[VIDEO] I've been wondering why there hasn't been much Amtrak traffic on the webcam at Ft. Madison, Iowa in recent days. There is a looming railroad strike coming. And most of Amtrak's long distance routes are over freight railways. For that matter this affects suburban commuters in Chicago because Metra also mostly runs over the freight railways....
Another mess, I could see this affecting the supply chain.
OH, I forgot to add. Considering the state of our political leadership, I'm not very sure they're able to solve the issues of railroad labor.
[VIDEO] Well how about something different this morning. This video uploaded today by Amtrak talks about the many liveries and it's current evolution even now. Amtrak will have a new livery in the future and I've seen in some Virtual Railfan grab bags, there is a livery that celebrates Amtrak's 50th anniversary.
Oh yeah that's right Amtrak is now 50 years old. It wasn't that long ago when Amtrak was 40 years old....
Here's hoping our new President who as a U.S. Senator was known for taking Amtrak back and forth from his home to Washington, D.C. will give America's passenger railroad some TLC. It seems he's not giving much to the rest of the nation.
[VIDEO] Well here's a rather unorthodox send off as we close out this holiday, we get to see a grab bag from Virtual Railfan. It starts off what what I believe is a rocket launch near one of their webcams in Plant City, Florida. Of course that among other clips from their various webcams over the past two days with a duration of over 35 mins.
It's great to have a bit of a break from the crazy world of politics. It's great to get away from the news regarding this ongoing pandemic.
I hope you're counting your blessings this holiday season.
[VIDEO] On my other blog, the "Beta" I occasionally make reference to railcams from Virtual Railfan although this blog maintains the Railcam page established over two years ago. On one of those posts which isn't a live railcam but more of a grabbag from Ft. Madison, Iowa I made note of service changes on Amtrak where all trains will now be tri-weekly instead of daily.
For example the train you might see on the Railcam page that stops in LaPlata, MO; Flagstaff, AZ; & Barstow, CA is the Amtrak Southwest Chief as of October 12, 2020 that train is now tri-weekly instead of daily. You can read that page and if you want to check schedules for individual trains you will be redirected to this page instead.
According to the railfan YouTube channel Central Michigan Lines some Amtrak employees who would be working the many daily routes have been furloughed. Some Amtrak routes had experienced a 95% ridership drop due to this global pandemic. It's safe to say no one is traveling right now because of the coronavirus.
CML a week ago documented the last day of daily service trains coming into Chicago before the service changes. I do hope Amtrak does eventually return to daily service especially on the Southwest Chief. Right now the news will hype up the fact that coronavirus cases are going up, though thankfully we haven't seen a high number of deaths from this thing. I would like to say we're in a better position in this pandemic than we were at the start, however, let's see what happens once the weather cools off.
I hope you enjoy this change of pace on the blog for the evening. :)
[VIDEO] Well sometimes things happen in spurts, but at times I share small accomplishments. It's been seen at there that you get more attention upon posting 100 videos on YouTube. Well on my new channel that milestone hasn't been reached yet though on the channel I've had since roughly the beginning there are literally 100 videos and more including the above one.
So basically it's me on the train to Memphis, Tennessee leaving Chicago back in December 2014. This was the trip I wrote about at that time my first real trip out of town in a few years. A lot of the recent old videos I had posted to my other channel so far were recording years ago on a MiniDV camcorder. This time around I used the then new iPhone 6 at the time.
[VIDEO] Still uploading video from many years ago taking the Southwest Chief. Today I just want to show this video of my train in 2005 going through the desert between Colorado and New Mexico (or it could be New Mexico) I just don't remember.
This video which I uploaded by lbj79us on YouTube probably had an echo from many years ago as part of this long ago footage was used on my first YouTube video. It was an attempt at a "Lumiere" style vid which seemed popular amongst videobloggers during the mid-2000. And certainly around the time when YouTube was becoming established. Here it is below. [VIDEO]
I hope you'll consider subscribing and watching. Constructive feedback is needed. I'm only getting started and as in all things in life the best thing to do is to just get started. That's what I'm attempting to do with this new journey. Just get started and hopefully the progression leads to something gaining traction.
[VIDEO] I want to take my mind off of this pandemic. The posting as of late on this blog almost always involved any news on the pandemic. Indeed anything that lets me know that we're closer to the down curve with regards to coronavirus infections.
I started yet another YouTube channel which I've branded to my old Yahoo! GeoCities username which was lbj79us. Right now I plan to post old video shot by myself over the years that has never before uploaded. My original YouTube channel that I have shared with you in the past, I don't have much plans for it beyond posting more current videos.
What develops beyond that who knows, however, as I've often said the point is to just get started if one wants to gain traction especially with YouTube. Feel free to subscribe and even have a box for that purpose in the sidebar.
