New cam at Flagstaff, Arizona

 When did Virtual Railfans installed a new camera at Flagstaff? They used to have only a static webcam pointed eastbound now they have a Point Tilt Zoom cam for the east. When you see a train arrive well, now you can see it arrive and you no longer have to wait until the train is in view of camera. Check it out below!

[VIDEO] I'll miss the static east cam, however, this is a bit of an upgrade I'm liking the new perspectives. Of course there is still a static west cam so that way you can still see trains arrive at the Flagstaff stop. However, the train when it departs will slowly but surely roll out of full view.

Flagstaff, Arizona was where me and my party departed from Arizona after a day at the Grand Canyon. It's a nice town and it was interesting to set foot there. I'm going all the way back to July 2016 of course! Hmmm I shot some video of that day! [VIDEO]

And I've updated the railcam page.

Railcam is back!

 I've put it on the "Beta" blog this time and this is especially special since Amtrak trains are now running on seven days a week schedule. So on these cams which are along the route of the Southwest Chief the schedule is now seven days. I think that changed since earlier this year due to a surge in coronavirus cases although we're largely back to normal now most states and cities have no mask or vaccine mandates.

However, we're currently hearing about surges in cases.

Virtual Railfan: Tucson, Arizona

 There's a new webcam from Virtual Railfan which you can enjoy on YouTube from Tucson, Arizona. Here you will see Amtrak's Sunset Limited stop on there east-west runs. Here's an introduction [VIDEO]

And here's the webcam itself a PTZ (point, tilt, & zoom - heh I learned through the above video what that meant for the first time). It's cool to see what goes on in this part of the state of Arizona since Tucson is further south. [VIDEO]

This is a one-month demo so if nothing else if you go to Virtual Railfan's website you will be able to view the live action there. Though even if Tucson doesn't stay on YouTube on a permanent basis it might be up as cam of the week every now and then.

Here's the Amtrak Sunset Limited schedule and another interesting note that also attached to this train is a section of the Texas Eagle. Texas Eagle has a section that would continue from Chicago through San Antonio, Texas and west into Los Angeles, California. That section would be attached to the Sunset Limited in San Antonio and send those passengers on their way west.

I believe I shared that example on here once of such a trip.

Virtual Railfan: Ft. Madison, Iowa

 

[VIDEO] If you haven't checked out the webcam from Ft. Madison just across the state line from Illinois via Virtual Railfan you should check them out. 

I've only passed through this town a handful of times going to Los Angeles via Amtrak which passes through daily with service on the Southwest Chief. You will see this train regularly as it heads towards it's Amtrak depot past what looks like an old Army fort, a decommissioned Santa Fe steam locomotive, and an old railroad depot trains would pass by.

Also you can't beat the scene of the Mississippi River streaming by. You might occasionally see the bridge part to accommodate river traffic from time to time.

BTW, I do have to note that due to this coronavirus pandemic the schedule for the Southwest Chief will change from daily to three days weekly. It's expected to happen on October 12, 2020 and some trains are already affected starting this month. As far as the Chief train #3 will depart from Chicago Monday, Thursday, and Saturday & train #4 will depart from Los Angeles Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.

I typically watch the railcams for Amtrak trains especially cams where you will see the Southwest Chief. I've commemorated my two trips on that train via my Railcam page on my main blog. However, you can continue to watch any rail traffic through Ft. Madison, IA as I shared this stream on this blog over the summer when it was first available on YouTube

Ft. Madison, IA railroad webcam from Virtual Railfan

[VIDEO] I'm glad to see this Virtual Railfan webcam in Fort Madison, Iowa is up. Ft. Madison is yet another stop on Amtrak's Southwest Chief train and although its not located at the local Amtrak depot you will see the train roll by according to its schedule (though also when its delayed as that happens with Amtrak trains relatively often). I hope you enjoy the views of the Mississippi River as the Chief crosses the Mississippi into Iowa. 👍

I forgot to add this in the previous post about a train webcam in Galesburg, Illinois which you can always use Amtrak train tracker to check when trains are come. The tracker is often very accurate.

EDITED Oct. 6, 2020 

EDITED July 26, 2024 - to change the link and embed to the webcam for Ft. Madison via Virtual Railfan.

Galesburg, IL webcam Virtual Railfan

[VIDEO] I shared this on another one of my blogs Shedd School. A live webcam of railroad traffic going through the western Illinois city of Galesburg. It's one of the stops of Amtrak's Southwest Chief on it's way to and from Los Angeles, California.

The Chief is a trip I rarely take as I've only taken the train twice so far. However, I do have many memories of my trips back and forth from out west to the point that many of my latest YouTube uploads had been of my train trips to California or out west in general.

This webcam is only a demo so it's only on YouTube via Virtual Railfan for a limited time only. Perhaps someone out there would like to sponsor this webcam at some point in the future.

Virtual Railfan Santa Fe junction

[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.

EDITED Sept 4, 2019 March 21, 2025 changed embed and link to livestream.

Passing through Ashland, Virginia #olloclip

[VIDEO] On July 17, 2019 I rode Amtrak's Silver Star through Ashland, Virginia which surprisingly is one of the sites of many Virtual Railfan webcams around the country. I expect this won't be the last time this happens. It was cook to see some of the landmarks especially the storefronts that I've only seen only if I tune into one of these cams.

I tried to see if I can find my train on the site, but I had failed to find the time frame where the train passed through. Bummer, but as I stated this probably won't be the last time. Who knows I might be going to the west coast again in the future. You can check out the three cams that I do show on this blog of three stops on the way...

Here's the live webcam from Ashland, VA. On VR's YouTube channel they do show some interesting things such as bears or even cars running onto the tracks for example. Of course you will see special trains or what not also.

Ashland, VA Virtual Railfan cam [VIDEO]

Virtual Railfan cam of the week San Juan Capistrano, California

[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.