Rumbling Into Waterloo on Sunday Morning

Amtrak’s westbound Lake Shore Limited is about 20 minutes late as it arrives into the station at Waterloo, Indiana, under cloudy skies.

Somehow that seems appropriate given the future of this train. In another two months you won’t be able to board Amtrak on Sunday morning to travel to Chicago.

The westbound Lake Shore will only be arriving in Waterloo, or in Cleveland and Toledo for that matter, on Monday, Thursday and Saturday.

Today’s No. 49 has its summer pandemic consist of two P42DC locomotives, a Boston Viewliner sleeper, Amfleet food service car, four Amfleet II coaches, Viewliner dining car that serves as a sleeper class lounge, two New York VIewliner sleepers, a Viewliner baggage car and a deadheading Viewliner sleeper on the rear.

I didn’t count the number of passengers who boarded or disembarked but it was around 10 total.

The train made two stops, one for coach passengers and another to drop off a couple of sleeper class passengers.

And then it was highball and onto the next station in Elkhart, Indiana.

Going Away

Going away images of Amtrak motive power are not among my favorites to make, but I made an exception on this day largely because of the time of day when I was here.

It is just after 8 a.m. in Waterloo, Indiana, and a late westbound Capitol Limited is pulling into the station.

The sun hasn’t been up all that long so the traditional coming photograph would be a challenge due to strong back lighting.

I did make some images of No. 20 coming toward me, then swung around and got the going away shot of the head end.

It does have the quality of giving a sense of direction and showing where the train is heading.

The warm morning light is a nice attribute, too.

Boarding in Waterloo

Their train was late and it had to make two stops at the station in Waterloo, Indiana.

That’s because when Amtrak operates on Track 2 on the Chicago Line of Norfolk Southern it doesn’t halt next to the platform.

Instead, passengers board and disembark from a much smaller platform between the two tracks.

Such is life on a busy freight line and on this morning the NS was very busy with faster trains relegated to Track 2 and slower unit trains to Track 1.

So the westbound Capitol Limited made two stops in Waterloo, one for sleeping car passengers and the other for coach passengers as shown above.

With the busy Thanksgiving travel period getting underway this week Amtrak trains and platforms are going to be crowded with holiday travelers.

Headed for Chicago

With it’s station work at Waterloo, Indiana, compete, Amtrak’s westbound Lake Shore Limited is now headed for Chicago.

But first there will be intermediate stops in Elkhart and South Bend, Indiana,to make.

Train No. 49 is running about an hour late so there is no time to waste. It is also following traffic, including the Capitol Limited so opportunities to pick up time might be limited.

As usual, a Viewliner baggage car is bringing up the markers on No. 49.

Milepost 367, measured from Buffalo, New York, is located just beyond the western edge of the Amtrak station platform.

Sunny Side Up or From the Dark Side?

Amtrak’s westbound Capitol Limited was about an hour a half late when it arrived in Waterloo, Indiana, on a Friday morning.

The sun has just climbed over some low clouds in the eastern sky and created nice warm light.

The rear of No. 29 has cleared North Center Street, which afforded me an opportunity to photograph the train from both sides.

The top image was made from the south side of the tracks by the grade crossing. It had more direct sunlight on the side of the eight-car train.

The bottom image was made from the platform on the north side of the Norfolk Southern tracks and the side of the train is in shadows but quite a bit of direct light illuminated the platform.

No. 29 was on Track 2 following a double stack train. About a half hour behind the Capitol on the same track was the westbound Lake Shore Limited.

All of the NS traffic was going west on this morning around the time that both Amtrak trains showed up with Track 1 devoted to slow unit trains hauling coal and tank cars.

Waterloo Station to Hold Open House

The Waterloo, Indiana, Amtrak station will celebrate its first anniversary with an open house on June 25.

The station is located inside a former New York Central depot that was renovated by the city during a 10-year project.

The project, which was funded in part by a federal TIGER grant, also involved moving the depot closer to the Amtrak boarding platform.

The open house will be held from 2-4 p.m. and feature refreshments, door prizes and historical information about the station.

More than 20,000 passengers board at the Waterloo every year. The station is served by Amtrak’s Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited.

Waterloo Amtrak Station Dedication is June 24

A dedication ceremony has been set for June 24 in Waterloo, Indiana, to celebrate the opening of a former New York Central station as the new Amtrak stop.

A ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony will be held at 10:30 a.m. and an open house between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m.
For years, Waterloo, which is the stop for nearby Fort Wayne, has been served with a bus stop shelter.

Now, passengers will use the 132-year old NYC depot, which was moved to a new site last March.

A federal $1.82 million TIGER grant helped pay for a larger parking lot and sidewalks, new street lighting, landscaping, road resurfacing and curbs.

The renovated station will also have a kiosk to provide train arrival times and free Wi-Fi.

The station was restored in 2005 and became a community center, a use that will continue.

Waterloo is served by the Chicago-Washington Capitol Limited and Chicago-New York Lake Shore Limited.

