Exploring Norfolk Southern's Elkhart Yard: How NS Keeps Trains Moving

[@thebabbler8867]

As a resident of Michiana myself; I can assuredly say, this train port is an industrial treasure to the region. It's an "all you can see" train watchers' buffet. The craziest part is: you wouldn't even know it was there! Its so well hidden.

[@nkyrailfan]

That's very true. If you're not looking for it, you'd likely not know it's there.

[@schinbone0]

The rod you were talking about is called a brake stick. It is used so guys dont have mount and dismount equipment to apply handbrakes. I ran hump engines a lot when I first got set up in Bellevue, it was nice if you were tired. Set it and forget it, until it beeps at you.

[@nkyrailfan]

Thanks for the great info! I do appreciate it.

[@LiamGardner-u9k]

40 years of living 25 miles north of that yard and NEVER knew it was there always thought the nearest one to me was in Nebraska..

[@josephpichardo958]

@15:00 You sir are correct, that rod is called a brake stick and it's purpose is to say what you said in the video. Makes our lives that much easier down there!

[@bigmikex2333]

RIP Sarge. Steve Owen One of the best people I ever met in my 30 yrs in retail.

[@moosescorner]

LIve in elkhart and still love seeing videos of the yard in action

[@Rexcation]

I drive past this yard every day to get to work on CR 33 there, and i had NO idea it was a hump yard, let alone how large it is! Awesome video!

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the video.

[@Archie2100]

My grandpa would bring me out here as a kid to watch them send trains over the hump, used to pull right into the yard and park just south of the hump and watch for hours.

[@Hogger1225]

The westbound train stopping on the main then starting again was probably a crew change. There are about 3 spots that they change crews at on the main at Elkhart which is easy to do account the major road that runs alongside the north edge of the yard. I worked in and out of Elkhart Yard from 1970 until the CR became part of NS.

[@nkyrailfan]

Thanks for the info. I do appreciate it.

[@tz1117]

I worked for Conrail in Michigan during the 70's 80's and a little bit of the 90's, I took trains in and out of there many times. In the mid 1980's I worked in this yard. I left Conrail in the early 90's on a buyout. I ended up working for the Grand Trunk (CN) railroad. A few years before I retired the GT/CN started delivering trains from Chicago to Elkhart. It was interesting for me to return to Elkhart Yard almost 30 years later. I had often told the GT/CN people they should visit the yard if they wanted to learn something about running a yard. I retired at the end of 2019.

[@nkyrailfan]

I bet you saw quite a lot and had some incredible experiences. Thanks for sharing.

[@mechapman1080]

I grew up not far from there and the OC Drag strip. (And the Starlite Theater where Walmart is now) Every Sunday we would hear the races. But most of all I loved hearing the trains. One thing we could hear, even from a couple of miles away, were the train cars being connected. You learn the sounds over the years.

[@mechapman1080]

I wonder how well this place will work when they change it all over to electric trains?

[@markhayes6407]

It was a cool video. I love watching hump action especially in this yard.

[@nkyrailfan]

Thanks, Mark. I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

[@StormySkyRailProductions]

Wow, so cool! What a view! (Dave).

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you, Dave. I'm glad you enjoyed it. This yard is very impressive.

[@TwistedMacGyversTrains]

That was really awesome! 👍

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[@jefhow22]

This is awesome...❤

[@bigmikex2333]

The Niles Michigan Michigan Central yard was shuffled to Elkhart after the buyout of the Michigan Central by the New York Central. There was a lot of turmoil with that change. Actually NYC bought out the MC, ran it for some years and then it was moved to Elkhart.

[@nkyrailfan]

Thanks for the info. In talking to other railfans, they tell me traffic in Michigan has dramatically decreased over the years to just a sliver of what it once was.

[@Mark16PewPew]

Great video! I lived near here most of my life and never saw the full yard. There are always trains on tracks nearest US 33 (North side of yard) obstructing view to the south. Thank you.

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the video.

[@bnsfman17]

This is very interesting! I live on the eastern side of Elkhart and drive by the yard all the time. Grown up hearing the hump going and it is just music to my ears.

[@nkyrailfan]

@nancysmith8021 I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

[@ryanfrogz]

While not the largest yard on NS’s system, Elkhart is by far the busiest, humping just about 1,900 cars daily. DeButts in Chattanooga scores second, with an average of 1,676 cars daily.

[@nkyrailfan]

Thanks for the great info. I do appreciate it.

[@raffrafferty9400]

Just came across your channel. Never thought this stuff could be so interesting.

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoy the content.

[@charleswoods9938]

This is a great video on NS s Elkhart Yard hey you know what of all NS Rail Yards I have seen this Yard in my vote is the Best on the whole NS system

[@nkyrailfan]

It's definitely one of my favorites. I'm hoping to get to Conway yard outside of Pittsburgh at some point this year. I've heard that's quite impressive too.

[@James-v6k]

I road trains for years out of this yard also been caught there but like rail fanning at the a.trak station

[@davestrains6816]

Great video and thanks for sharing. Dave

[@nkyrailfan]

Thanks, Dave. I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it.

[@paulsturtz7638]

Thanks, another great video!

[@nkyrailfan]

Thanks, Paul. I do appreciate it.

[@BossSpringsteen69]

Train at 4:26 will be a few container loads lighter by the time it gets to it's final interchange destination. Happens most of the time.

[@johnathanlewis2049]

Hi NKY Railfan! Great video!

[@nkyrailfan]

Hey Johnathan! I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

[@mikelinley8703]

Im a maintainer here in the elkhart yard. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'll do my best to answer.

[@ryanfrogz]

Next time you’re in the area, check out the recycling business just west of the Amtrak station. They use some of the original LS&MS shop buildings from the late 1800s. The concrete foundations of the NYC roundhouses are also still around, buried in the woods west of the NYC museum.

