TRRS 253: Railfanning Porter Junction, Chesterton, Indiana [HD]

The iron maze at CP 482 makes Chesterton one of those sure railroading towns. Three railroads mix here, all meeting the NS Chicago Line at milepost 482.2. From the north, the Amtrak Michigan Line, a federally designated High-Speed rail corridor, which features 8 daily Amtrak trains on 110-mph track. Right next to it is the CSX Grand Rapids sub, an ex Pere Marquette mainline that has seen better days. Only around 6 trains per day get coded over those rails. And on the south side of the junction, CSX's Porter Branch adds a few more trains to the already busy Control Point. Of course, the Chicago Line "anchors" the action, seeing over 80 trains per day on the double track.
Beyond the ownership of the rails, Canadian Pacific shows up with trackage rights over the NS, and runs about a dozen trains per day, included in the NS count. Pumpkins and Bananas can also be seen, as BNSF and UP power often run-through on freight transfers and coal drags.
In this movie, 11 hours of action is condensed into just 50 minutes. 46 trains call 482, with examples of 5 Class ones, 5 different Amtrak services, two 2 Amtrak units in Phase III Paint, plus an NS Operation Lifesaver Locomotive.
So grab a seat and enjoy an hour of trains as if you were there, in 720p HD!
For full runbys of each train from this trip, watch Episodes 236 thru 252.
And for more from the Thornapple River Rail series, visit my Channel at / mqt3001

[@westinghouse1963]

I am from Ann Arbor Michigan, which during a day here, we see a few of the trains that end up using this route/junction. This last Monday, on our way back home from visiting friends in Illinois, we stopped here for about an hour. I have to say it's a surreal feeling that In an hours time, I saw 6 trains. Around Ann Arbor, you get the four Amtrak, and maybe one Ann Arbor Railroad train a day. So seeing this all in person was just remarkable!! All these years of watching the action on KZbin, finally happened in person. My traveling companion also liked trains, and he was pretty awed by the action here!!

[@haroldsmuck3569]

Excellent Video, Thanks for sharing.

[@SoCalRailVids]

I've never seen this much action before in my entire life (11 years...) !!! I'm speechless... :0

[@HighRail62]

Love this Video. I live about 3 hours south and planning to make a trip up to Chesterton to observe and experience Porter junction. Who knows,maybe will get to meet you :) Again,thanks for the Great work you do!

[@ThornappleRiverRailSeries]

Dull moments are rare! I sure do recommend it. Go for an hour, several hours, or all day :)

[@spaceghost8995]

Just think, the Michigan Central (Amtrak now) line used to be a double track heavily used mainline through Porter. The diamond was removed long ago.

[@ThornappleRiverRailSeries]

11 hours, 46 trains :)

[@denisetindall1487]

I like train videos on KZbin 👍

[@trainwatcher116]

The 7 sounds like its missing a cylinder@ 24:04 or so in the video

[@ThornappleRiverRailSeries]

***** Yeah, now that you say it that's probably it. I looked like a steam engine later...smoke everywhere. Prolly from that.