Amherst Webcam – See Trains on the Chicago Line

The Amherst Webcam looks along several parallel tracks of the Norfolk Southern Chicago Line at Amherst, Ohio, a small city in Lorain County west of Cleveland. This is the fixed view, labeled in frame as the Nordson Depot camera, and it holds a steady shot of the rails as they run off toward a distant curve. Ballast fills most of the foreground, pale grey stone between dark ties. A line of trees screens the far side of the right of way, and a white clapboard house stands just beyond it. Trains are the reason to keep the tab open. Between them the light does the work, sliding along the polished tops of the rails as the day turns.

About Amherst

Amherst sits in Lorain County in northern Ohio, roughly 45 kilometers (28 miles) west of Cleveland and only about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) south of Lake Erie. The city covers 18.3 square kilometers (7.08 square miles) and stood at 12,681 residents at the 2020 census. Its elevation is 197 meters (646 feet), which is high enough above the lake plain to keep the town on dry ground and flat enough to explain why the railroad came through in the first place.

Jacob Shupe settled the spot in 1811, and the village plat went on record in 1836. The name took a long time to settle down: Amherst Corners first, then Amherstville around 1839, then North Amherst, before the town became plain Amherst in 1909. What made its reputation was stone. By the late 1800s the quarries here were producing sandstone on a scale that earned Amherst the motto it still uses, the Sandstone Center of the World, and the quarry trade is the reason a town of this size sits on a main line at all.

The line in the camera’s frame has a long pedigree. It was built in the 1800s as part of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, which became the western half of the New York Central’s Water Level Route, the flat 1,545 kilometer (960 mile) path from New York to Chicago that dodged the Appalachians by following rivers and lakeshores. The New York Central ran it until 1968, Penn Central until 1976 and Conrail until 1999. When Conrail was broken up that year, Norfolk Southern took everything from Cleveland west to Chicago and CSX took the half from Cleveland east, which is why the trains passing Amherst wear Norfolk Southern paint and the ones east of the city do not. Virtual Railfan also runs a separate pan, tilt and zoom camera at Amherst, so the same location can be watched as a fixed shot or as a moving one.

Weather and Climate in Amherst

Amherst has a humid continental climate typical of the Great Lakes region, with four clearly separated seasons and a wide gap between the warm and cold halves of the year. Lake Erie lies about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) to the north, close enough to have a hand in what the camera shows on any given morning.

The ballast and the treeline are the best guide to the season. Summer brings heavy green along the right of way, with grass tall enough to soften the edges of the frame and a dry, pale look to the stone between the ties. Autumn turns the trees behind the tracks to rust and yellow, and the lower sun angle is kind to this camera, picking out each rail head as a bright line running to the curve. Through the coldest months snow can cover the track bed completely, leaving the cleared rails as the only dark marks in an otherwise white frame. Spring is the wettest looking season on screen, when standing water collects in the ditches beside the roadbed and throws back the sky between passing trains.

Things to Do Near Amherst

The stone is the local story worth chasing. Amherst built its name on sandstone in the closing decades of the 1800s, and the quarry country immediately around the town is the reason the motto stuck. The Lake Erie shore is about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) north of the city, close enough for an easy detour.

Lorain County Metro Parks runs a set of reservations across the county that covers most of what there is to do outdoors nearby. Cascade Park holds a waterfall known as the Western Falls. Lakeview Park is known for its tulip garden, which is at its best in spring. Wellington Reservation has a multi use path for walking and cycling.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

If a busy main line is what brought you here, these three are worth a look next.

• La Plata Railcam Webcam
• Ritzville Webcam
• Lorain Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Amherst, Ohio located?

Amherst is in Lorain County in northern Ohio, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) west of Cleveland and around 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) south of the Lake Erie shore. The city covers 18.3 square kilometers (7.08 square miles) and sits at an elevation of 197 meters (646 feet).

What can you see on the Amherst Webcam?

The fixed camera frames several parallel tracks of the Norfolk Southern Chicago Line running away toward a curve, with ballast in the foreground, trees screening the far side of the right of way and a white clapboard house beyond them. Freight trains pass through the shot, and the camera is labeled in frame as the Nordson Depot view.

Which railroad runs through Amherst, Ohio?

Norfolk Southern. The tracks are part of its Chicago Line, the former New York Central Water Level Route. Norfolk Southern has owned the Cleveland to Chicago section since the Conrail breakup in 1999, while CSX took the portion running east from Cleveland.

Why is Amherst called the Sandstone Center of the World?

Quarrying around Amherst had grown to such a scale by the late 1800s that the town adopted the phrase as its motto, and it still uses it. The sandstone trade is also the reason a town of fewer than 13,000 people sits beside a major railroad main line.

What is the weather like in Amherst, Ohio?

The climate is humid continental and typical of the Great Lakes region, so summers are warm and green while winters are cold enough to cover the track bed in snow. Lake Erie is only about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) north, close enough to influence conditions in town.

Is there more than one train camera at Amherst?

Yes. Virtual Railfan runs a fixed camera, which is the one on this page, and a separate pan, tilt and zoom camera at the same Ohio location, so the site can be watched either as a locked shot or as a view that moves.

What is the best time of day to watch the Amherst Webcam?

Daylight gives the clearest picture, and the low sun of late afternoon in autumn tends to show the rails at their best. Freight runs around the clock on this route, though, so there is no single hour that guarantees a train.

Source: Virtual Railfan