|
||
Scanner Frequencies- Maps - GPS Coordinates
Railfan Photos - Send in Yours
Fostoria Action Videos
|
Subscribe to Our Mailing List & Newsletter Click The Banner Below
Also you can unsubscribe, update your information or add your location
ADD YOUR NAME TO OUR GUEST LIST We would like to start a list of people who visit the RailPark and where you are from. If you agree we would also like to create a mailing list to keep you informed of events and news about the park. Just send an email to wewerethere@fostoriairontriangle.com with your name, city and date at the Railpark. Your email will NOT be listed and will be kept private and only used by the Fostoria Rail Preservation Society. I am sure we have visitors from many places and maybe a special recognition from the farthest visitor each month. Let us know what you think. The Guest Book can be viewed HERE
Dec 14 2019
Railcams For Railfans - Sandy Creek makes
watching trains convenient, easy, free. FOSTORIA RAIL FESTIVAL Sept 30 2019 Hello to all The 18th Fostoria Rail Festival is over and we can all say it was a good day for vendors and railfans!! Saw happy faces on vendors and bags in the railfans hands. The crowd was great with 172 tables sold to 60+ vendors, many new as well as the familiar faces to our train show. Bob Lorenz and his wife Bea were here and we were all thrilled. Bob celebrated his 95th birthday on Sunday, Sept. 29. How wonderful to be so coherent and able to still paint !! Bob will be featured in the October issue of the NKP RR HS magazine. We will want to get plenty of copies for FRPS. Photo Contest--There were 18 wonderful entries in this years contest. Judges Choice is selected by the Fostoria Community Arts Council. There choices are--First--#18, Staci Reiter,"Mom, the NKP 765 is really loud"; Second--#12 Patrick Berryman, NS in Snow; Third--#6, David Moyer, A Duo on the Rails. Peoples Choice were selected by those at the Fostoria Rail Festival. Winners were--First, #2, Gerald Lee, Waiting for Orders; Second #12, Patrick Berryman, NS in Snow and Third is a tie-- #13 Richard Riley II, KCS 4777 & Staci Reiter, #17, NKP 765. Congratulations to all. You will receive your gift cards in the mail soon. There were six soup entries with the following results. Peoples Choice winners were--First,--a tie-- Marilyn Beers, Vegetable Soup with Sausage; and Teresa Lee- Chili; Third Place--Ellen Gatrell--Chicken Noodle Soup. Railfans at the rail park were interviewed by a WTOL,Toledo CBS TV station reporter late last week. Had heard about it but did not see any of the three times it was on TV on Friday so I did look it up. Here is the LINK. "The People Who Watch Trains". Loved to see many people who come here often. You might be one who was interviewed or have you watching trains. Rudy, Bill, Tyler, Larry, and others too. Thank you WTOL !!! A huge thank you to all the volunteers, FRPS members including the 15 Fostoria High School Cross Country students who helped setup the almost 200 tables for event. Teresa Lee's Childrens Area was visited by many parents and children. The need to have family events is greatly appreciated. The model trains were from the Saginaw Model RR Club, NW Modelers Stinky Creek, LanTrak, Hobo Crew, and Chuck White's Locomotive Facer layout and of course Dick Painter & Don Goris's home-made train engines and cars. JR Express was outside for the train rides. What a great show of the rail hobby modelers !!! Thank you !!! Some of you knew Jim Roberts, Tiffin who passed away September 13, 2019. Jim was a past FRPS President and came to Fostoria for years. We met him sitting by the tracks, watching the trains. This was his stop after he left work and before he went home, his time to unwind. Jim had never missed helping at all of our Rail Festivals in his Conductor uniform. He also came dressed as a Conductor for our Santa at the Depot. We will miss him !!! Mark the date for next year, Saturday, September 26, 2020. There will be changes made to the building and will definitely have a new entrance area. We will be in the present day gym and hallway and probably the commons area and a new gym and cafeteria in the new building to the north. More room for the show. More shows are coming up