Norfolk Southern's Second Largest Yard: A First Look at Elkhart
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- Опубликовано: 26 апр 2023
- Hey Everyone,
This is from a trip I took to Elkhart, Indiana to check out the Norfolk Southern Yard there. It was an incredibly busy yard with plenty of action.
Unfortunately, for me, the retarders on the hump needed work shortly after I arrived.
So, this is more of a look around than my typical yard videos.
There are plenty of yard movements we'll follow.
Plus, we see a vehicle unloaded from an autorack.
I plan to make it back up here and follow along as cars are sorted over the hump.
I hope you enjoy. 
Авто/Мото
I live in Elkhart, right down the road from this yard. It’s easily one of busiest yards around. Constant motion. Constant trains. Such a wonderful place to be.
The fact that this yard has multiple three way switch tracks and a few turntables just shows the quality of this Pacilty
Unfortunately the turntables isn't used anymore. The whole turn house has gone downhill and mostly abandoned now. The turntable is still in the ground. Just not used. Would be really cool to use now. We just spin power using easy and west legs of the y that go right under the hump.
Thanks for the good information, Chad.
I guess it's just easy to use the wye instead of maintaining an operating turntable.
I'm a particular fan of this apparently creepy shed on the property lol. I used to work and go to school in this area and the railroad yard has always fascinated me.
My dad brought me here from southwestern Michigan in 1970-71 when it was still a Penn Central yard. Watching six-axle power on my beloved New York Central right of way was wonderful (except that they were ex-Pennsy pigtails, of course). This very well-done video ignites so many great memories - thank you!
Thank you very much. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it and it brought back some memories for you.
I can imagine that the New York Central had merged with the Norfolk and Western instead of its rival. It would be Norfolk Southern and New York Central if it happened. And the Pennsylvania Railroad would have merged with the Chessie system
@@svenmartin840 Makes you wonder what the liveries would look like today. NW was pretty drab, but maybe the lightning stripe would have made a comeback. PRR and Chessie is another matter. :-)
This is SOO interesting. Yard operations are endlessly fascinating to me. Well done! Thanks for this.
Thank you very much.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
We used to watch them hump cars in the Milwaukee Road yard from the viaduct back in the late 60's. Don't think that yard is even there anymore, but it was awesome entertainment for us kids!
I broke into there last week. I was told by my friend whose a conductor just don’t get in the way they won’t care. So I just drive around in it 😅 I live nearby great video!
Thank you.
Lol, maybe one day I'll spot you driving around in there 😂😂😂
Just wanted to say to nkyrailfan that the Nashville switch train yard was the best. I have passed by it hundreds of time but never realized just how busy it was. That was supposed me interesting video. Renewed my interest in railroading again. I have learned more in 8 years with theses videos than my whole life 60+ years trying to figure things out guessing. Thanks nky and others.
i live right along the main going south and to me it just seems like everyday life hearing hundreds of trains rumble past daily, but then realize that as a railfan pretty lucky to live along a main as busy as it is here. Great vid!
This is awesome to see the hump moving.😊
Glad to hear that you enjoyed it.
The yard is huge😮wow love the video.
Awesome video. Gray containers seen at 00:40 are used for hauling radioactive ‘dirty dirt’, between West Valley, NY and Clive, UT.
Glad to hear you enjoyed it. And thanks for the info on the containers. I never would have guessed.
Great video!
This is Huge! Had NO idea NS Yard in Bellevue, OH, is Larger but I have never seen that Yard before. 👍🙏
Elkhart Yard is 5 miles Long End to End
It is a massive yard. I hope to get the Bellevue video up Sunday, so you can compare them yourself.
@@GRE2057 r😮
It larger by a couple of tracks but they can’t hump or move more cars than Elkhart. The last CEO wasted a lot of money on upgrading Bellevue and it blew up in their face.
Super outstanding video
Thank you very much.
