RailRoadFan.com

admin edit: Poll has ended, majority of votes were for June 11th/12th, so that's the weekend we'll be in Deshler; see you all there!

Good afternoon! It's time we plan a meetup and hang with fellow railfans. It's been a few years now since we've had an official meetup due to covid, and feels like the right time to get our gatherings back in place. We've done Durand the past couple meets in 2018 & 2019, but it's time to head to Deshler Ohio once again. Poll is currently up to pick which weekend we have the meet: May 28th/29th(Memorial Day weekend) or June 11th/12th. Vote for any days you can make, and we'll get the date penciled in. Meetup mid-day Saturday at Deshler Ohio's Crossroads Park, stay for camping, and hang as late Sunday as you all would like. Stop on by and meet some of the familiar names you see posting here.

I'd suggest carpooling for the meet as usual and you can use this thread for setting up carpooling, or PM another member that you know is going. Hopefully we can get a good turnout and enjoy relaxing at the park for the weekend. For those that haven't attended these meets, it's a very laid back atmosphere. Bring a lawn chair, use one of the newish picnic tables and relax. There's a shelter on site. Our local resident Stupidfleet aka Chinese Food has assured me there will be a porta-potty at the park. Supermarket nearby to get food/beer, couple restaurants in town. Feel free to come and go as you please. You'll likely see some of us will chase trains north/south/east/west out of town at some parts of the day, and make our way back to the park afterwards.
No hotels very close nearby...closest ones are in Findlay and Defiance OH about 20-25 miles away. Tents/pop-up campers are fine at the park, 110v outlets at the shelter, free use, but we encourage donations to the park to keep things free and open.
If you are planning to go, please reply below.
See map of where it's located in Deshler, Ohio.

http://imgur.com/dPf2y0R.jpg

I’d honestly pick something other than Memorial Day since rail traffic maybe a little lower, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be there no matter what date, Deshler is one of my favorite places to railfan, it’ll also give my dad and myself a chance to stretch the legs on the 5th wheel since we’re using the motor home on the Midwest trip

I was planning an Ohio trip at the End of of May. Given current circumstances, I doubt this will happen. I'd have to mortgage my home to pay for the gas to get from NC to Ohio.

Looks like the June weekend is the winner. I’ll probably plan to get there Friday night. TBD if I’m gonna do a hotel or camp in the car like the good old days.

My dad and I did a few trips like what’s being planned this past summer, bring the motor home to Deshler on Friday evening and leave Sunday around noon, The thing I’m worried about is I don’t know if I’ve got graduation or not that weekend, but I’m pretty sure I’m going.

As a Member of the Bartlow Township Historical Society/ Deshler Museum and one of the Park Maintainers I will slip in that there may be a Dumpster on premisis as well since we are still seeking New Trash Cans

June 11th works for me

Saturnalia wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 03, 2022 3:17 pm

Looks like the June weekend is the winner. I’ll probably plan to get there Friday night. TBD if I’m gonna do a hotel or camp in the car like the good old days.

Same here, but hotel for me. I need a clean bathroom and a shower.

I'm not committing to anything because FoMoCo is holding my weekends hostage into perpetuity.

Scooby DR TM 3194 wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 04, 2022 7:26 am

As a Member of the Bartlow Township Historical Society/ Deshler Museum and one of the Park Maintainers I will slip in that there may be a Dumpster on premisis as well since we are still seeking New Trash Cans

New Trash Can just Placed Today

Scooby DR TM 3194 wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 05, 2022 11:01 am

As a Member of the Bartlow Township Historical Society/ Deshler Museum and one of the Park Maintainers

Is AC power available all year round for RV’s?

David Collins wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 05, 2022 11:06 am

Scooby DR TM 3194 wrote: ↑

Sat Mar 05, 2022 11:01 am

As a Member of the Bartlow Township Historical Society/ Deshler Museum and one of the Park Maintainers

Is AC power available all year round for RV’s?

Power getting turned on Now til around Thanksgiving

I'll try to make it.

hmm sounds like fun. I think a trip is in order. see you in june

I may go. I hope to go before then actually. I usually split time in Deshler, Hamler, Fostoria and sometimes Bellevue. Depending if I spend the night somewhere. I usually stay in Bowling Green. Does anyone know if the porta potty in Deshler is on site now? Helps to have one close by when you are 60. Hate to keep making trips to the gas station.

Deshler in June? If everything works out ok, we'll be there, at least on Saturday. I've been looking forward to bringing my wife to one of the meets, so she can meet some of the characters in the railfan stories I've told her about the good old days of the RailroadFan.com meets (i.e. before COVID). I'm looking forward to seeing most of you again.

Honestly would love to go to one of these things. But gas prices are a huge thorn with my railfanning these days. I have not shot a single train in Ohio in over 70 days due to these gas prices. Deshler is 100 miles from me and it looks like a 50/50 for me. I have limited my railfanning to Durand, Lansing Port Huron and my hometown which is basically Livonia/Plymouth due to these insane gas prices. I am also saving up to go to Montana in August and I want to fit in another trip around that timeframe as well. Although I will have my mustang convertible that gets over 30 MPG on the highway by that time. I love taking that thing to places like Deshler due to my love of traveling on lonely country roads The thing I like about Deshler is the foreign power trains like Q191/Q192 with UP and Q171/Q172/Q170 with BNSF power. I am a huge fan of the western railroads as time goes on. I remember going to Deshler with my grandpa in 2010-2014 and seeing Conrail Dash 8s leading, seeing brand new BNSF GEVOS coming from Erie, god there was so much back then it's too much to list.

Plus honestly Memorial Day weekend does not have a decrease in traffic. If anything it would have increased traffic compared to other times of the year especially on Friday and Saturday. Late May until the 4th of July is peak season for the railroads for carloads if you do the research. When I went to Deshler on Memorial Day 2019 all of the same stuff ran maybe more. Intermodal Ports are usually overloaded, grain is in full force, oil is rocking too and carloads are very usually high during this time. Deshler sees 50 trains a day on a daily basis as of 2021. Sometimes more. Sometimes less. Really depends on the day and time of year.

I always wanted to camp out in Deshler tbh. I nearly did it in my mustang back in October when I last went there. But my parents caught me and it rained. Deshler if not sees more trains at night even more these days ever since CSX adopted PSR. All of their hot intermodal traffic aside from Q010 runs at night, most of the Toledo sub traffic is nocturnal too aside from D743 or whatever symbol they call it and alot of other traffic. Camping out at Deshler looks so much fun ever since CSX adopted this mega PSR what I call it.


If I cant make it. I hope for nice weather and of course a ton of trains! We will see though. Hope to see some relief with these gas prices. Kinda sick and tired of going to the gas station twice after a trip to Durand which is only 67 miles from home. I just wished we did these meets from in 2020-2021 when gas was still pretty much affordable. We will see if I can make it. I got alot of stuff usually going on every June in the last couple years as well. This June looks to be loaded as well

Confirmed that I will be attending, does anyone know if they have the grill is setup there yet or if my dad and I will have to bring our portable one, we'll make some burgers for the gang while we're there...

3 of us from Muskegon are committed so far.
$4.59 a gallon in a 454 big block dually.
It’ll be worth it to get some last shots of the CPL’s.
I hope the gas prices and drive don’t discourage folks from the group attending. Had a great time in Durand a few years back. Hoping to meet a few folks face to face that I have keyboard babbled with over the years.

Has the fire ring been reinstalled? I recall that it was removed some time ago (for the second time in recent years) due to morons being morons.