and we will be at Berea this coming weekend. Last thing on the list---We received some LOST & FOUND items that were at the Rail Park. We have a ring and an Apple i-pod. These were left at the Rail Park weeks ago. If you can describe them --you can have your item returned. Also have a mens watch found months ago. THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HELPED MAKE THE FOSTORIA RAIL FESTIVAL A SUCCESSFUL EVENT--Vendors, Customers, Volunteers--all needed and appreciated !!! Ellen Gatrell UPDATE Oct 24 2018 Greetings to all this October evening. Reminder we will have our monthly meeting this Thursday, October 25, 6:00 p.m. at the LE&W Depot, 128 W. North Street, Fostoria. All are invited to attend., The next event for Fostoria is the 5th anniversary rededication of the Fostoria Iron Triangle Rail Park. Ceremony at the rail park will begin at 11:00 a.m on Saturday, November 17. The reception will be held at the History Corner, which is at the corner of N. Main and North Streets. The depot will be unavailable due to decorating for Santa at the Depot. All are welcome to attend this event. If you want to mark your calendar for the 2019 Fostoria Rail Festival, the date is Saturday, September 28, 2019. Same location, FHS Jr/Sr. High School. The additions to the school will not be completed until Dec. 2019 so we will have the same setup as previous years. The addition of the womens/childrens area in the gym hallway was considered a success by the vendors. We will continue to expand this area for vendors. 2020 will bring us the availability of more square footage for our event. FRPS is on a campaign to receive funding for the B&O caboose project. We must have an ADA approved ramp and platform, which we will have built with composite materials where possible. Estimated cost is $35,000. with some funding already received. If you wish to donate to this project, please forward your donation to FRPS, P.O, Box 421, Fostoria, OH 44830 Ellen RAIL FESTIVAL NEWS RAIL FESTIVAL Sept 28 2019 Rail Festival 2018
RAIL FESTIVAL PHOTOS 2017 Rail Festival Photos are - HERE 2016 Rail Festival Photos are HERE
PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS 2019
FOSTORIA RAILPARK UPDATE UPDATE April 18 2018 Hello and my apologies for not sending many emails !!! Want to give you some information on upcoming events we are having here in Fostoria.
FRPS is sponsoring our 9th annual Railroad Dinner, Thursday, May 24. The location is the lower level of the Good Shepherd Home, 725 Columbus Avenue. Doors open at 5:00, dinner at 5:30, with the program at 6:30 p.m. We are pleased to announce that our Guest Speaker will be from the Ohio Rail Development Commission (ORDC). Matt Dietrich, Executive Director or Julianne Finnegan, Executive Assistant to the Director will be our speaker. What better time to listen to and be able to talk directly to ORDC. Cost is $15.00 per person and includes Roast Beef, Baked Chicken, Mashed Potatoes/Gravy, Green Beans, Betty Salad, Rolls, Pie and tea/lemonade/coffee/water. There is an elevator to the lower level if needed. Columbus Avenue is SR 18 and is on the south/east side of Fostoria, in fact it is very close to the Rail Park.. Please join us for an informative evening.
Ellen Gatrell NEWS UPDATES MARCH 1st 2017 Hello to Fostoria Railfans
Have you noticed the track panel at the rail park? It is the first step towards moving the B&O caboose FRPS purchased to have a final resting place at the park. It seems we have snags on this project. The moving company hired to move the caboose would like to have frozen ground or dry ground for the moving. The present location of the caboose cannot be ruined with a 30 ton caboose digging trenches into the soil. Mother Nature has not helped this winter. Who knew we would not have frozen, really frozen ground. When will we move the caboose, when the moving can be done without ruining either the present location or the rail park grounds. One way you can help our Caboose fund is to donate via cash, check or money order.
FRPS had our 2nd Santa's Wine & Cheese event in early December. We had two events, Friday and Saturday nights. Sitting among the Christmas decorations and enjoying wine and good food, perfect evenings.