I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Once again, amazing video❤❤🤩🤩
I worked in rail yards switching cars for 45 years. You know the crews and where they are and what they are doing. Track gangs. Car repair. Air men . Crane crews. Clerks and track checkers. All working together. You know as the master of the yard what work needs done. And when trains move. If you listen. Really listen you know what they are doing. Everyone goes home safe. Do it all over tommorrow. Yardmaster trainmasters. Looking at you. 😮
This is so cool. Causes me to miss my child hood days. Seeing SeaBoard Coastline Jacksonville before CSX take over. Easily 40 tracks in& out. Not any more just 20 or so park lines.
Nice catch!!!!!!!!!
I worked as a conductor for 6 months here! Pretty much worked all of the yards jobs and pull backs. It took me weeks to memorize all the tracks!
This is so cool speeded up.
Very cool video. Fantastic Job of giving us all a view that we cant see from the ground.Always wondered how Elkhart really looked and now we see. Enjoyed watching and have a wonderful rest of your day.(Steve)
I'm hoping to make it back up there this summer and follow along for more cars being sorted over the hump.
This was a really fun yard to film.
I wish there was a better spot to see it from the ground.
@@nkyrailfan Good luck on going back. I agree with you on that being able to see more from the ground.
this is awesome!
Thanks, Kenny.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Awesome video! Really cool to see the Arial view of the yard i work in, always something moving around here
Thank you. I'm really glad to hear you enjoyed the video.
Incredible footage man!! Pretty big yard there!
Thank you. I was very impressed with how big this place was.
I'll be curious to see what you think when you see the NS Bellevue yard.
I'm hoping to get that out tomorrow morning.
really cool i work in elkhart yard and indeed its busy never seen it from an angle this hifgh before great work!
I'm really glad to hear you enjoyed it.
I hope to make it back up there this summer and catch a full day of the hump in action.
Wow, that was amazing. I have to hand it to the people working that hump. I'm really curious how they do it. You gotta have like mad skills how that works
Nice little hornby train set.
With this video in 2x speed, looks like what you would see on a HO train layout in real time, too funny
Nice work!
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
With family having worked in rail in the past, including myself, these videos are awesome to see. We certainly dont have the conplexity of interesting rail links here in Western Australia, so im certainly looking forward to being able to visit the great rail lands of the US eventhally.
Thanks for these awesome videos, both the imagery and the radio!
I'd love to get my drone up more for things like this but a lot of our stuff locally here is close to airport flight paths snd other industrial areas making that ability rather restrictive.
Greetings from the United States, Matteo.
I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed the videos.
I hope you're able to make it to the US and check out some of our railroad facilities.
That's a shame your local stuff is so close to the airport.
Before I got in at the railroad i used to work for a railroad crew transport company called PTI (Profesional Transportation Inc) and i have been to Elkhart yard many times from Chicago. They also share the yard with CPKC as well. Love the drone view. I enjoyed this video!! As i always tell railfans, continue to railfan safe and always glad to know people enjoy us working.
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the video and that you don't mind us watching you work.
What made you decide to make the move from PTI to the railroad?
@@nkyrailfan good question, i had actually applied for the railroad six years before i applied for PTI. The two railroads i applied for i have actually worked at them (currently at BNSF and formerly of UPRR). So after getting hired at PTI i at some point reapplied for UPRR and got hired in. BNSF was where i originally wanted to go so here i am.
Yup, i was a PTI guy too. I was a Garrett guy, but got up to Elkhrt often.
I remember you at Pti? You drove me back to Elkhart a few times. You had just hired on with the railroad your last trip with me. Congratulations on the job.
2:55 is when the hump action begins.
20:29 for the regular speed version.
My battery was drained and unfortunately I needed to bring my drone back and missed the final bit of the cars going over the hump.
I really love the drone action. There's no better way to capture classification work (which is one of my favorite things to watch).
I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Very cool job
Thank you very much, I do appreciate it.
that was fun ! a train fans delight, thanks !
Thank you, I'm very glad to hear you enjoyed it.
i live just down the road from this yard, on the west side of the yard, and as of this date i didnt know just how big it was until know, i do know alot of traffic comes thru here, BNSF, UP, NS, CP, CN, and the occsionial locals. at one point i actually seen the INRD run thru, unreal
The yard reminds me of that guy with the huge Conrail layout in Pennsylvania.
Yup, ive been there and back in the yards too as a employee for PTI.
