Eastern Railroad Discussion > Primo photo spot in Mansfield, OH?

Photo 1 - On my way east to shoot Alcos, I realized there was a great shot at Mansfield, OH if I was just a couple of hours earlier on 10-6-15. Summer sun would not have cut it because it would be at an entirely different angle. And I had just missed an NS train on the desired main line which is not usually a good sign. True to form, nothing else ran in an hour, and the sun angle at the desired place was getting worse and worse. Then the sound of slow-moving EMD's, and who shows up on the other side of the main puttering on their branch but an "Ashland Railway", which I had never heard of before. I left after that, finding not much else for photos with the sun I had, and 2 more hours of waiting were devoid of trains. I then left, but decided to maybe route my way back through on my way back.

Photo 2 - So after chasing Alcos out of Scranton and Olean, I made it a point to arrive on 10-16-15 early in the morning at what I think is the primo photo composition in Mansfield, and I was rewarded with good sun, but I had to wait another hour for a train. In the distance a whistle, and this time on the main comes an oil train in the right direction led by a not-bad combination NS Ace and a yellow SD90 that UP got rid of, and I was able to frame it between the old Pennsy signals as I had envisioned ten days earlier. Bingo!

​Photo 3 - The oil train continues, approaching the Pennsy signal bridges where once the Erie Lackawanna's Main Line crossed at a diamond, but now hardly a sign that ever happened. I was told by a railfan Ken that an NS-repainted Erie-Lackawanna Heritage engine was to go through soon, that was why he was there, but it would not be on the point. Due to that, I made the executive decision not to stick around, but continue back toward Colorado as I was already running behind my allotted time schedule.

​But what a cool "Welcome to Mansfield" greeting all over the side of that grain elevator that could be framed between signals. Happy Railfanning! === === = === JLH 



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/16 17:33 by highgreengraphics.

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That elevator is indeed a great spot, putting a train with it is the trick! Good luckout on getting the Ashland too, that can be somewhat of a challenge some days.

#2 is a great photo! Great spot

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Outstanding

Posted from Android

Don't think you could improve photo #2 at all. Very nice.
John

Actually, as a composition freak, in trying to get the sign on the elevator as broadside as possible, led me to misjudge the length of the two units between signals so I was not 100 per cent happy with this, my only crack at it. Ideally, I should have been a bit closer and a bit farther left to avoid covering the cab of the second motor, but that's just me being picky! === === = === JLH

Very nice photos! Even though I live an hour from Mansfield, I've never shot an ASRY or NS train there. Last September I spent some time waiting in Mansfield for something to run, but came up empty. However, I did get this shot looking east by an old warehouse and signalbirdge at 5th Street, between the grain elevator in your second photo and Oak Street yard. Hopefully sometime this year I can catch something at this spot, as well as by the grain elevator.

Matt



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/05/16 18:42 by Poker2662.

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I avoided getting that decrepit building, a very image of this country's industrial decline, into a picture, but in looking at that signal and your picture, I wonder - I don't see a ladder anywhere on that signal bridge, and the window looks noticeably different right next to the top of that signal bridge. I have to wonder if the access was there for the Signal Maintainer, or if that was a "latter" - day (pun intended) problem with daredevils getting either into the building or from the building onto the signal bridge. === === = === JLH

I would guess the ladder would be on the right hand far side, if you look at the handrails on top you can see an opening in the upper right corner.

Posted from iPhone