Ohio Railfanning Part 1 - Berea and Olmsted Falls

With its rich railroad history dating back to its incorporation, Ohio offers railfans a variety of unique and different locations to capture, video graph or simply watch trains. From its rolling suburban sprawls around Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo, to its table top flat fields dotted with barns, ranch homes and cemeteries, there is a cornucopia of variety to explore. Many small towns, such as Lepsic, Greenwich and Hamler, host diamonds where multiple main lines cross each other, thereby increasing the amount of traffic one can expect to see. Through this, it is easy to see the draw Ohio has to many rail enthusiasts from around the world.
During a weekend outing at the beginning of June, 2013, I paid a visit to several different well-known locations in the state of Ohio. In part one of this five part series, we take a look at Berea and Olmsted Falls, two suburbs of Cleveland, located just to the southwest of the Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport. Berea is the point where NS's Chicago Line, running from Buffalo, NY to Chicago, and CSX's Cleveland Short Line, the former 'Big Four' run next to each other on their way to Cleveland. Berea is also home to the training facility of the Cleveland Browns, located just across the street from the tracks. Olmsted Falls is located roughly two miles to the west of Berea, along the NS main, and offers a variety of crossings to choose from. You will see everything from high-priority intermodals, to manifests and unit trains, all with a variety of different power from multiple railroads. So sit back and enjoy some of Ohio's finest railfanning at two very noteworthy locations in northeastern Ohio.
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[@davidcoleman958]

I spent many days railfanning in Berea when I lived in Cleveland from 2015-2019. It is an awesome spot to railfan at. How often do you railfan there?

[@bnsf7562]

I don’t get that far east too often. I was last in Berea in 2021 on my way back west from a trip to Pennsylvania. Thanks for looking!

[@davidcoleman958]

@bnsf7562 gotcha where do you typically railfan?

[@dptrpt]

Nice video, where is that shot at CSX s curve? I’m familiar with Berea.

[@bnsf7562]

If you are referring to the scene that begins around 21:45, that spot is at the West Road grade crossing, south of Olmsted Falls.

[@dptrpt]

bnsf7562 thanks! Looking at google maps, that area doesn’t look as curvy as the video. I’ll check it out next time I’m in town

[@bnsf7562]

I've noticed that as well. In person, the curve seems so much more present than on any map. That spot is very good for westbounds in the afternoon.