That looks like a really busy yard. Really like the head on view of the hump in action. Not sure if they still use it but there was a big auto yard north of Cincinnati in The Tri-County area where we used to watch them unload auto racks. Just west of 747 on Crescentville. Excellent video as usual Christian. That new drone just keeps getting better.
Thanks, Terry.
I spotted the yard you were talking about near 747. The latest Google map image shows autoracks and the loader/unloader equipment.
So, it may still be in use.
I may try to swing by one day and get a better look at it.
It's still in use. I was there 2 weeks ago and they were unloading.
5:05 is when crews are working on the hump.
29:57 is the regular speed version.
My best friend lives in Elkhart Indiana
brings back memories. I worked out of there when it was NYC. Cond J P
Glad it brought back some memories for you.
I welcome you to come to Nashville Tennessee and to the Bruceton CSX yard in Bruceton TN
If I'm back in the Nashville area, I'll see if I can keep going to Bruceton to check out the yard.
Here is a video I put together from a previous trip to Nashville and CSC's Radnor Yard.
ruclips.net/video/pjt-gIlyCbE/видео.html
Amazing video really enjoyed! I work for Canadian Pacific in Canada are yard in Toronto is switched using remote locomotives. Pretty neat seeing hump yards !
Glad to hear you enjoyed it, Drew.
I think you'll really like my video I'm putting together from the NS yard in Bellevue, Ohio.
@@nkyrailfan awesome can't wait keep up the awesome videos !!!
Although 23 yrs (NECR) was enough for me, I do miss the radio chatter when working the yard switchers with several crews in the yard at once. Nice vid, Thankx for the audio & check out Selkirk, NY if you get the chance...
I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it.
I'm actually working on a plan to check out Selkirk in the fall.
Hopefully, everything comes together for the trip.
15:03 is when the vehicles are unloaded from the autorack.
1:10:19 for the regular speed version.
Very interesting to see how a yard works. It seams confusing at first.
I still find some of it confusing, but seeing it in action helps it to make sense.
Fascinating,simply fascinating, however to the crew there well I'm sure it's just another boring day at the yard. Lol
Glad you enjoyed it Lynne.
Great video. New subscriber!!!
Glad to hear you enjoyed the video!
Sounds like you’re lined up to have a great summer! If you make it out to Altoona give me a shout! I’m not too far away from there and know some spots along the PRR mainline to the east of horseshoe.
Thank you very much for the offer. I'm sure I'll need all the help I can get when I head that way.
If you haven't been to Selkirk you should make the trip sometime. You won't be disappointed.
I would love to. It looks like a great yard to check out.
You got the right nerve.....
I'm guessing there needs to be a crew that walks the new train and couples the hoses. Would like to see that. Thanks for your work.
You are correct.
A car man walks the cars and connects the air hoses.
I've been trying to catch it in action but haven't had any luck.
The radio chatter backround audio says as much about what's going on as the video. Kudos!
Glad to hear you enjoyed it.
I really enjoy listening to it when finished.
I never get a chance to pay attention to what's going on while I'm recording.
A great song from a simple search... Never Marry a Railroad Man. do it.
1:16:45 is this just a cover for the pin puller to work in the rain or are there sensors scanning the railcars for various things like RFID?
Seems like organized chaos....Wow!
I can't believe how many automobiles are driving on that road as railcars are coming down the hump
Those drivers must be pretty familiar with how fast the cars are moving because I thought the same thing.
I would love it if you could do the CSX yard in New Orleans, or the union pacific yard near Pine Bluff, AR
I would love to but that's a little beyond my driving distance.
If I'm ever in the area, I will do my best to get the yards.
If you go to conway and horshoe, harrisburg and enola are an idea too. You have rockville bridge in hbg
That's a good idea.
I need to plan a PA railfan trip soon.
It looks like the hump was shut down for maintenance. C&S replacing shoes on the main retarder. MofW working in the group retarders.
Hope you go to Bedford park and Bison yards
1:15:35 shows some of the locomotives in the yard
So what is the dwell time for different car types between arriving and leaving Elkhart?
