Quincy Reporter

A meteorologist who became hooked on train watching after using a live stream of railroads has helped bring Quincy its own Virtual Railfan location.

Rich Cain, a meteorologist at KHQA in Quincy, started watching the La Plata live stream to see if what was happening there matched his radar, according to St. Louis Public Radio. Cain had joined the world of railfans – people who watch freight, passenger and sometimes military trains – roll on by. They track the types of rail cars and engines, the styles of whistles and bells, the speed of the trains, and the freight they carry.

The meteorologist’s new interest seems ideal for these days of sheltering at home during a global pandemic. The trains keep rolling while railfans are working remotely or are quarantined at home.

Cain shared his enthusiasm late in 2019 with See Quincy’s executive director, Holly Cain, according to St. Louis Public Radio. She took on the project to add a Virtual Railfan location by adding a camera at the Quincy Amtrak station.

“We know the power of video, and something that’s 24/7 – this is even before the coronavirus hit." Holly Cain said. "We knew when people can watch video and YouTube it’s just a growing audience, and it would be a unique niche for us to tap into because rail enthusiasts are often affluent travelers who have a few more dollars to spend and time. So we thought it would be a perfect fit for us.”

The Quincy Virtual Railfan camera is the first one to go live in Illinois. It joins livestreams from four countries, 23 states and 48 locations using 79 cameras that show hundreds of trains daily from 21 railways. Between 8 million and 11 million people watch the trains monthly. They’ve seen crimes, wedding proposals and, like Rich Cain, the weather. Railfans sometimes visit the train stations they’ve previously only seen online.

Virtual Railfan offers a free membership that limits the number of cameras available and uses a smaller video. Membership levels move up to two-day passes, a basic monthly membership, ad-free and lifetime memberships. The organization streams some of its cameras on its open YouTube channel on a rotating basis.