In 2015, the Waterloo station handled 20030 passengers.

Waterloo Station to be Moved March 30

A former New York Central passenger station in Waterloo, Indiana, will be moved next week as the next step toward opening the station for use by Amtrak passengers.

The 132-year-old station will be moved on March 30 two blocks closer to the current Amtrak boarding area on the Chicago Line of Norfolk Southern.

The remaining work to get the depot ready for use by Amtrak is expected to be completed by June.

Although Waterloo is a town of just 2,242, it has the third highest ridership in Indiana. In 2014 it served more than 22,000 passengers.

Amtrak began stopping in Waterloo in 1990 after it ceased serving Fort Wayne.

Workers have been building a foundation at the station’s new location and removed trees to facilitate the move.

Waterloo received a U.S. Department of Transportation grant to pay for the $1.82 million project, which will include a new parking lot, sidewalks, street lighting, landscaping, roadway resurfacing and curbs.

A Passenger Information Display System will inform Amtrak passengers about train arrival times and provide free Wi-Fi service.

Currently, passengers in Waterloo use a bus stop-type shelter.

Aside from serving Amtrak, the depot will be available for town meetings and community events.

Waterloo is served by the Chicago-Washington Capitol Limited and the Chicago-New York Lake Shore Limited.

Amtrak Waterloo Station Work About to Begin

Waterloo, Indiana, officials say that construction of a new Amtrak station is expected to begin soon with the station opening as early as May.

The new station will actually be the former New York Central depot that was built in the 1800s by predecessor railroad Lake Shore & Michigan Southern.

Plans are to move the depot two blocks from its current location.

Waterloo Town Manager Tena Woenker said the next step will be to choose a contractor who could lay a concrete pad on which the former NYC depot will be placed

“If things go quickly as we hope we’ll be putting up a foundation in the middle of the winter, we’ll be moving the depot by March, we’ll be building the parking lots by April and we’ll be open by May,” Woenker said.

The new Waterloo station has been 10 years in the making. The $1.6 million project got a boost from a U.S. Department of Transportation grant.

Although Waterloo is a town of 2,242, it had the third highest ridership in 2014 at 22,000 among Indiana Amtrak stations due to its proximity to Fort Wayne.

Amtrak’s Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited both stop in Waterloo.

Currently, passengers must use a bus stop shelter facility that has limited parking.

“Right now there’s no restroom for the Amtrak passengers, no warm waiting area, the parking lot is not well-lit or well-marked and when we get done all of those things will get fixed,” Woenker said.

“It will be a nice waiting area. We hope to have it staffed so there will always be someone to ask questions to and feel safe.”

City officials are talking about making the former NYC depot into a museum and community center as well as a train station. They’re moving its charm with it too.

“We have original benches and an original desk from back in the 1800s, so we’re excited to make that even more special,” Woenker said.

Ex-NYC Depot in Waterloo to Serve Amtrak

Waterloo, Ind., will use a $1.8 million federal grant to renovate the former New York Central passenger station for use by Amtrak.

Amtrak currently has a bus top shelter station in Waterloo. The renovated station is expected to begin serving Amtrak passengers in early 2016.

The city received the grant in 2010, but changes to the project almost resulted in the funding being lost.

The historic NYC station will be moved to the southeast corner of Center and Van Vleek streets, which is closer to the existing station platform.

The renovation work will also include the installation of Wi-Fi and a train information board. A new lighted long-term parking lot will also be constructed.

The former station was renovated in 2005 for use as a community center. Half of the depot will continue to be available for community use.

“We just really hope that this is a good boost for our town,” said town manager Tena Woenker. “It’s great for the riders and we want it to be comfortable for Amtrak’s passengers. When they come here, we want it to be a good experience for the visitors and we really want it to be a nice station so we’re very excited that we get to do this for the community,”

Due to its proximity to Fort Wayne, Waterloo has the third largest ridership among Indiana stations.

It annually handles 25,000 passengers and ridership has grown 35 percent since 2009. The population of Waterloo is 2,200.

“We’ve always believed that if we can get this train station to function like it originally was back in the train days in the late 1800s, that’s it’s going to increase Amtrak’s ridership, it’s going to bring better customer service and more people will want to come to Waterloo and spend their money and ride trains,” said David Bolton, President of Waterloo Town Council.

Geoff Paddock of the Northeast Indiana Passenger Rail Association wants to see Amtrak return to Fort Wayne, which Amtrak served until late 1990.

He doesn’t believe the changes in Waterloo will interfere with a proposal to bring Amtrak back to Fort Wayne.

“We (Northeast Indiana Passenger Rail Association) believe there is a market to serve both stations and our proposal for a Chicago to Columbus stop in Fort Wayne does not interfere with the current line that serves Waterloo,” Paddock said in a statement. “We have always said that there is ridership and a strong market to serve both.”

Waterloo is served daily by the Chicago-Washington, D.C., Capitol Limited and the Chicago-New York/Boston Lake Shore Limited.