What trains need the most work, ones coming off western connections, or breaking up westbounds for connecting moves?
I'm not too familiar with the operations at Elkhart, so hopefully someone with more knowledge will chime in.
I would assume it's less than 24 hours for each car.
They seem to be constantly busy. So, I'd imagine they get them in and out as fast as they can.
Hey nky you might not have it's one lil' rinky dink yard in Marysville but have you seen anything about their Honda ( my frequent) of the scots lawn yard?
I have not been up that way for railfanning, but I would certainly check it out one day.
Please go back to Elkhart..for round 2
I hope to get back there this summer.
anton jag älskar norfolk southern
WOW !!!
You should go to Cumberland yard in Maryland
That's on my list, Brendan.
I hope to make it there this summer.
Have a great day.
👍👍👍
8:20 4th Generation Camaro (1993-2002) spotted in parking lot!
Selkirk yard in New York. CSX. Do that yard the entrance over the Hudson River is amazing
I'm hoping to get there this summer. I've had several people tell me what a great facility it is.
Great video there's nothing anywhere near this size in th UK
Greetings from the United States.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video.
Is there a lot of freight railroad traffic in the UK or are trucks the main way to transport goods?
@@nkyrailfan mostly road Everything is on a lot smaller scale lol
While your freight may be on a much smaller scale, I hope you all are aware of how jealous most of us in the US are of your passenger rail system and public transit in general.
You should consider the Kansas City Kansas yard
I'd love to get there, but it's a bit far of a drive for me.
Hopefully, I'll make it there one day.
I work for NS in Debutts Yard in Chattanooga. Let me know when you visit. I will see if I can get you in the tower.
Thanks for the offer, Tim. I appreciate it. I'm not sure when I'll be able to make it down there, but I'll try and reach out beforehand and give you a heads up.
Hey Tim,
I should make it to the yard on Wednesday to get some video.
It looks like it's going to be a little tricky because of how close it is to the airport, but I think I should be able to cover most of the yard.
Quick question for you.
Do you know anyone who used to work at the yard and might be interested in talking about it?
I would ask you, but I am not sure how NS would feel.
I'm assuming that the fast speed shots are 2X...if so then all they'd have to do is slow they're playback down to .5X to get normal playback. I happen to like the fast stuff so when it slows to normal speed I just set my settings to 2X and I'm back to fast, LOL!
They range from 2-4X speed.
I also like enjoy the fast stuff.
is the Amtrak station located behind the hump hill or the other end of the yard?
It looks like the station is to the east of the yard.
Do they have radio controlled switchers?... i don't see anyone working to decide which track to be on.
Yes, I believe everything is remote controlled.
Any video from DeButts yard in Chattanooga soon?
I'm hoping to make it down there early next month, so I should have it out by the end of September.
A follow-up question for you, Jeff. You don't know anyone who retired from DeButts Yard do you?
I'd love to try and talk with someone about the operations as part of the video.
It might be a little far for you but Galesburg IL has a great hump yard (BNSF).
You're the second person to recommend Galesburg.
It is about 5 1/2 - 6 hours away from me.
I may try to get there over a long weekend this summer.
It looks like a very busy yard with a lot of great video opportunities.
Спасибо, мой привет из России, поезда в норфолке длинные и тоже интересная история, что появилась девчонки, которые которые готовы тратит много времени что бы приезжать на близлежайшию станцию за снимками
Привет из Соединенных Штатов. Да, поезда здесь довольно длинные. Надеюсь, вам понравилось видео.
Im not fond of NS but I do not have the availability of long freight trains like some. I have a short line NY and Atlantic that runs not far from my job
Guessing you're using a drone. Didn't venture into EKM's airspace, right? I remember flying over that rail yard when I was doing flight training near that airport. Just making sure the fed bois ain't worrying about ya
Luckily for me, there is a section of EKM's class D airspace carved out for the Mishawaka Pilots club that includes nearly all of the railyard.
I did have to wait for a pilot to finish practicing touch and go landings before flying.
@@nkyrailfan Glad to see someone follows the drone FARs! Feds have been cracking down pretty hard down here in NC around CLT, or around any larger airports really. Final approaches are usually the big thing for CLT.
