STEEL YARD, GARY, IND.
Gary SouthShore Railcats
BASEBALL’S TRIPLE CROWN
honors the superstar player who leads the league in home runs, batting average, and runs batted in. “High iron baseball” has its Triple Crown winner located in … Gary, Ind.? Yes! The Gary SouthShore RailCats connect to railroading with their name, showcase trains from three rail lines visible to fans, and are near a rail station so fans can take the train to the game.
The Steel Yard was completed in 2003 to anchor downtown Gary redevelopment. The RailCats have been more successful than the Gary redevelopment effort, averaging more than 3,100 tickets sold per game last season. Given the volume of train movements visible from the stadium, some of those ticket purchasers should also be railfans.
The closest line to the stadium is the South Shore, just across the street from the left field fence. Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District runs 28 South Shore passenger trains past the stadium each weekday and 18 daily on weekends. Freight operator Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad adds its freight trains on the NICTD line, usually behind traction orange GP38-2s.
RAILROADS AND BASEBALL PARKS
can be complementary land uses — after all, passenger trains are one of the most efficient ways to move large groups of people. But when the railroad’s line conflicts with the large footprint of a sports complex, things can get interesting. For example, the left field wall at Reno’s Greater Nevada Field is 15 feet closer to home plate due to where the Reno “railroad trench” is located.
That modest compromise pales in comparison
CSS also operates the former Elgin, Joliet & Eastern City Track branch, which is visible from the stadium beyond the electrified South Shore main line. Next to the City Track runs CSX’s primary entrance into Chicago, the double-track Barr Subdivision, which averages more than 30 trains per day. There are even more rail lines nearby — Norfolk Southern’s uber-busy Chicago Line and CN’s former EJ&E Dixie Lead to Kirk Yard — but while you can hear the action on these lines, they are just a bit too far away to see clearly.
Fans should choose seats on the first-base side for a direct view of rail action, although the City Track and CSX are somewhat tougher to see because fans must look through the elevated Indiana Toll Road’s girders. For the closest views, choose seats in section 101 past third base or sit at one of the picnic tables above the outfield fence.
South Shore train riders have easy access from the Gary Metro Center train station only four blocks from the stadium. NICTD and the RailCats often cooperate on ticket discounts for riders, so be sure to ask at the ballpark ticket window. The walk between the station and stadium is safe for observant fans because there are plenty of police and other security around for games.
FUN FACT:
Both the “SouthShore” and “RailCats” portions of the team’s name honors Gary’s railroading presence. And when a RailCat hits a home run, a Nathan Airchime K5LA locomotive horn is sounded in the ballpark. to the indignity inflicted on Philadelphia’s Baker Bowl, home of the Phillies from 1887 to 1938. The North Philadelphia stadium had been open for six years when the Reading Co. built a short tunnel under two streets and a corner of the stadium, creating a distinctive hump in center field. As the Baker Bowl aged (badly), it was nicknamed “the dump by the hump.” The tunnel is still there, used by hundreds of daily Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority commuter trains, but the last remains of the Baker Bowl were torn down in 1950.
If sports fans really want to get up close and personal with trains, they should take in a soccer game at Čierny Balog in Slovakia, where the narrow gauge Čierny Hron Railway runs steam-powered tourist trains in between the stands and the soccer pitch. No word on whether train passengers are charged admission if a match is going on when their train goes through.
SEGRA STADIUM, FAYETTEVILLE, N.C.
Fayetteville Woodpeckers
FROM A RAIL PERSPECTIVE,
Segra Stadium couldn’t be better located. The home of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers sits on a triangle of land bounded by rail lines on two sides and is immediately adjacent to the city’s historic 1911 Amtrak station.
CSX’s double-track South End Subdivision (the “A” Line, former Atlantic Coast Line between Florida and Richmond, Va.) runs along the third base line, separated from the stadium by the Amtrak station’s long platform. Amtrak passes the stadium six times daily — the Palmetto and Silver Meteor stop, while the Auto Train doesn’t. Local trains can be seen behind right field on the former Atlantic & Yadkin Railway, now CSX’s Vander Spur. R.J. Corman’s Raleigh & Fayetteville Railroad also uses the Vander Spur to access its yard in Fayetteville. R.J. Corman took over the Norfolk Southern route between Raleigh and Fayetteville late in 2022. A lucky railfan will see a military movement to nearby Fort Bragg using the Vander Spur as a tail track.
Segra Stadium is only 4 years old, so the 5,000-seat facility has plenty of modern creature comforts. The tables behind sections 108111 will put you very close to the Amtrak platform and CSX main, but the best spot is the Kids Zone, a 4,500-square-foot play space behind left field with clear views of both lines and AY Xing — the interlocking that governs the crossing of the two CSX lines. The numerous crossings mean approaching trains are heavy on the horn.
FUN FACT:
Fayetteville has several stretches of street running — CSX’s main splits Winslow Street south of the stadium, CSX’s Vander Spur divides Russell Street, and R.J. Corman runs in the Hillsboro Street pavement north of the stadium.
A-LEVEL HONORABLE MENTIONS
go to the Spokane Indians who feature the Coors Light Caboose (a vaguely Stilwell-ish faux passenger car) in the outfield concourse, and views of Union Pacific’s East Spokane yard; the Wilmington (Del.) Blue Rocks offer the only (albeit partly obstructed) professional baseball stadium view of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor; and the South Bend (Ind.) Cubs offer glimpses of nonstop action on the nearby Canadian National and Norfolk Southern lines.
MODERN WOODMAN PARK, DAVENPORT, IOWA
Quad City River Bandits
THERE ARE A GOOD NUMBER OF DISTRACTIONS
at Modern Woodman Park that cause fans to look away from the ballgame: great views of the Mississippi River, a Ferris wheel, a carousel, and even a kiddie coaster. But it’s impossible to ignore the trains that rumble by on Canadian Pacific’s Davenport Subdivision only feet from the third-base grandstand.
Despite its name, Modern Woodmen Park (named for a local insurance company) is a classic minor league stadium built in 1931 and used for minor league baseball ever since. The park is also the home field for the St. Ambrose University baseball team.
The stadium, located between downtown Davenport and the Mississippi River, was subject to frequent flooding. A 2004 renovation fixed that issue and current ownership has been creative in adding new attractions — like the amusement rides — to the ballpark. It’s tough to see trains from most of the seating areas, so when fans hear a train, they should take a walk out to the left field concourse for an unobstructed view. Canadian Pacific hopes you will notice their scoreboard advertisement — “We’re hiring” was the 2022 tag line.
Canadian Pacific’s Davenport Subdivision was originally part of the Davenport, Rock Island & North Western Railway, jointly owned by the Milwaukee Road and the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy. Davenport’s former Union Station and the Milwaukee and CB&Q freight houses still stand near the stadium. CP now owns the line and BNSF exercises trackage rights on it to Clinton, Iowa. The CP/Kansas City Southern merger is expected to more than double train counts past Modern Woodmen Park since the Davenport Sub is part of the only route connecting the broader CP and KCS systems, so it may become even harder for railfans to focus on baseball.
FUN FACT:
The Government Bridge upstream from the stadium is the successor to the first railroad bridge across the Mississippi, built in 1856. In a major victory for interstate commerce, a young Abraham Lincoln successfully defended the bridge owners against steamboat interests who wanted the bridge dismantled. Today a well-timed ride on the River Bandits’ Ferris wheel could yield a distant view of an Iowa Interstate Railroad train on the Government Bridge.