Wadena Train Webcam, Minnesota

The Wadena Train Webcam is a pan-tilt-zoom camera on BNSF Railway’s Staples Subdivision in Wadena, Minnesota, at Milepost 165.9. This stretch of main line links the Minneapolis area with Moorhead. Its operator, Steel Highway Railcams, counts close to 40 trains every 24 hours here. BNSF freights share the tracks with Amtrak’s Empire Builder, which passes through without stopping. Locomotives from other railroads turn up too, from CN, CP and KCS units to Union Pacific, CSX and Mexico’s Ferromex. The camera pans and zooms, so the picture shifts between wide views of the tracks and close shots of trains. Operator footage shows the Wadena Train Webcam looking across a grade crossing to a brick depot building and tall evergreens.

About Wadena and the Staples Subdivision

The Staples Subdivision runs about 365 kilometers (227 miles) from Dilworth, next to Moorhead, to Fridley on the edge of Minneapolis. It forms part of BNSF’s Northern Transcon between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest, and most of it is double track. In 2015 the route carried around 60 trains a day. By 2022 that had fallen to 30 to 40, which matches the operator’s count at Wadena. The Wadena Train Webcam belongs to the Northern Transcon Railcams network along this line, and Lunde Auto Sales, a Wadena car dealer, sponsors it. The network also keeps a shared train log at NTR-OTC.com, with columns for its cameras from Moorhead to Aitkin.

Wadena is the county seat of Wadena County, and part of the city lies in neighboring Otter Tail County. It had 4,325 residents in 2020 and sits at 408 meters (1,339 feet), where U.S. Highways 10 and 71 cross. The railroad decided where the town would be. The first Wadena was a settlement on the Crow Wing River along the Red River Trails. However, the Northern Pacific’s 1871 track passed about 5.6 kilometers (3.5 miles) south of that site. As a result, the settlers moved to the new line. The town took its name from Chief Wadena, an Ojibwe leader, and was incorporated in 1881.

The Northern Pacific opened its passenger depot here in 1915 and used it until passenger service ended in 1971. The Wadena Depot at 100 Aldrich Avenue Southwest joined the National Register in 1989 and was restored in 2008. Then, on June 17, 2010, an EF4 tornado struck the town and damaged at least 232 homes, roughly 30 percent of the total.

Weather and Climate in Wadena

Winters are long and cold in this part of central Minnesota. The nearest NOAA normals for 1991 to 2020 come from Long Prairie, 56 kilometers (35 miles) southeast, and Park Rapids, 54 kilometers (33 miles) north. Both put January afternoons around 18 F (-8 C) and nights near -1 to -3 F (-18 to -19 C). Long Prairie also averages 137 centimeters (54 inches) of snow a year. As a result, snow often lies around the tracks on the Wadena Train Webcam from December into March. Daylight is short then, about eight and a half hours around the December solstice.

Summers are warm, with July highs of about 79 to 80 F (26 to 27 C) and lows near 57 F (14 C). June through August are the wettest months. In Open-Meteo’s ten-year record for Wadena, each averages roughly 80 to 100 millimeters (3 to 4 inches) of rain. Meanwhile, April and October sit in between, with highs around 50 to 54 F (10 to 12 C). In late June the sun is up for close to 16 hours.

Things to Do Near Wadena

Start at the Wadena Depot, which now serves as a visitor center, railroad museum and event venue. The depot also hands out maps of the Alley Arts murals. More than 100 hand-painted panels by over 40 artists cover downtown buildings and together tell 1,000 years of Minnesota history. In fact, they are billed as the “Largest Puzzle in the World”. The Wadena County Historical Society Museum covers the county’s past. Meanwhile, the Cozy Theatre shows current films and hosts a film festival. The National Register also lists the Commercial Hotel, built around 1885, and the 1912 Wadena Fire and City Hall.

Old Wadena County Park lies on the Crow Wing River, about 24 kilometers (15 miles) east of town. It holds the sites of four trading posts founded in 1782, 1792, 1825 and 1856, plus the original townsite. The county also runs a campground there. Around 49 kilometers (30 miles) east, Huntersville State Forest covers 13,744 hectares (33,963 acres) of jack pine and red pine, and the Crow Wing and Shell rivers cross it. Finally, rail fans can drive 29 kilometers (18 miles) southeast to Staples. There the Empire Builder makes its local stop, and the Brainerd Subdivision splits off to the east.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More rail and northern Minnesota cameras to try after this one:

• Aitkin Webcam
• Alma Webcam
• Mississippi Headwaters Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the Wadena Train Webcam located?

The Wadena Train Webcam is in Wadena, Minnesota, on BNSF’s Staples Subdivision at Milepost 165.9. Wadena is the county seat of Wadena County, about 260 kilometers (160 miles) northwest of Minneapolis and Saint Paul. U.S. Highways 10 and 71 cross in town.

What can you see on the Wadena Train Webcam?

The subject is the BNSF main line through Wadena and the trains on it. The camera pans and zooms, so the view moves between wide shots along the tracks and close-ups of locomotives. Operator footage shows a grade crossing, a trackside equipment cabinet, a brick depot building and tall evergreens.

How many trains go through Wadena a day?

Steel Highway Railcams puts the average at nearly 40 trains every 24 hours. That fits the wider Staples Subdivision, which carried about 60 trains a day in 2015 and 30 to 40 by 2022.

Which railroads show up on the Wadena Train Webcam?

BNSF owns and runs the line, and Amtrak’s Empire Builder uses it too. The operator also lists foreign power, meaning locomotives owned by other railroads. Examples include CP, CSX, Ferromex, KCS, Union Pacific, CN and the Otter Tail Valley Railroad.

Does Amtrak stop in Wadena, Minnesota?

No. The Empire Builder between Chicago and Seattle or Portland passes through Wadena without stopping. The nearest station is Staples, 29 kilometers (18 miles) to the southeast. On this line the train also calls at St. Cloud and Detroit Lakes.

What is the weather like in Wadena, Minnesota?

Expect cold, snowy winters, with January highs around 18 F (-8 C) and lows near -1 F (-18 C). Summers are warm, with July highs of 79 to 80 F (26 to 27 C). The heaviest rain falls from June to August.

Source: Steel Highway Railcams