Looks like you got one heck of a vantage point for this vid! That video quality is crystal clear as well! Very fun to watch the yard ops
@austinvitoux I've seen the FAA cracking down too.
I definitely don't want to receive a $10,000 fine for flying where I should not be.
I work at the Elkhart yard and work 2nd shift at the hump. Do you have to get permission from them to video the yard. Any questions from anyone let me know...
Hey Jim,
The FAA treats a drone just like an airplane. So, no permission is needed to fly over any property as long as it is not restricted airspace (near airports, military bases, etc).
I do have a question, is that building the cars go through just before the hump just for shelter or does it have any sensors or other things to scan or ID the cars as they're sorted?
@@nkyrailfan it is just for shelter. There is scanners that read the cars at both sides and at the west end of that building ( outside) that is a scale that reads the weight. At the middle of the west side of the hump right by tower is the master retarder that controls the exit speed of the cars. At the east end of the class yard there is a retarder for each group.
Thanks for the great information Jim.
I figured there must be plenty of sensors to keep track of each car.
Elkhart by class yards is second largest but car volume it’s the largest. Bellevue is a terrible designed hump yard and has many bottlenecks. Elkhart sees more cars per 24 hrs than Bellevue. I worked in this yard
Hey. In the first couple of minutes, you mentioned that you'd put timestamps for various things "in the comments". Looks like you forgot, or didn't pin the comment. I'd recommend putting that kind of thing in the video description, instead of the comments. Easier to find, there.
Do Conway
I'm hoping to make it out to Conway at some point in the next few weeks. I can't decide if I should just do it on its own or if I should make a Pennsylvania railroad trip.
Second biggest- am I correct in saying Enola is the biggest?
Norfolk Southern says Moorman Yard in Bellevue, Ohio is its largest (not busiest) yard.
I´m a newbie for modern rail operations. Can someone explain to me why there is so much foreign motive power running around this yard?
Railroads will often swap power as they need it.
If a train runs from one coast of the country to another, oftentimes the power will remain with the train.
@@nkyrailfan Thanks for the info!
Elkhart takes trains to and from every major class 1 railroad in chicago except CSX. When their power comes in they try and turn it back on a train going to that railroad
Is that little white pickup truck playing chicken?
😂😂😂 He must've been up to something.
"...West end of creepy shed..."
boa noite
Like 658👍👍👍👍👍
very nice video！🚃
SKIP THE PREAMBLE!!!!!!!
Robert Young yard
I will Never Understand Why some Railroads decide to Eliminate their Hump Yards. It looks like a Very Efficient Method of Sorting Cars and Building Trains. 👍
I've had several people comment that the humps are in constant need of maintenance to make sure the retarders are working correctly.
It does seem even with that maintenance cost, it would be more efficient to use the hump rather than flat-track switching.
The growth of container traffic and consolidation of class 1 railroads greatly reduced the need for classification.
Yeah if the heavy traffic isn’t there to support the humping operations the maintenance costs of a Hump aren’t necessarily justified.
That's a very good point. I think I just assumed that all yards are very busy. And not taking into account that some may not be as busy and therefore a hump wouldn't make sense.
@@nkyrailfan yeah traffic volumes and patterns can change making humps cost prohibitive. For Example Conway where I used to work (Probably NS’s 3rd largest Hump) used to have 2 humps and east bound and westbound. The westbound was removed (don’t know when) and that equipment went to Enola. Enola’s hump was idled when Bellevue came back into service.
Why does your video communication just keep looping
I condense down the audio so that there aren't long gaps without anything being said on the radio. I typically shoot for about an hour or two and there is not that much radio chatter. So for this video I just decided to keep adding the radio chatter so that people would have something to listen to.
@@nkyrailfan can you share frequencies?
There are multiple frequencies used in the yard, so I just let my radio scan while I was there.
Checking some websites, I see a few different ones listed for Elkhart.
161.070 is listed as yard operations
160.620 is listed as a road channel
I'm not sure if those are correct, but that's what radio reference says the frequencies are.
Hope this helps.
Any one aware 40% of our goods is moved by freight trains
1 hour in truck stop please.