# Railfanning Oak Harbor, OH



## ns300

This happened on April 14 2013 and I am just now geting to it.....

It was a cool spring day. A great day to watch trains. After my dad finished takeing a shower and I ate lunch we headed to eliston OH ( just East of Oak Harbor) to see a train. Right when we arived there was a train just minuates out. I quickly got out and set up my camera and got ready to film and take photos. Soon it came and ,Oh my, it had 7 engines. Highlights Where an SD70M-2 on the point , a D9-40C "Top Hat", and a GP40-2/RP-E4C slug set. My dad clearly was not impressed with my choise of location so we trundled on throught Graytown. Crossing the tracks I looked down the tracks to read the signal and the south track read stop, and the north track had a high green. I immediently told my dad a train was in bound ,but he was still trundleing (my dad is normaly a fast driver). We where a skip, hop, and a jump from Oak Harbor and gess what! A train bound for Toledo was flying down the north track. We had already had passed an intersection so my dad threw his Lincolon's big V8 in reverse (squealed the tires) and Hi-tailed it down to the crossing.
We got down there with seconds to spare and I was able to get some shots. The Highlight Was an ex. Conrail D8-40CW. After it we crossed the tracks and gess what! There was a hotshot on the south track heading twards Sandusky. Highlights Were a D8-40C and a SD70M flared radiator.
We thought we had seen all to be seen but this being Oak Harbor the NS toledo div. crosses over the tracks we had been following just east of us. But it only gets like 40 trains a day compared to 90-100 on the line we were on.
So we went back to the road we were on and you will never beleve what hapned next.... A parade of standard cabs on the toledo div.! So we fly down to the nexted crossing probly scaring the engineer by are speed and fast stop. I got some great catches. The engines were 1 lo-nose GP38-2 1 SD40-2 and 1 Hi-nose GP38-2. sence the toledo div rus streight through my hometown of Fremont we chased it to Kingsway (just outside of town). so we are (not) speeding down ST. RT. 19 getting lucky it isnt closed from previous days flooding. We get to Kingsway and gess what.......There is a coal train in the siding!! we fly to the crossing and set up, get pictures of the coal (BNSF Dash 9 and ES44AC) and the NS train we saw before then the coal took off and gave a horn show to us. 
Im glad I wore my lucky NS hat!!
If you got this far thank you for reading it as it took me an hour to type it.
Thanks for reading, 
Spencer Batey


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## Big Ed

You all better watch out you don't get into an accident chasing the trains.

They got a name for train enthusiasts like you, I forget what it is now a slobbers or droolers, I forget but it is posted here somewhere.
Maybe someone will post the name that the guys who work on a real train call us. 

Nice shots looked like a good day railfanning.:thumbsup:

Edit, I found the name.....we are foamers!:laugh:
From here,
http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=17665


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## ns300

I am a foamer and proud of it.


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## Big Ed

*United foamers of America*



ns300 said:


> I am a foamer and proud of it.



I will have T shirts soon with an assortment of trains on them with the words,

I AM A FOAMER AND PROUD OF IT! 

Maybe start a Foamer club. :thumbsup:
Print a monthly Foamer magazine too. :thumbsup:


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## ns300

*A foamer club?*

I will join if you start the club!
And buy a T-shirt


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## gunrunnerjohn

NS-300, I can identify with those numbers!


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## DonR

John

You sure do know how to hurt an HO guy.

What a beautiful loco. The detail work is
amazing...Is that a true to scale windshield wiper?
two of the exhaust stacks rain caps are open!..that white
disc atop the cab...Qualcom...
the same as used by truckers
so dispatcher has data of operations and location.

I'm foaming. 

Don


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## gunrunnerjohn

Don,

That's the Lionel Legacy Vision Line genset. It has three independent smoke generators that operate just like a real genset, when it starts one of them runs, as you increase power, more come on-line. It even shuts down if it idles too long and then periodically starts one up to "charge the air and battery". 

It does have an impressive amount of detail, the stuff like the wipers and windows are all individually installed and look a lot like the real thing.

It's also the only Vision Line locomotive I have.


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## Big Ed

ns300 said:


> I will join if you start the club!
> And buy a T-shirt



You can be Vice President. 
Then you get a free T shirt.


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## ns300

*Ns300*



gunrunnerjohn said:


> NS-300, I can identify with those numbers!
> 
> View attachment 27654


The lionel version is cool but NS300 comes from my HO scale Atlas Trainman version.This is because I only have that 1 engine.


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## eljefe

gunrunnerjohn said:


> Don,
> 
> That's the Lionel Legacy Vision Line genset. It has three independent smoke generators that operate just like a real genset, when it starts one of them runs, as you increase power, more come on-line. It even shuts down if it idles too long and then periodically starts one up to "charge the air and battery".
> 
> It does have an impressive amount of detail, the stuff like the wipers and windows are all individually installed and look a lot like the real thing.
> 
> It's also the only Vision Line locomotive I have.


Does is work on 36" curves or do you have to go bigger?


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## gunrunnerjohn

It doesn't work well on O36, it has fixed pilots. O42 is the smallest they spec, and it does indeed have issues on O36 with the connected cars. The locomotive alone has no problem with O36.


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## ns300

*Finnaly got a video*

Ok i know its been a while but I finnaly got 2 videos to show you
First: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flwPdLODEdw
Second:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99UCrZsz06I


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## I Am Fasha

big ed said:


> You all better watch out you don't get into an accident chasing the trains.
> 
> They got a name for train enthusiasts like you, I forget what it is now a slobbers or droolers, I forget but it is posted here somewhere.
> Maybe someone will post the name that the guys who work on a real train call us.
> 
> Nice shots looked like a good day railfanning.:thumbsup:
> 
> Edit, I found the name.....we are foamers!:laugh:
> From here,
> http://www.modeltrainforum.com/showthread.php?t=17665


"Rail-Foamers" as in foaming at the mouth.


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## golfermd

ns300 said:


> Ok i know its been a while but I finnaly got 2 videos to show you
> First: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flwPdLODEdw
> Second:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99UCrZsz06I


Way cool videos. Thanks for sharing them. Loved the second one! 

Dan


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## gunrunnerjohn

Brings new meaning to the term _Slow Freight_!


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## eljefe

ns300 said:


> Second:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99UCrZsz06I


BNSF locomotives in Ohio? I didn't think they went that far east.


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## ns300

eljefe said:


> BNSF locomotives in Ohio? I didn't think they went that far east.


Not uncommon here as RR like to trade power. Have also seen CN UP BC Rail and the occasional CP



Check out my youtube channel--http://www.youtube.com/user/NS8010


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