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you. I'll definitely check it out the next time I'm in the area.

[@davesagan1245]

Great vid!

[@nkyrailfan]

Thank you.

[@antonlewenhaupt357]

anton jag älskar Norfolk southern och elkhart

[@ericthered1140]

🔥🔥🔥

[@bigmikex2333]

They could have been fueling, there is a large fueling station on the north side of the yard(main line)?

[@Indy125]

Too bad you can't get to the east coast and do the port of Newark/Elizabeth. Can't fly the drone though due to Newark Airport.. :(

[@nkyrailfan]

I flew into Newark not too long ago and saw the port. I would love to record it with the drone, but like you pointed out it's in the restricted airspace.

[@matiahayes36]

I love The view can you do the Linwood yard In NC very nice video

[@nkyrailfan]

I'd love to check out Linwwod, but it's a little outside my driving area. I'll make sure to try and stop by if I'm ever near it.

[@stockholm1960]

It's great to see American railway which is the biggest in world! Unfortunately there is not many passenger trains. I understand it's not profitable but cargo transport is. With 1 driver you can tow thousands of tons, like 100 lorries - with 100 drivers. Here in Europe the state support our railway. Our public transport in Stockholm is financed around 50 % tickets selling and 50 % by region/state.

[@nkyrailfan]

Greetings from the United States and thank you for watching the video. I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. It would be so great if America could have as good of a passenger rail system as it does freight. I was in France about a year ago and loved the ease of travel with the Metro and the regional trains. It was so convenient and I'm very jealous of what Europe has to offer for passenger rail riders.

[@sthpac6910]

What a great video, but the gun shots made me jolt if that is what it was.

[@keithlewis9106]

I wonder where the old round house was ?

[@nkyrailfan]

This comment thread says they were just west of the NYC museum east of the yard, near the current Amtrak station. www.trainboard.com/highball/index.php?threads/elkhart-roundhouse-s.55972/

[@dayyytripp710]

I'm curious what were those gunshots about?

[@nkyrailfan]

I'm not too sure. It's a somewhat rural area and there are only a handful of homes nearby. I think it was someone having some fun in the woods about a mile away. Where I was is surrounded by businesses/commercial property. There's a small airstrip directly across the street and beyond that a wooded area. I only heard the three and never saw anything else.

[@BlackMan614]

Hump?!? Hunter is rolling in his grave. ;-)

[@nkyrailfan]

😂😂😂

[@billyhunter2161]

Hump: Why do they separate cars that end up on the same track?

[@nkyrailfan]

My guess is they separate the cars due to weight limits. I'm sure it's much easier on the equipment retarding two separate cars rather than the combined weight of two cars at once.

[@RichardFulton-y2k]

Who hooks up th air hoses on the cars

[@nkyrailfan]

I believe a car man or conductor goes through and connects all the air hoses I'm not sure they do it in the bowl or once the cars have been pulled to the departure yards

[@keithmoore5306]

the hump ain't as high as some yards have!! there's 3 reasons a train stops like that one is a crew change although we didn't see one happen two is to set a distance between another train and itself both the cheapskate express and skunk road like to keep at least 10 miles between drags if possible and three the engineer needed to use the crapper!! at least with the cheapskate express the SOP in the manual is to call in stop do your business then report back and get going again if you're going by the book in reality the engineers i know say in 70% to 85% of the cases the conductor takes control while the engineer is indisposed shall we call it!!!

[@nkyrailfan]

Thanks for the great info.

[@mkfishing4458]

yeah, driving past on the road it's looks are deceiving because you can't really see how big it is, it's not till you google earth view it that you see just how big that yard is in reality.

[@natgass8102]

very good production I wonder why NS ended up with this piece of Conrail when CSX tried to take over the world company and was forced to split it up instead with NS who ended up with the legacy Pennsylvania Railroad while CSX took the smaller New York Central assets. Since you mentioned this was. NYC yard and their biggest it would be interesting to know why it went to NS and not CSX. Anyone have the answers thanks

[@nkyrailfan]

That's a very interesting question. I tried to find anything on the matter but couldn't. NS has quite a lot of trackage in the northern Indiana area. CSX has more in the central and mid-upper area. Maybe regulators felt with CSX 's strong presence through Indianapolis, NS should be granted this trackage. That's my only guess.

[@mikelinley8703]

I actually am a local who works in the yard. Originally CSX was supposed to get the yard. But NS argued that the Bellevue yard was insufficient for the new traffic load. Furthermore if CSX took the yard they could throttle traffic through the corridor. Eventually CSX sold the yard rights during the negotiations. This is the story as it exists locally.

[@johnplampin7274]

NS got most of the exNYC west of Cleveland. CSX got the NYC to the east... Think of a giant X.

[@nkyrailfan]

@mikelinley8703 thank you for all the great information. I really do appreciate it.

[@ExplodedwarlockD2]

You make the comment that you couldn’t go any further east because of the airport, but yet where you were setting was right in line of another airport……. I’m just saying. I’ve flown from the station west without having any problems you just gotta stay under 200 feet.mp421-mp423.

[@nkyrailfan]

The yard is partially in the controlled airspace of Elkhart airport. Luckily, there is a circular cutout for the small airfield just south of it. That small airfield does not have any controlled airspace, so it's okay for anyone to fly a drone, they just need to keep an eye out for any small planes in the area. A person is able to apply for permission to fly in the Elkhart airspace, it will just take days or weeks to get a response from the FAA, unlike most airports that have an automated, instant system you can get permission through an app on your phone. Below is a link that shows the sectional chart of airspace and the circle I'm referring to: skyvector.com/?ll=41.719406167,-86.003218972&chart=301&zoom=1