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La Plata, Missouri — BNSF Southern Transcon

Three cameras on the Santa Fe Transcon, 50 to 70 trains a day

La Plata, Missouri — BNSF Southern Transcon

BNSF Railway — Marceline Subdivision, milepost 312.7 (Southern Transcon, former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe) · La Plata, Missouri, United States

This operator has not granted Spotatrain permission to embed the feed, so we link to it instead.

Watch at Virtual Railfan

Streamed by Virtual Railfan

Stream hosted by Virtual Railfan. Spotatrain links to the original feed and does not rebroadcast.

Credit: Virtual Railfan® Inc.

See everything in Missouri6 spots · 9 live cams · 1 experience

Where this camera films

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Camera position: 40.02909, -92.49383

Location
La Plata, Missouri, United States
Railroad

BNSF — Marceline

≈ MP 312.7 on the Marceline — derived from FRA grade crossing 979248T, 10 m away

Weather & light at the camera

Sun times calculated for this camera’s coordinates.

Trains on this camera

Through trains per day

53reported to the FRA

Daytime

27

6 AM – 6 PM

≈ 1 every 27 min

Nighttime

26

6 PM – 6 AM

≈ 1 every 28 min

Reported by the railroad for FRA grade crossing 005089Y, 70 m from this camera (FRA inventory, July 2026). An estimate, not a schedule — crossings on this line within 5 km report 26 to 58.

Track at the crossing
2 main tracks · 85 mph timetable speed

What the stream’s operator says

"this feed showcases 50–70 daily trains" — Virtual Railfan stream description

Traffic as described by the stream’s operator. Spotatrain has not counted the trains itself.

Train types

FreightIntermodalAmtrak

Passenger trains past this camera

Amtrak
Southwest ChiefAmtrak · stops at La Plata Amtrak Station
  • Train 4, to ChicagoMon, Tue, Wed, Sat and Sun · changed Sep 26–30
    9:13 AMarrives La Plata Amtrak Station
  • Train 4, to ChicagoThursday and Friday
    9:23 AMarrives La Plata Amtrak Station
  • Train 3, to Los AngelesDaily
    6:24 PMdeparts La Plata Amtrak Station

Scheduled times from Amtrak’s official timetable, updated September 24, 2026 — trains often run late.

On the line here

Nearest grade crossingPedestrianBNSF Marceline, MP 312.704 · FRA ID 979248T · private crossing · 1 main track · timetable speed 85 mph
< 50 m
Nearest named bridgeLong BranchBNSF Marceline, MP 313 · multiple tracks
740 m

FRA / NTAD — crossing inventory Jul 21, 2026 · bridge inventory Oct 14, 2022

About this cam

Virtual Railfan runs three cameras at La Plata on BNSF's Southern Transcon — the former Santa Fe main line between Chicago and Los Angeles. Hosted by the American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation at the Amtrak station and Lookout Park, they cover 50 to 70 daily trains at milepost 312.7.

Virtual Railfan's La Plata cameras cover BNSF's Southern Transcon, the former Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe main line between Chicago and Los Angeles, at milepost 312.7 of the Marceline Subdivision. The operator counts 50 to 70 daily trains — one of the highest figures anywhere in the Virtual Railfan network.

Three cameras are published: a pan-tilt-zoom camera at Lookout Park, and two fixed views, east and west, at the historic Amtrak station. The host is the American Passenger Rail Heritage Foundation, supported by sponsors Duane and Curt Lundgren in memory of the Great Northern Railroad.

Amtrak's Southwest Chief stops here twice daily: eastbound number 4 in the morning, westbound number 3 in the evening. The APRHF preserves La Plata's rail heritage through exhibits and historical work, and the operator links a map of the Marceline Sub compiled by Curt Lundgren.

What to watch for

Fifty to seventy trains a day on the Southern Transcon means the intermodal is nearly continuous — this is BNSF's Chicago to Los Angeles high-priority route, so the trains are long, fast and frequent, with manifest and locals filling the gaps. The two Amtrak stops are the scheduled highlights: eastbound number 4 in the morning, westbound number 3 in the evening. Because there are three cameras at two different places, you can follow a train from Lookout Park down to the station. Road is on 160.560 (AAR 30), the dispatcher on 161.385 (AAR 85).

The camera

Stream
YouTube live stream
Filming
Passenger station
Traffic
Freight & passenger
Sound
Live lineside audio — horns and engines
Hours
Streams around the clock, 24/7
Cameras
3 cameras at this location
Camera movement
Fixed view
Feed checked
August 10, 2026
Visit source

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