Folkston Under the Stars | The Ultimate Railfanning Vacation Episode 2
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 3 июл 2024
- Folkston Georgia is much more than a random south Georgia town. Folkston Georgia just may be the single best railfanning location in the country. Join Boston By Rails and friends on a wild 2 day stay in the Chessie Caboose, just feet from the tracks in Folkston! This 3 episode series will capture fast trains, foreign power, Pan Am Railways F Units, and so much more! Enjoy!
- Nathan
Join my Patreon, if you feel so inclined!
patreon.com/Bostonbyrails?utm...
Shout-out to my Patrons:
Jared Ballou
MP
nice video nathan!!
My wife does a lot of her watching down here in Alabama at night for a reason .Our southern heat and humidity can be absolutely unbearable even for us natives .Throw in the mosquitoes ,sand and yellow flies and it is no picnic .She recently did some filming up in both Birmingham and Montgomery while on a short visit .She does a quite a bit in Folkston ,Waycross and especially Cordele .Her favorite spots are the trestles near us on the Choctawhatchee and Chattahoochee rivers .We live on the Choctawhatchee River near a trestle and she is always down there due to the trains ,abundant wildlife to photograph and great fishing to be done there .There are always alligators ,river otters, and at certain times of the year Gulf Sturgeon head up here to their breeding grounds along with the rare black bear and bobcats .These creatures don't bother her one bit .She was literally born in a Florida swamp and has lived /camped in them down here in the southern states for over 60 years so feels right at home there .
Hey, thats awesome! I would NEVER have the bravery to be among all of that wildlife, let alone at night (given im from the city!).
Youre right on about the nightime railfanning experience though, it sure is something! Im glad im not the only one!
With a high percentage of rail traffic headed to Florida passing through Folkston, the rail lines through the city have acquired the nickname "The Folkston Funnel." As many as 35 trains a day pass through Folkston heading into and out of Florida, which some years draws ten times as many railfans as people who live in the city. To provide for a safe (and advantageous) viewing situation, the town has followed the example of another high-density rail town, Rochelle, Illinois, and has built a platform for visitors, along with picnic tables, chairs, barbecue pits, restrooms, grills, and even WiFi. At night, lights shine from the platform onto the double track so if someone wanted to, he or she could watch after sunset. Freight trains from the east and northeast arrive via Savannah, go through the Folkston Funnel, and proceed to terminals such as Jacksonville, Tampa, and Miami. Freight trains from the midwest arrive via Atlanta or Birmingham and proceed into Florida. Freight trains that originate in Florida take the same routes in opposite direction. In addition, Amtrak's Silver Star, Silver Meteor, and Auto Train pass through the Folkston Funnel, although they do not stop there.
At the covered viewing platform, there is an active scanner running and visitors can listen to train engineers as they run the trains through. There is also free WiFi for visitors.
In the good old pre-PSR/long train days, Folkston often saw 50-60 trains a day. Been going there off and on for the past 30 years. As far as the viewing platform is concerned, I was a part of its history, having lunch once with buddies and the Chamber of Commerce/elected officials, where we told them about the railfan community. Shortly thereafter, then mayor Dixie McGurn (now proprietor of the small cafe on Main St. and owner of Railside Lodging) along with long-time resident Cookie Williams got a grant from the state and use of prison labor to build the platform. I was at the dedication ceremony back in 2001, IIRC correctly. A large part of Cookie's RR memorabilia was donated to the town and makes up a large part of the museum collection after he passed away.
Folkston is a city in and the county seat of Charlton County, Georgia, United States. Folkston is in the Jacksonville Metropolitan Area. The population was 2,502 as of the 2010 census, up from 2,178 in 2000, largely due to the extension of the city boundary to include D. Ray James Prison.
Folkston was founded on August 19, 1911. The city was named in honor of William Brandon Folks, M.D., a prominent physician and surgeon in his day. In the years 1925 through 1927, many new and commodious residences were built and several modern brick buildings were erected, including the Citizen Bank Block, the Masonic Temple building, a grammar school building, and a courthouse. Shortly after its creation, the village of Folkston was incorporated as a town government and functioned as a town until 1911 when the area was incorporated as a city. For a number of years, Folkston was the self-proclaimed "Marriage Capital of the World"; Floridians who could not endure their state's waiting period before tying the knot would cross the state line to wed.
EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE