TD BANK BALLPARK, BRIDGEWATER TOWNSHIP, N.J.
MONTGOMERY RIVERWALK STADIUM, MONTGOMERY, ALA.
Montgomery Biscuits (AA affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays) Trains/day: CSX: 10-15, Meridian & Bigbee Railroad (on CSX): 2
MONTGOMERY IS AN OFTEN-OVERLOOKED CITY with rich history than runs from Rosa Parks to Hank Williams. But baseball fans and railroad historians shouldn’t miss Riverwalk Stadium, home of the Southern League’s Montgomery Biscuits.
Riverwalk Stadium was built in 2004 to lure the Biscuits to town after nearly 25 years without pro baseball. The stadium uses the Western Railway of Alabama’s 1898 freight house as its core, maintaining the exterior true to its railroad roots. Inside the stadium, the Biscuits have gone all-in on the railroad theme: fans can dine in the Club Car Bar, while groups can enjoy the Whistle
Stop Grille, Boxcar Buffet, or go upscale at the Locomotive Loft.
And yes, be sure to enjoy a biscuit at the ballpark.
Montgomery is the junction of five CSX routes, and fans have great views of virtually every through train as it traverses the Coosa Street interlocking directly behind the left field wall. Only a wrought iron fence separates the CSX tracks from fans behind left field. Montgomery’s imposing Union Station is just a block away from the stadium and while L&N’s PanAmerican no longer calls, the station’s 1897 trainshed is one of the best remaining in the U.S.
FUN FACT: The old tall tale about the “world’s longest home run” that landed in a passing railroad car and traveled hundreds of miles could actually come true in Montgomery. In 2015, visiting player Courtney Hawkins slugged a home run that hit a passing CSX train. Only hitting the top of an enclosed auto rack kept the ball from going for an even longer ride.
MIRABITO STADIUM, BINGHAMTON, N.Y.
Binghamton Rumble Ponies (AA affiliate of the New York Mets) Trains/day: NS: 8-12, NYS&W yard switching
BINGHAMTON DRIPS RAILROAD HISTORY and the city’s Mirabito Stadium is no exception. The former Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad passenger depot is half a block behind third base, and the stadium itself was built on the site of Lackawanna freight house and station tracks. Active tracks are still so close that a long home run to left center will land on the former DL&W main, used today by Norfolk Southern. Baseball-watching railfans can see mainline action on NS’s ex-Erie Southern Tier line only a few feet farther away and on the ex-Delaware & Hudson Railway route to Albany, N.Y., acquired by NS in 2015.
While Norfolk Southern provides most of the railroad action, fans should keep a lookout for the New York, Susquehanna & Western Railway working in its hub city. NYS&W dispatches trains to Syracuse and Utica, N.Y., and New Jersey from its small yard and engine terminal nested within NS trackage near the ballpark.
Mirabito Stadium, built at an unfortunate time for ballpark architecture (1991-92), is heavy on concrete and short on charm. But Rumble Ponies baseball is higher-level minor league (AA), and stadium amenities have been upgraded without compromising proximity to railroad action. Choose a seat higher up in the left field grandstand for the best train viewing and to avoid being blocked by the double-height outfield billboards. Visit the first base concourse for a spiedie — a sub roll filled with marinated, chargrilled cubed meat. It’s a Binghamton specialty.
FUN FACT: DL&W’s extensive use of concrete let many Lackawanna structures live long lives. But concrete made Binghamton’s Lackawanna freight house difficult to demolish to make way for Mirabito Stadium, although the effort finally succeeded after several tries.
Somerset Patriots (AA affiliate of the New York Yankees) Trains/day: NJ Transit: 36-54, NS: 0-2 THE SUBURBAN NEW JERSEY SOMERSET PATRIOTS
provide the most rail-centric (excluding subways) game experience of the 10 New York City-area professional baseball teams. Fans can see trains from their seats, but Bridgewater station on NJ Transit’s
Raritan Valley commuter train line is also just beyond the outfield fence, making it easy to take the train to the game.
NJ Transit provides 27 weekday round trips (18 on weekends) and trains are usually announced by horn and bell noise. Train frequency allows fans to see 10 to 15 movements during a night out at the ballpark, and the stadium is only 54 minutes away from Newark’s Penn Station (expresses provide a faster ride to weekday night games). A Norfolk Southern local provides the only freight activity. Fans looking for freight action should spend pre-game time 11/2 miles away in Bound Brook, N.J., which is a NS and CSX hot spot.
TD Bank Ballpark was built for the Patriots in 1999, who debuted in the independent Atlantic League. In 2021, the New York Yankees moved their AA affiliate from Trenton to Somerset, only 40 miles from Yankee Stadium. Fans can now see the Yankees of the future in Somerset at a fraction of the price they would pay in the Bronx. Somerset’s triple-decker billboards in the outfield challenge train watching, but a strategic gap in the right field corner lets fans watch commuter trains pulling into or accelerating away from the Bridgewater station. For the best train view, railfans should chose seats down the firstbase line, close to the home team’s bullpen.
FUN FACT: Both NJ Transit’s Raritan Valley Line and TD Bank Ballpark are prone to flooding from the nearby Raritan River. In September 2021, flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida stranded a NJ Transit train in nearby Bound Brook and forced the Patriots to move several games to Hartford while the ballpark dried out.
AA HONORABLE MENTIONS go to the Altoona Curve, whose stadium offers views of a roller coaster but not the Norfolk Southern main line, despite the team’s name; and the Hartford Yard Goats, who honor rail history with their team nickname written in New Haven railroad script.