Lincoln, Nebraska — BNSF Hobson Yard
Four subdivisions and two Class I railroads converge on Hobson Yard
Lincoln, Nebraska — BNSF Hobson Yard
BNSF Railway — Hobson Yard, junction of the Ravenna, Saint Joseph, Creston and Hastings Subdivisions; Union Pacific on trackage rights · Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
This operator has not granted Spotatrain permission to embed the feed, so we link to it instead.
Free preview — full access requires a subscription (The east-facing fixed view is free and public; the pan-tilt-zoom camera is reserved for Virtual Railfan members.).
Watch at Virtual RailfanStreamed by Virtual Railfan
Stream hosted by Virtual Railfan. Spotatrain links to the original feed and does not rebroadcast.
Credit: Virtual Railfan® Inc.
Where this camera films
Camera position: 40.80740, -96.71981
- Location
- Lincoln, Nebraska, United States
- Railroad
BNSF, Union Pacific — Creston
≈ MP 1 on the Creston — derived from FRA grade crossing 983805J, 160 m away
Weather & light at the camera
Sun times calculated for this camera’s coordinates.
Trains on this camera
Through trains per day
10reported to the FRA
Daytime
5
6 AM – 6 PM
≈ 1 every 2.5 h
Nighttime
5
6 PM – 6 AM
≈ 1 every 2.5 h
Reported by the railroad for FRA grade crossing 983805J, 160 m from this camera (FRA inventory, July 2026). An estimate, not a schedule — crossings on this line within 5 km report 10 to 35.
- Track at the crossing
- 3 main tracks · 25 mph timetable speed
What the stream’s operator says
"Ravenna Sub: … with an average of 58 trains per day" and "Saint Joseph Sub: … carrying about 16 trains per day" — Virtual Railfan stream description
Traffic as described by the stream’s operator. Spotatrain has not counted the trains itself.
Train types
Passenger trains past this camera
- Train 5, to EmeryvilleDaily≈ 12:47 AMestimated from Lincoln Amtrak Station, 1.2 km
- Train 6, to ChicagoDaily≈ 3:15 AMestimated from Lincoln Amtrak Station, 1.2 km
Scheduled times from Amtrak’s official timetable, updated September 24, 2026 — trains often run late. Estimated times are worked out along the line from the nearest scheduled stop.
On the line here
FRA / NTAD — crossing inventory Jul 21, 2026 · bridge inventory Oct 14, 2022 · rail yards (FRA / NTAD)
About this cam
Virtual Railfan's cameras overlook BNSF's Hobson Yard in Lincoln, Nebraska, where four subdivisions converge. Coal dominates, joined by unit aggregate and merchandise freight, Amtrak's California Zephyr twice a day, and a Union Pacific local that interchanges with BNSF at the yard.
Virtual Railfan's Lincoln cameras look out on BNSF Railway's Hobson Yard, where four subdivisions and two Class I railroads converge. The operator lists each line and what it carries:
The Ravenna Sub is the busiest, running west towards Wyoming's Powder River Basin and carrying much of the remaining coal traffic — an average of 58 trains a day. The Saint Joseph Sub heads south towards Kansas City with about 16 a day. The Creston Sub converges with lines to Omaha, Sioux City and Chicago to the east. The Hastings Sub runs southwest then west towards Denver, and carries Amtrak's daily California Zephyr.
Because Hobson is a convergence rather than a through point, the cameras record every train arriving and departing, including the locals that switch industries near the yard through the day. Union Pacific also runs a local here on trackage rights, interchanging with BNSF at the yard. The host is Old Mil-Custom Woodworking, a Lincoln awards and display-case business co-owned by Dan Nelson and Joe Kouma.
What to watch for
Coal is the staple — the Ravenna Sub alone averages 58 trains a day off the Powder River Basin — with unit aggregate and merchandise filling out the rest. The real interest is the yard work: arrivals, departures, locals switching nearby industries, and a Union Pacific local coming in on trackage rights to interchange, which is the sort of inter-railroad move most cameras never catch. Amtrak's California Zephyr passes twice daily on the Hastings Sub. The Lincoln Yard channel is 161.100 (AAR 66).
The camera
- Stream
- YouTube live stream
- Filming
- Classification yard
- Traffic
- Freight & passenger
- Sound
- Live lineside audio — horns and engines
- Hours
- Streams around the clock, 24/7
- Cameras
- 2 cameras at this location
- Camera movement
- Fixed view
- Feed checked
- August 6, 2026
Filmed location
The place this camera films is documented on Spotatrain — traffic levels, best angles, and visiting info (Epic Journey):
Related on Spotatrain
Live Cams Near Lincoln
More Live Cams in Nebraska
Railway Experiences in the United States
Golden Spike Tower & Visitor Center
An eight-story observation tower over Union Pacific's Bailey Yard, the world's largest railroad classification yard.
National Museum of Transportation
St. Louis museum with 70+ historic locomotives, including Union Pacific Big Boy 4006, across a 42-acre rail yard.
Mid-Continent Railway Museum
Living-history heritage railroad in rural Sauk County with a 7-mile vintage train ride and the largest U.S. wooden passenger car collection.
Related Journeys & Mega-Projects
Explore around Lincoln
1 place on Spotatrain within 25 km of Lincoln — 1 journey.
- California Zephyr 1.1 km