The Trains of Elkhart, Indiana; Railfanning at the Heart of the Norfolk Southern Chicago Line.

Hello everyone, and welcome to another video from the iconic railroad town of Elkhart, Indiana! Today's video features action from my second day of my railfanning on my weekend railfanning trip to Elkhart; Saturday, March 2nd, 2024. This was my first-ever full day of railfanning in Elkhart and what a legendary day it was, as it featured heritage units, special locomotives, and lots of action!
Located in Northern Indiana just east of South Bend, Elkhart has been an important town in the railroad industry since the 1880s. For every railroad the town has seen, from the New York Central to Conrail and now Norfolk Southern, Elkhart has been invaluable. Elkhart is home of the second-largest hump yard on the Norfolk Southern Railway and is perhaps the busiest as it serves as an interchange between Norfolk Southern and the railroads it connects to in Greater Chicago on the iconic Chicago Line. Thanks to the presence of the hump yard, Elkhart sees numbers of manifest trains as well as dozens of intermodal trains and unit trains on their way to Greater Chicago. Average train counts on the NS Chicago Line range from 60 to 75 trains per day, making Elkhart one of the busiest railfanning locations in the United States.
The day started off with one of the busiest morning sessions of railfanning that I have ever seen in any given location. The first three hours at the Elkhart Amtrak Station featured 12 trains, and what a great variety of trains it was. Notable catches from the morning rush included the two westbound Amtrak trains (the Capitol Limited and the Lake Shore Limited), a Wells Fargo (WFRX) SD70MAC, BNSF and Canadian Pacific foreign power, and a few Dash 9s.
Around 10 a.m., the great catch of the day came with the Conrail Heritage Unit (NS 8098) leading westbound intermodal 265. Though I have seen Conrail 8098 a handful of times, this was my first time in five years catching it leading a train, and even better, leading a train on home rails. As many of you may know, Elkhart was a main hub for Conrail before NS, and is as busy now as it was then. Interestingly enough, the following train featured a Kansas City Southern locomotive, making that two great catches on back-to-back trains. Shortly after that, I headed over to the other side of the tracks at the National New York Central Museum, dedicated to the railroad that served Elkhart so well. If you have not visited the NYC Museum, it is worth the visit as it features one of just a handful of surviving New York Central Locomotives; 4-8-2 Mohawk 3001.
The action continued on at a steady pace heading into the late morning and early afternoon. The first good catch of the afternoon featured a newly-painted Union Pacific SD70ACe leading an eastbound manifest. Another great catch (or catches, since it was three locomotives), was the lashup on an eastbound intermodal train featuring the second WRFX SD70MAC and a pair of Norfolk Southern "Eco-Green" locomotives. These "Eco-Green" locomotives work the handful of NS intermodal yards around Chicago, and these two units were most likely on their way to the Juniata Locomotive Shops in Altoona, Pennsylvania. A rather good catch especially since they do not run trains outside the intermodal yards. I spent much of the afternoon railfanning at a couple vantage points of the museum; mainly from the railfan platform and the Conrail Caboose on display at the museum. Much of the afternoon action featured a plethora of foreign power, especially BNSF power with Union Pacific, Canadian National, and a second Kansas City Southern Unit sprinkled in. As one can tell, the vast amount of foreign power is one of the most unique features of Elkhart.
I moved back to the Amtrak Station around 4, and although action was a bit slower than earlier, one of the trains (manifest 19K from Decatur) featured some amazing falling flag rolling stock. 19K featured a rare black Norfolk and Western double-door boxcar and a couple of Conrail boxcars. Seeing an N&W boxcar put a big smile on my face, considering the railroad has been gone for 40 years and yet its rolling stock rolls on strong. To end this great day of railfanning, I caught the Lehigh Valley heritage unit (NS 8104) on eastbound manifest 30Q from Chicago. Like NS 8098, I have seen NS 8104 a handful of times (including earlier this year), but it is amazing to catch two Norfolk Southern heritage units in the same day. There is no better way to end a day than with a heritage unit.
The final train count on the day was 33 trains in a span of 10.5 hours. Two heritage units, two WRFX SD70MACs, two KCS units, two Eco-Green units, and plenty of foreign power. To say this was one of my best days of railfanning is an understatement, and will be one of the greatest days of seeing trains for months to come. This action on display is the glory of Elkhart, and I hope you in the audience can visit this location and the NYC Museum someday.
Thanks for watching, and enjoy the video!
-N&W475.