TrainOrderPix

Berea

Berea, Ohio, just southwest of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, is one of the hottest train watching spots in Ohio, with about 130 trains of Norfolk Southern (about 60%) and CSX (about 40%) passing the now-closed BE Tower/CP 194 daily -- although with the current economic slowdown, the number of trains, and their frequency, on both NS and CSX are down from the previous levels. The two Wheeling & Lake Erie coke trains trains through Berea are operating again because the Arcelor Mittal steel plant in Cleveland's Flats has resumed production.

IMPORTANT ! While you are at Berea, please DO NOT cross, or walk on, the tracks! Unfortunately, some visitors have started doing this again, and this has attracted the attention of both the CSX Special Agents and the Berea City Police. Crossing, or being on, the tracks is trespassing on railroad property, a Federal offense. We do not want to see any of our visitors arrested, or injured, so please be on your best behavior while at Berea. We don't want our railfanning curtailed or fenced off. Thank you!

This page carries photos of NS, CSX, and WLE trains passing through Berea, Ohio -- also known as CP 194 -- on the NS, ex-Conrail, exx-PennCentral, exxx-New York Central tracks. We have expanded this page to include NS' Rockport Yard which is about 4 miles northeast of Berea, and is the road's main Cleveland yard, and also train action in Olmsted Falls, the next town west of Berea.

You might want to look at the Berea Map and Berea Facts pages for information on how to get to Berea, especially since the bridge project is under way; where to park and eat, and a brief history of the railroad scene at Berea.

In February, 2009, CSX extended the "IG" dispatcher's territory from Berea all the way to Greenwich, about 50 miles, but retained the former "IF" frequencies for this territory. Please see the Berea Facts page for more details.

The Front Street Bridge Project

Getting trackside at Berea will be a challenge for the next two years! Construction is well under way on the long-awaited Front Street (Ohio Rt. 237) bridge over both the NS and CSX tracks from Emerson St. on the north to Lou Groza Blvd. on the south, and Depot St. is being angled to connect with Groza Blvd.

On Monday, May 4, the intersection of Depot and Front St./Lou Groza Blvd. closed for 480 days while construction crews started moving earth, building ramps, and forming piers. The work on the bridge will last until mid-Summer 2011. We're glad to see this project get started. And it will be better when the job is finished. In the meantime, we'll all have to endure the challenges of railfanning near a major construction zone.

The railfan parking sites on Depot St. still are open, and you are welcome there; however, you need to use an alternate route to the Berea trainwatching sites. You will find the suggested detour on the Berea Map page along with the newest 2009 downloadable Welcome to Trainwatching at Berea, Ohio! brochure which deals with the bridge project, the parking changes -- there are several of these -- and other revised information to help you get to, and enjoy your time at, Berea during the construction period.. If you are not familiar with the area, we suggest that you print out and keep it with you. The alternate route is to take Rocky River Dr. to Depot St. (just south of the rail underpasses) and then go east on Depot St. to the parking areas.

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Latest update: 03/08/2010
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