Ellen UPDATES AT RAIL PARK Two four-sided metal picnic tables on concrete pads will be installed at the rail park when the weather permits. One table will be adjacent to the platform and the other table will be located near the driveway entrance. Donations have been received from Key Bank and the Fostoria Altrusa Club with those donations being used for these projects. FRPS had designated Fostoria Rail Festival 2015 profits to be used for updates at the rail park. Five-foot wide concrete sidewalks will be installed from the parking lot to the platform. This project will begin in the Spring, 2016. There will still be some stone walkways as we do not have all the funding needed for all of the sidewalks. Pete DiCesare has installed a railroad yield sign on the platform building. The sign was donated by Morgan Advanced Materials, Fostoria. LE&W DEPOT The Lake Erie & Western Depot, 128 W. North Street, Fostoria is in need of structural repairs. The 1878 built depot needs to have the west-end foundation rebuilt. The FRPS exec. board will be working on this project and receive structural costs for the project. This depot was purchased by FRPS in March, 2007 through a grant from the Henry Geary Jr. Memorial Foundation. A 50-year roof was installed by volunteers and the interior and exterior have been painted. A LE&W whistle post was donated by the Charles Glover, Fostoria family and is installed at the depot. YMCA SUMMER PROGRAM FRPS will be presenting railroad-related programs for the June and July Y Summer Program. Operation Lifesaver and Fostoria railroad history information will be included for the school-age participants. July 30th MICHIGAN RIDE THE RAILS BUS TRIP FRPS is announcing the 2nd bus trip. This years trip is to Michigan and will include visiting the Huckleberry Train and Crossroads Village, Durand Museum and Steam Railroading Institute (SRI), Owosso, MI on Saturday, July 30. Cost per person is $124. with reservations on a first come basis. Sept 24th FOSTORIA RAIL FESTIVAL Plans are underway for the 15th Fostoria Rail Festival. The train show will be held at the Fostoria Jr/Sr. High School, 1001 Park Avenue, Fostoria. Hours are 10-4. See the poster below. Click poster to download Vendor Form FOSTORIA'S RAILWAY HISTORY Debbie Castret has graciously shared a number of family photos of Nickel Plate employees from 1947. Most were taken in or around Blair Yard. Her Dad Carl E Castret worked there from 1941 to 1974 A unique look into some of Fostoria's past and railroading history. Click HERE to see them all. 1954 Safety Award Winners
Front row l to r: Jim Macker, Charles Marshall, Herb Foster, Calvin Marshall, Jim Bennett, Barney Hutchins, Clarence Slick and Tony Blosser. Back row l to r: Carl Castret, Dwight Young, Ernest Hines, Foy Gobel, Charles Bixler, Robert Goodyear, Richard Miller, Herb Hostittler, Hank Brooks, Lloyd McKee, Don Boomer and Max Cooper. SPORTSWEAR NOW AVAILABLE
NKP Whistle Post Installed at RailPark Aug 6 Installation of the NKP whistle post at the RailPark donated by the Paulette & Tom Miller family. Tom is in the photo, he is the person on the right. The others are the people who moved the post from Tiffin, where Tom’s family had the post in their front yard and they moved it to the park. Thank You
March 31st 2015 - Fostoria F Tower Closes
CSX Transportation closed F Tower in Fostoria on Monday and transferred responsibilities to Indianapolis dispatching desk. Last trains under Fostoria control passed the tower at 9:30 am Monday morning. A final shift was on Tuesday morning to complete final changeover. Here are a couple photos taken on Tuesday as an era came to an end.
Fostoria Rail Preservation Society
Newly painted depot September 2014 January 20 2015
For anyone who wish to visit the Roanoke Virginia Museum of Transportation, John Hersch, a FRPS member, has 4 entrance tickets for free to give away. They are valid until February 28, 2015. If you are interested, please contact John at 567-525-4219.
FRPS will have their January meeting this Thursday at 6:00 p.m. NOTE the time!!! Location is the LE&W depot, 128 W. North St.
The rail park has had visitors even during the cold cold January weather. Please use the sidewalks, stone or concrete, and do not walk on the area just west of the restroom door side of the platform. This area was reseeded and has NO grass, therefore a lot of mud is in the area . The scanner that was on the D&N building, was moved to the rail park platform. Michael Harvey, St. Marys, donated the scanner and we appreciate his generosity. Along with the scanner, a vending machine is also on the platform. As always, we would love for all railfans who visit Fostoria to help us. When you visit a restaurant, etc. please advise you are a railfan. We need for the Fostoria vendors to know the rail tourism dollars are ending up in their cash register.
Thanks to those that have visited the RailPark and wanted to be added to our Guest list. Check out who has visited. The Guest Book can be viewed HERE
Have not set up going to train shows this year. Will sit down soon and figure out which train shows we will be at. This cold cold winter weather has been a deterrent to deciding where to go. How about some really warm locations? Any suggestions.
