Rainfanning Cleveland Sans Vehicle

I want to fly into Cleveland early in the morning, use public transit and my feet to railfan as much as I can, then get back on a plane at dark and fly home. Is this practical? If so, can someone lay out an itinerary for a 10 hour day of railfanning. I know nothing about Cleveland save for the street map I have in front of me. I think transit takes me close to some tracks, but I can't be sure. And, does a bus go to Berea? I know it's fairly close to the airport.

No, I'm far from rich. In fact, if I had a few extra $$ I'd rent a car! But, with two about to start college money is tight. I have a free airline ticket that's burning a hole in my pocket, and I want to do something fun (and cheap) with it. Plus, I'm limited to one day - probably a Friday. So, someplace close, with a lot of trains, and transit at the airport. I thought Cleveland, with some help from my friends. Am I wacko, or is this doable? Thanks!

Paul Apollo
Hebron (ME) Any Power Team
Maine Scanner Feed - LIVE Rail Radio from Hebron ME
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mainerrscanner/

Cleveland in the winter is not for the faint of heart or body, but if you're from Maine maybe you won't mind. But the skies tend to be cloudy all day and the Lake Erie zephyrs are often discomfiting.

Anyway, three of the rapid transit lines radiating from the Public Square (former Cleveland Union Terminal -- now a shopping mall) parallel NS and CSXT mainlines. The eastern leg of the Red Line to Windermere parallels NS's former Nickel Plate mainline its entire distance, and between the Cedar-University and Superior stations it also parallels CSX's mainline, formerly NYC's Cleveland Belt Line. I understand that traffic on the ex-NKP route is light these days, but the locals know better than I. CSX should be fairly heavy.

The west leg of the Red Line (to the airport) parallels the ex-NKP to W. 96th St., then turns to follow NS's ex-NYC mainline. The Waterfront light rail line (an extension of the former Shaker Heights lines) parallels NS's ex-NYC mainline also. This is a fairly busy line, and it gets busier in the summer with ore and coal traffic.

There's a bus connection between the Red Line and Berea, but I don't know it's number, connecting point, or headway, except that I recall the headways are something like half-hourly.

If you have time available, and like electric transit, you should ride the Shaker Heights lines, originally built by the Van Sweringen brothers in 1920 to serve their exclusive (and it still is) suburb.

In short, there's plenty to see from public transit. Hopefully Cleveland's transit authority isn't as paranoid about photography from stations platforms as they seem to be here in the East.

Herb Harwood