Dropping in at LaPlata (MO)

The various railcams offer a wonderful opportunity to visit various locations, to see what is happening by various times of the day (& night), and to join with others.

For example, the arrival of #3 at LaPlata , Amtrak's westbound Chicago to Los Angeles daily departure draws as many as 3000 viewers, nightly. The crowd arrives somewhat earlier from all over the world for the arrival ( scheduled for 7:37pm).

Viewer numbers rise in anticipation. Then the lights for the grade crossing start flashing, the gates start coming down, and their blog has the traditional call-out "All Rise for the SouthWest Chief".

To be able to drop-in to an event like this is wonderful. Especially in these pandemic times when many of us are sheltering in place, and stuck in our own locales. I may not have been able to go downtown to the station today to see a train off, or have a nearby trackside location to head to, but I can join others and enjoy.

The morning arrival of#4, the eastbound does not seem as popular. Most likely the timing in what is a working part of the day, (even on weekends), or the propensity for erratic timing due to the many miles traveled.

One of the newest railcams is at Fort Madison Iowa, which offers a fascinating view of the railroad and the river. There are viewers who follow the various Amtrak trains on their routing. Eastbound for #4 after LaPlata is nearby Fort Madison. Similarly there are followers westbound for #3.

Part of the dropping-in adventure--to pause here awhile and see what happens, maybe move down the line, or regrettably drop off to another task.

Dropping in can also be for a non-scheduled event. ie just a Visit. 2am may well be as interesting albeit with one-tenth the viewers:

enjoy--