Santa at the Depot, our 8th annual event, was a huge success. Over 1,000 people visited our depot. We were open for the Dec. 6 Chamber event (400+ people that day) as well as our Tuesday and Thursday evenings and Saturday afternoon hours. Santa was busy talking to the children. As usual, most enjoyed talking to Santa (, some smaller children had tears but the trains were are always popular. We had 50+ trees, 32-36 of them being 6' or larger. Every year we add lights and are already planning for the next event.
See you at the Railpark Ellen
Gatrell September 15th 2014 Greetings to all this fall weather weekend.
Fostoria Chamber Car Show, Car Swap Meet, Flea Market and food wagon vendors will be outside around the Fostoria High School. Train rides too. Weather permitting, remote controlled airplanes. Inside our 13th rail festival will have train vendors, of course model train displays, photo contest entries, 4 NARCOA speeders, Bob Lorenz prints, photos and originals, good tasting soup, childrens corner, and the school cafeteria will have their always good food available. The historic bus tour will be available for you to learn more about Fostoria's railroad history. 10-4, Saturday Sept. 27. See you there. More info, look on our website or facebook pages.
Have you seen the October issue, Trains Magazine? Fostoria is listed in Matt VanHattems top ten rail fan locations in North America. Thanks Matt !!!!!!!
Also in the October issue is a feature on Sequence photos. FRPS member John Herreshoff entered a sequence shot at Durand MI and received runner-up. Good JOB John.
Ellen August 28th 2014
Hello to everyone
Hope everyone will have a great Labor Day weekend. Assume the rail park will be filled with railfans. This certainly has been an exciting year with so many people coming back and using the new park and commenting on how nice the park is. Thank you city of Fostoria !!! The license plates are from so many states too !!!
FRPS listens to railfans and had two park projects, we were asked to remove the power pole outside the fence on Columbus Avenue. So far we know it is not a city of Fostoria pole and not a N/S pole. Now we need to talk to AT&T so we can legally remove the pole for photo ops. You will notice the 3' weeds have bee mowed on the B&O nb transfer line. Glenn Grove, John Potteiger and I were the committee. We cut the weeds down, mowed them with a lawn mower and finally sprayed Roundup on them. Now there is a clear view in that area.
Saturday, September 27, 13th Fostoria Rail Festival, 10-4, 1001 Park Avenue. Information on our website and Facebook pages. Vendor tables are still available and at the regular price until Sept. 6, after that additional cost per table. Many activities, rain or shine. Bigger and better every year.
Trains & Buggy Tour Bus Trip
August 22nd 2014
Last Friday 54 people met in Fostoria to begin our bus trip to Age of Steam Roundhouse, Warthers Museum, Dennison Depot, Breitenbach Wine Cellar, Walnut Creek Cheese and dinner at an Amish home. We left at 6:30 a.m. and arrived back in Fostoria just before 11:00 p.m. It was a long, but wonderful day. A big thank you to FRPS President Teresa Lee and Joe Bouillon (JB Tours) for the great trip schedule. When can we do it again? Are you going? All photos courtesy Ellen Gatrell.
"click above to see the photos" August 12th 2014 Hello to all
The August 22 bus trip to the Age of Steam Roundhouse, Dennison Depot and so much more is full BUT there can be a fill-in list in case someone cannot go. Please call Teresa Lee at 419-435-8023. She will give you the details. Thanks !!!!!
Do you have photos for the Fostoria Lens-Eye View Photo Contest? Look on our FRPS website, Fostoria Rail Park Facebook or FRPS Facebook page for more information. Our webmaster, Walter, is doing a fine job!!! Thanks Walter !!!!!
The 13th Fostoria Rail Festival is not too far away. Vendor table reservation form is on our sites and can be downloaded. We are going to have a bigger show, Chamber Car Show, Car Swap Meet, Flea Market added to the train vendors, model train displays, photo contest, soup contest, childrens play area, train rides in and out, remote controlled airplanes and speeders, bus tour of Fostoria historic rail locations and of course good food. Saturday, September 27, 10-4 at Fostoria HIgh School. Location is right beside the previous event location. We just moved to a larger venue area.
The new Member and expired renewal membership matching fund has topped $2,100 + !!!!! Thanks to all who have helped!!! Especially our friend, Walter in Illinois !!!! Thank you for your generosity !!!!
FRPS was featured in Railpace Magazine, August issue. Had told everyone about this in previous emails but want you to know we have additional magazines available for sale. We will also sell Railpace monthly issues to you too.
