From the fall of 1996 through May of 1998, I lived in Bowling Green, Ohio, and attended Bowling Green State University. The Conrail mainline (now CSX) runs pretty much down the middle of town.

      In August 1996, President Clinton's campaign train stopped in Bowling Green, Ohio, and I was there to see it since I had just started attending classes at Bowling Green State University. Before the campaign train arrived, the pilot train first came through. The campaign train then arrived, being led by three Amtrak Genesis diesels pulling a string of new Superliner II's and the President's car on the back. President Clinton talked to the crowd of about 10,000 people for about an hour before waving to the crowd and departing.

The pilot train comes through to check the track before the POTUS (President of the United States) train comes through.		Security was tight with the area blocked off, snipers on rooftops and parked semi trailers, police all over, and even a helecopter circling town.
The POTUS train arrives.
The President's car passed as the train slowed to a stop. His car was stopped at the East Wooster Street crossing where President Clinton talked to the large crowd gathered for his arrival.

      Conveniently, both apartments that I lived in while at BGSU were near the tracks. The first apartment that I was in from 1996 to the last summer of 1997 was across North Enterprise Street at East Merry Avenue about a half block from the tracks. There was an empty lot between the street and tracks, giving me a clear view.

      In the summer of 1997, I went out railfanning a few times when I wasn't watching trains from the comfort of home. My favorite spot was north of town at the Mercer Road crossing where there was a nice wide spot to park my car well off the road.

      On one trip, I didn't see anything and decided to head home. However, as I pulled up to the crossing on East Poe Road at the north end of town, I realized that I'd left too soon. I ended up waiting for a northbound coal train.

      On other trips, I had better luck, catching Union Pacific units leading a southbound freight and a southbound freight with two UP units.

A northbound coal train approaches the East Poe Road crossing.	Two southbound freights approach the Mercer Road crossing north of Bowling Green.

      In the fall of 1997, I moved into my second apartment. The apartment complex where my second apartment was located was right next to the tracks at the intersection of Manville and Lehman Avenues. Trains were always blowing their horns as they came through town, and with the Lehman Avenue crossing being right there at the complex, the horns would be blowing right past my place. My neighbors always complained about the noise. I didn't.

      Railfanning out the front door was a blast. A friend of mine laughed every time I'd run outside just because a train was coming through.

	In the fall of 1997, a Sperry rail inspection car came through town, scanning the rails for any flaws.
Various trains that ran past my place during the spring of 1998.

Kevin L. Wagner

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