This could be one of those "My Mind's Eye" episodes that I had been talking about doing lately. My videography wasn't very good in July 2005 when I shot this video on board Amtrak's Southwest Chief. I was sitting in the observation lounge going through the Arizona desert - probably on the way to Flagstaff, Arizona. I knew to keep any eye on the sky because there were lightning strikes, and made sure to record a few near the end of this almost ten minute video, if you want fast forward to about 8:30 in this video.
[VIDEO] This new "railcam" began streaming on September 18, 2019 so basically just yesterday. Thankfully this is sponsored and thus for the forseeable future this site will continue to be streamed onto YouTube hopefully.
What's exciting for me about this site is that you will see Amtrak trains here. Of course on most railcams operated by Virtual Railfan you will see a number of trains passing along which will include commuter, passenger, and freight trains.
So going through the Santa Fe Junction located in an area of Kansas City, Missouri (KCMO) known as West Bottom. If you click the link in the brackets to view the video you will see the number of rail lines that pass through at any given time. Kansas City Union Station which is a stop for Amtrak's Southwest Chief (with a decent layover according to the schedule) is said to be directly east of this junction. It's expected to see the Chief coming to and from Chicago and the Missouri River Runner between KCMO & St. Louis, Missouri passing through.
If this railcam has staying power it's probably very likely to be included on my Railcam page although what's shown in the vid itself isn't a regular station stop. We're just seeing all trains pass through.
[VIDEO] Virtual Railfan now has a live video camera in Texarkana, Arkansas (there is also a Texarkana, Texas btw). Texarkana is a stop on Amtrak's Texas Eagle which is one of those city's I have passed through on my way to Dallas, Texas over the years. It's probably time I pass through again.
Also just as an added bonus one of my favorite YouTube channels - YouTuuba - showed his years ago journey on the Texas Eagle which not only terminates in San Antonio, Texas it goes even further attached to the Sunset Limited and takes you to Los Angeles. He shows the full journey from Chicago to Los Angeles. [VIDEO]
[VIDEO] If I believe the YouTube page this live cam became active April 25, 2019. You can also access this cam on my railcam page when you see the below image once you press play.
This had been alluded to in earlier videos on Virtual Railfan's YouTube channel where they had planned to place a 360 live video camera on a former railroad embankment east of the LaPlata, Missouri Amtrak station. Having seen the train come and go with the cams at the train station seeing the train from this embankment is a very interesting perspective. It's one I hope you would want to check out also.
[VIDEO] I've posted this live feed from Virtual Railfan over the past year on this blog, and this time it will be something of a permanent presence. The live video camera in San Juan Capistrano, California is being sponsored to remain on YouTube until April 1, 2020. I first saw a IG post announcing this however below I will post a tweet to this effect.
Because of the generosity of a cam fan, San Juan Capistrano, California, will remain on YouTube until April 1, 2020! We can’t thank you enough, Anonymous Sponsor. Check out the cam on YouTube here: https://t.co/zIqkSBmodcpic.twitter.com/nCqqoeDE2w
How I could term this? Well for those of us who may not be so ready to go to California like right this minute and check out the scenes from this Golden State train station without having to go there. I know there's a railcam page here, however, this has always been my favorite live feed. You get to see both the local commuter and Amtrak trains pass by.
[VIDEO] I've really enjoyed Jim Zimmerlin's videos of his model train collection. It's probably how I discovered his YouTube channel two years ago. I wouldn't be able to make an offer on his G-Scale model trains especially the Amtrak train he has.
Today he's combined videos of model train with German Shepherd puppies. Animal videos seem to gain traction on YouTube. We love seeing pets and their owners interact. We could be talking about dogs or cats or adult or puppies and it seems there's an audience for it.
For Zimmerlin, his vids on his cruises and his model trains got the traction for his channel. However, time will tell if this video combing puppies and a model train will itself go viral.
[VIDEO] Been hearing a lot about this high-speed train in California. The Sunshine State is full of financial and other issues and as well intended as this high-speed rail project is, it's just not necessary. It makes sense if according to this video it connected not only major cities within the state, but certainly connected people to job centers. Instead it would've been a monument to a governor who was looking to have a physical legacy.
And the interesting thing is, it took another Democrat to say lets rethink this. Do we really need this right now? Especially with all of our fiscal issues? Good going Gov. Gavin Newsome.
Jole Kotkin states that the real battle in the Democratic Party is between reality & fantasy. Question is where are the realists? The ones getting the attention currently is someone like an AOC who's the current darling of the left. Perhaps this train is a sign of this fantasy.
I had no idea railroads have their own answers to any potential hazards of extreme winter weather on the rails. I never knew that here in Chicago Metra our commuter rail system could literally set the rails on fire at certain points.
Just as easily as it's best to de-ice an aircraft so that it could perform properly in cold winter weather rails especially needs to be "de-iced" to be able to perform properly in the winter time.
