Fairport Junction Trainwatching Platform

Top 10 Questions

1.    When is the next train?
Freight trains don’t run on a strict schedule, but with an average of more than 40 trains a day, chances are you won’t have to wait long to see a train. See the Amtrak website for a schedule of their eight passenger trains through Fairport, as well as a status tracker of today’s trains.

2.    Is there a best time to see trains in Fairport?
Train traffic can vary from day to day, but it is 7/24, with fewer trains only on major holidays. There do tend to be periods when there are more trains. Late morning through early afternoon and the evening hours are usually very busy.

3.    What kinds of trains can we see here?
The largest number of freight trains are intermodal (truck trailers or shipping containers on flat cars) carrying a wide range of consumer and industrial goods. (Notice how many different company logos appear on these trailers and containers, including UPS, Fed Ex, Amazon and WalMart.) There are also manifest trains that carry a wide variety of industrial materials in a number of different car types. This includes
- lumber cars
- tank cars with chemicals, ethanol, crude oil and edible oils and sweeteners
- hoppers cars (often with waste materials from the New York City metro area bound largely for landfills in Ohio) and others with grains or plastics.
- Box cars with fresh and packaged food products and industrial materials like paper and auto parts.
- Tall automobile carriers fully enclosed for security purposes.

4.    Where are these trains going?
This railroad line is one of the busiest corridors in the North American rail network. Many of these cars have transcontinental journeys. The cars on an intermodal train going by here today may have started in California three or four days ago. Lumber and food products may have come from the Pacific Northwest or California. Thus car on the trains may have come from almost anywhere in North America.

5.    How fast do the trains through Fairport go?
It varies considerably. Passengers trains generally go much faster than freight trains – up to about 79 miles per hour, though about only 65 through Fairport. Intermodal trains can travel up to 60 MPH, while other freight trains are usually slower.

6.    Why do trains sometimes go very slow or stop across the crossing?
Sometimes because of equipment problems such as engine trouble or sticking brakes. Other times because of operational issues.  The three tracks in Fairport go down to two tracks in two miles to the east of here (Milepost 359 in railroad lingo, near the Lyndon Road overpass bridge). As a result, there can be merging issues from this constriction. The CSX Railroad tries to avoid and minimize these delays and stopped trains start without any warning. So never go near or on a stopped train!

7.    What if I see an emergency at the crossing, such as a car stalled on the tracks?
Call 911 if nobody else has. There is also a direct line to an emergency railroad operations center. That number is 1-800-232-0144. Tell them it is at Crossing Location # 514 570 J.

8.    How can I watch trains on the webcams at the platform?
Two options: You can go to YouTube and search for “Fairport Railcam” … Or you can go to the website “FairportJunction.com” that is maintained by the Fairport/Perinton Partnership for a Better Community. There are photos and other information about the platform at that site.

9.    Who owns the tracks through Fairport?
CSX, one of the six major railroad companies operating in the U.S. and Canada, owns the tracks that run through the village of Fairport. It operates trackage east of the Mississippi River. CSX is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. Train dispatchers whom you hear on the radio scanner at the platform are based there, too.

10.   Why is there not a caboose on the ends of trains any longer?
Mainline trains today operate with two-person crews (an engineer and a conductor), who are both based in the locomotive cab. Improved safety technology can stop and slow trains automatically. Although you won’t see them on the ends of trains today, you can see one up close here at Fairport Junction! We have installed an authentic 1978 Conrail Caboose that is being restored right next to our train viewing platform. Come by and check it out!