If you are a fan of the Norfolk Southern Railroad, then Bellevue is a railfan hot spot you don’t want to miss.  Located just 50 miles from Toledo and 60 miles from Cleveland, Bellevue is the home of a large Norfolk Southern classification yard.   Bellevue is also the junction of NS Lake Division's Cleveland, Fort Wayne, and Toledo Districts and the Sandusky and Columbus Districts. The Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad also runs trains onto NS tracks in Bellevue via trackage rights agreements. Also located in Bellevue is the Mad River & NKP Museum, with it’s collection of locomotives, rolling stock, and other historical pieces of railroad memorabilia. One of the better railfan spots in Bellevue is the area around the now unmanned Bellevue Tower.  Here you have good views of the Toledo and the Mad River connections as well as the main line to and from the Bellevue Yard.  Trains using these connections travel to and from Toledo.  In addition, the Wheeling & Lake Erie’s Lake Shore connection and their Brewster connection are close by. Click thumbnail to enlarge A short distance west of town on the track to Toledo is Klines Yard.  There are often trains stopped in this fairly small yard waiting for clearance into the Bellevue Yard.  There are a couple of public road grade crossings that intersect Klines Yard making it possible to see what rail traffic is there. A bit south of the Bellevue Tower area is the spot where the New Haven connection joins the main line.  Trains to and from Fostoria use these tracks.  There are a couple decent vantage points around here where parking is not a problem. Unfortunately railfanning the Bellevue Classification Yard is difficult.  There are no public roads that pass close to the yard itself.  The best view of the yard is from the Route 4 bridge.  From here the hump tracks and the engine shop are visible. WARNING!  Parking or walking on the bridge can be dangerous.  There are no sidewalks and only a couple of spots near each end of the bridge where you can pull your vehicle off to the side of the road. If you choose to stop on or near the bridge be extremely careful.  Confine your stop to only a couple minutes, perhaps just long enough to grab a quick photo and move on.  It is also rumored the the Highway Patrol takes a dim view of railfanning from this bridge, so use good judgement.. A scanner is almost a necessity in Bellevue.  It helps to have advanced warning of train movements.  Frequencies are .  .  . 160.440 -- Bellevue Terminal Dispatcher, Ranger Tower, Route 4, Yard Channel 161.250 -- Dispatchers for the Fostoria, Toledo, and Cleveland Districts 161.190 -- Sandusky and Columbus District Dispatchers W&LE uses Norfolk Southern' frequencies while in Bellevue. BELLEVUE Google Maps of the Bellevue Area Map 1     Map 2