the Three Rivers City

Hello,
I'm going to be in Pittsburgh visiting relatives between July 4th and July 7th? Where are the best areas to railfan. I have railfanned near Station Square. I'm interested in getting pictures of the Eastbound Pennsylvanian with the Pittsburgh skyline in the background. Thanks.

You can photograph the eastbound Pennsylvanian from the Strip District in the morning but you wont have good light due to the early departure. Station Square is a good place and the point will allow you to see all of the lines through downtown. If you could drive around the city, to the south in Green Tree is a WLE yard. Northwest of the city is Conway yard for NS one of their largest. AVR runs over the Fort Wayne bridge by the train station along with NS. This station is near the strip district as mentioned already.

Hey, where in the PGH area can I get good shots of the westbound Pennsylvanian during July 4th weekend?

go to the ns along pa route 65 next to the ohio river. awesome spot to watch trains at!

I'm definately going to check out the NS Line near Rt. 65, especially in West Park. Where ate the best spots to get pictures of them with the Ohio River in the background? I won't have too much access to a car? Thanks.

Are there any good places to catch the W&LE, BLE or Union Railroad? When do they usually run?

WLE is in the south hills in Green Tree. You can take bus line 31 to get to the yard by getting off at Noblestown Rd Opp Hawthorne. Its just a short walk from there. All of there power circles through there so you can see 35s and 40s. AVR also serves the yard with GP40s and GP11s. Union is harder to watch without a car. They are down in Duquesne, PA which is south east of the city. There they have a yard but their primary action is across the river at the USS steel plant and Mckeesport CSX yard. Though these areas can be shady. If you do still want to see it their main yard in Duquesne is at the bus stop Duquesne Blvd at Overland on RT 59, 61C or P7.

I do have a car, so getting places is not a problem. Thank you for the tips.

Where does the AVR keep their power?

The main yard is not visible by road. It is located in Hazelwood, PA, just east of the city. You can see this yard from E. Carson Street as you drive from South Side to Homestead. As mentioned in one of my earlier posts, they do run daily over the Fort Wayne Bridge in downtown around noon then again in a couple hours depending on NS schedule and pickup. Usually those runs have the GP11s and Sd40-2s.

Again, thanks for the tips.

How is Shadyside, East Liberty, and Wilkensburg especially in the morning?

I have never been there to watch trains but I have gone through the area on the Pennsylvanian. Through those areas in the morning would be the NS line and there would be a bunch of trains around the time Amtrak would go through. 45 min before Amtrak there should be a mixed freight, 15 min before should be a Triple Crown service train. Then the Eastbound Pennsylvanian. 20 min later depending on which way the dispatcher decides(may go across the bridge to southside) should be a double stack. Other than those trains, I'm not sure of many others in the morning on that line. I would suggest Shadyside over East Liberty to watch.