If you see fire along Metra tracks during the winter, don't panic. The Chicago area’s commuter rail service is fighting the cold with fire to keep switches working, and help with track repairs.
Winter weather can cause snow and ice to clog switches, which control which rail trains run on. Clogged switches can bring trains to a halt until the blockage is cleared.
To combat the problem, Metra uses a gas-fed system that runs adjacent to the rail, generating heat in areas where switches are supposed to make contact. This system is used in normal winter weather, not just extreme cold , explained spokesman Michael Gillis. The system is turned on when the temperature is between 40 and 32 and stays on when it’s below 32.
Extreme cold weather can cause steel to contract, causing breaks, said
Metra spokeswoman Meg Thomas-Reile. While Metra uses continuously welded
rail on most of the system, there are some locations near switches and
some crossings where the rail is bolted together. Those areas are the
most vulnerable to separating in frigid temperatures, although breaks
can happen anywhere along the line.
Here's a graphic with regards to how Metra fights ice on their rails from Chicago Tribune Graphics
If you see fire along Metra tracks today, then don't panic.
I'm glad that for now we're out of the woods as far as the polar vortex and just remember next month will represent the start of spring. Warmer weather will be around the corner before we know it!
BTW, for an encore here's a video courtesy of Virtual Railfan showing something like what you see from the BBC. This time however in Deshler, Ohio [VIDEO]
[VIDEO] You will once again be able to see both Amtrak and commuter trains from San Juan Capistrano, California for at least the next week. It was a demo live cam sometime last year and wrote about it back then. It's cool to see train come through at a nice train station and under that wonderful California sun especially during the day.
Enjoy it while it lasts or do what I should've done purchase a subscription to Virtual Railfan. Who says that their YouTube channel offers the only action as far as live webcam trains running through?
BTW, feel free to enjoy my railcam page which now includes a webcam at the Amtrak station in Barstow, California. All of the webcams represents different legs of the journey between Chicago and Los Angeles on Amtrak's Southwest Chief train.
[VIDEO] Jim Zimmerlin's latest video talking about his new track cleaning locomotive for his G-scale tracks. And he notes the nice letter from the owners of TrainWorld.com and of course the fact that he uses that site to get most of his G-scale products. Now I know where to go for more model trains, and without having to wait for Menard's to have any on sale in their stores during the holiday season. 😛
[VIDEO] I had to share this video of a model train running over simulated jointed rails. It's a cool effect and just shows how I'm still learning about different aspects of railroading.
I didn't realize that during the course of the past decade, I've been through an area that still has jointed rails. That among other antiquated aspects of railroad technology. Like I said I'm still learning and as you see in the above video you might see some aspects of this along the Raton/Glorieta pass which is the route of Amtrak's Southwest Chief. [VIDEO]
I just feel the need to share the more common video of an Amtrak train doing through New Mexico on jointed rail and this time from the inside. [VIDEO]
Finally, here's a video about jointed rails vs. welded rails. As I figured would be the difference a quieter and smoother ride. I would imagine welded rails are what CTA uses for the L especially when there are opportunities to rehab the infrastructure. [VIDEO]
[VIDEO] This is pretty cool. A custom made locomotive dedicated to a former POTUS. And while he only took one ride on it, he will ride on it again.
Union Pacific locomotive 4141 will carry the body of former Prez. George Herbert Walker Bush to his final resting place at his presidential library at Texas A & M University. And the livery makes it attractive as it mimics Air Force One and he took that bad boy for a spin one-time! Cool!
I wish I could have a locomotive when I become famous. :P
[VIDEO] Having been wrestling obsessed over the weekend, I just wanted to share this vid from Virtual Railfan. Two Amtrak Southwest Chief trains back-to-back in LaPlata, Missouri train #4 was very late coming from Los Angeles, it would normally get into LaPlata in the morning. I'm curious what happened although I see it was pulled into the station by a BNSF freight locomotive.
That happened 20 minutes after train #3 pulls out of the LaPlata station near it's regular time. Sometimes (perhaps often) the train is late pulling into LaPlata especially when I'm able to see train #3 at night. I rarely get to see Train #4 it seems I'm more of a night owl when I watch the Virtual Railfan cams on YouTube.
[VIDEO] To break up the posts about "sports entertainment" especially with the sad announcement that Roman Reigns had to give up his WWE Universal Title on Monday so that he can take some time off to treat his leukemia, time to share a Virtual Railfan video.
VR has a number of vids featured "hooligan" who's real name is John Misur who has been seen in not only on two occasions in La Plata, Missouri - a live feed you can actually watch on the railcam page. He also has been seen in Barstow & San Juan Capistrano, California.
Often he doesn't seem to have a crowd with him, however, on this recent vid you see above he had a nice crowd with him. His shtick when is the next train, push ups, and then stand behind the yellow line. And let's not forget if you can hear him speak he holds up legible signs for you to read as he puts on his show for those "virtual railfanners". :)