Reminder, the LE&W depot, 128 W. North Street, is open on Saturdays, 1-4 from May thru September.
July 30 2014
Hello to all of you
June 9, 2014 Hello to everyone.
Top on our list is we are on a membership campaign. Many of you are FRPS members but some are not. We need your support to help us reach our goals. Some FRPS members are matching $ for new members or those of you who have let your membership lapse. Please help us if you can.
The Ohio Rail Development Commission sends out the Track Record and we had been forwarding this to our 500+ email list. Unfortunately, we are discontinuing this practice. You will be able to read it on our website. Too many times, almost weekly, someone would unsubscribe directly to ORDC.
Saturday, September 27 isn't too far away. That is the date for the 13th Fostoria Rail Festival. Fred Fogelsinger, Michigan resident sent in his check for vendor tables at our rail festival. Thanks Fred !!! We have moved the rail festival to the high school, which is right beside the old location, we needed more room for vendors. We added remote-controlled airplanes to our outside displays as well as the Fostoria Chamber car show. Hope to see you too.
FRPS is a member of Destination Seneca County and they have a billboard on US 23 near Upper Sandusky. Look for the billboard near the SR 53 exit. Eddie Durnwald's railpark photo with a NS Triple Crown beside the platform is the billboard photo. Thanks Eddie and Destination Seneca County !!!
FRPS is planning for the Owosso Michigan Steam Railroading Institute event on June 20-22. 30,000 are expected to attend and we are planning to talk to everyone and tell them about Fostoria Ohio !!! Are you going to be there? Stop in and see us in the big tent.
FRPS elected new board members. Teresa Lee is the new President. Renee Smith is 1st vice president with Herm VandeKerkhoff continuing being the VP of acquisitions. Board members are retiring President Jim Roberts, Joe Droll, Pamela Smith, Tom Miller, and John Potteiger. Secy-treas. is Ellen Gatrell.
The LE&W Depot will be painted this summer. Colors selected are a medium gray with white trim. This is close to the original colors. We have an estimate of less than $7,000. including paint and labor. Would you like to help with the depot painting project? Your monetary donation would be greatly appreciated.
The NKP
765 will have their open house on August 16. Here is an opportunity to
see the NKP 765 up close and personal. The 765 will be traveling
through Fostoria sometime in September as they are going to Cuyahoga
Valley. May 28, 2014 Canadian Railway Observations is one of the premier online railway newsletters concentrating on Canadian Railways and is packed full of information and great photos. They will be publishing an article on the Fostoria RailPark in the June issue. You must be a member to access the current month but I have uploaded the article I wrote to our web page. It can be accessed here. May 24, 2014 Hello to all this beautiful Spring Day !!!!
Just a short note advising the May FRPS meeting is tonight !!! The meeting time is 6:00 p.m. Please plan to attend and get involved in our organization.
The rail park is open for all. 24/7 with trains constantly passing by the rail park. The restrooms are in perfect order. Fostoria's Mayor Eric Keckler was asked if grills can be used at the park and he says OK !!! We have had many new visitors and of course those who have come to Fostoria for years are excited to see the new park !!! Enjoy the facilities.
Ellen May 15, 2014 Those that are wondering about the wash rooms, they are open and working properly. Few instances of people stealing the toilet paper so please have an eye. Also please stay off the grass as it has been reseeded and this wet weather will make it a sea of mud. Parking is no longer permitted at the station lot as CSX has had some damage to vehicles and has installed a camera and voice announcement that you are trespassing. The RailPark has lots of great spots so no need to park there, Hydro is available at the observation area and WiFi will be coming soon. Happy railfanning and be safe out there.
January 30, 2014 Regarding the extreme cold weather, the Rail Park has taken on a frozen issue--broken water pipes in the women's restroom. Seems the doors do not always close tightly enough with the extreme wind and cold we have had this January. Both restrooms will be locked until the broken water pipes can be repaired. Sorry for the problem, but we hope this is a small problem as with the colder than usual temperatures there certainly are less people viewing trains at the rail park. We are staying home where it is warmer until the weather breaks.
July 20-22 is another "Train weekend" Owosso Michigan, Steam Railroading Institute will host Train Expo 2014. Look on their website for more info. www.michigansteamtrain.com
FRPS is on the board for the 7th Toledo National Train Day, and meetings will begin this week. More info later.
Ellen |
|
Web site issues please contact us |