Railfanning San Diego?

So the "security guard" at the Santa Fe depot was a rent-a-cop? Looks as though that might be a gap in communications, if official policy is communicated by Amtrak, NCTD and MTS to their respective police but maybe not to the rent-a-cops. (A related thought: are rent-a-cops given basic training on safety rules to be observed around live tracks? A railroad station is not a mall or a bank.)

The security guard looked like he had the same uniform as the security guards that were at the MTS platform at Old Town. I'm not sure who he worked for ask I did not ask.

Hey, I plan to railfan mostly the Orange and Green Lines of MTS.

Whichs areas are nice for photographs?

Which neighborhoods should I stay out of?

Thanks.

Ride the Green Line across Mission Valley to the end at the Santee Towne Center mall. Good scenic territory. In 2006, I took trolley photos at Santee and no one bothered me. It's a good ride.

That's def on my list; riding the Green Line across Mission Valley.

Old Town is a great place to watch freight and passenger action without being bothered. There's a grade crossing there too so it might be better than the Santa Fe Depot which has tall buildings all around which casts shadows in inconvenient places.

I plan on going back either sometime this year or next year.

And if I run into that rent-a-cop again, I'll just call Amtrak Police and tell them there's a rent-a-cop impersonating one of them.

I will definately railfan at Old Town Station. In fact, I may stay in a hotel in that area.

How's the daytime freight action along the Surfline in San Diego, as well as on the trackage below the Amtrak Station? Thanks.

Pretty much dead. There's a local that runs with a genset in the morning around 5-6AM. There's a northbound freight that originates in San Diego that departs in the evening around 7, but doesn't run every day. The southbound freight arrives overnight.