And waited. And waited some more. Then I realized that the gates must be malfunctioning. Instead of walking over to the gates and getting the number off the gate, I got back into the car and drove back over to the parking lot of the hobby shop so that I could park and walk up to the crossing to write down the number on the crossing signals. Driving back over to Main Street revealed that the crossing had recovered, but also that a westbound was coming. It was far enough away that I was able to make it a couple blocks away to a parking lot behind a CVS Pharmacy to watch it pass, and you can watch it at the link below:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/26995
After it passed, I decided that the best way to spend the afternoon wouldn't be to bug over to Elkhart and wait around the station all afternoon, but to drive over there slowly, finding new places to railfan as I went. So I continued east along 4th street, still in Mishawaka. Crossing and recrossing the tracks, I realized that a couple streets parallel the line right in town, and of the roads that actually cross the tracks, several have factory or small business lots just across the tracks that provide a great view of the tracks without much effort (or tresspassing). I managed to catch at least 2 more trains this way, as seen below:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/27003
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/27005
Finally I ran out of roads and had to go into Elkhart, but on the way in I passed this train sitting at the west end of the yard:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/27009
On the way into town, at the fueling pad, I noted BNSF 7612 and NS 3536 taking a brief break, presumably to take on fuel before resuming their eastward trek.
Arriving in downtown Elkhart didn't reveal all that much excitement. An eastbound was sitting near the end of the yard leads, but some other folks already there told me that it had been sitting there for a couple hours, and while some other intermodal trains had left, passing it, it hadn't moved at all. It was lead by NS 6590:
After waiting around for a few minutes (and getting a few shots of some of the signals around the east end of the yard),
I got bored and headed back toward Mishawaka. Didn't catch all that much on the way, mainly because I was on the road when the trains were hitting the crossings. Saw 90** as the sole unit on an eastbound empty coal train just west of the western yard limits as I vainly searched for a place to set up before it passed, as well as the 7612 and 3536 leaving the fuel pad as I waited for the light at State Road 19 (while headed west on Indiana 933). No good pictures, or video that I really want to publish on the internet (not that I did anything stupid, it's just that I would've had to do some really stupid things to get decent video and/or pictures).
I did catch at least on more eastbound general freight train on the way back, but not in time to get out of the car, actually I saw two, but both crossed the road long before I had a chance to either get out of the car or set up the camera. All in all, it was good to get out and see some stuff moving.
Oh yeah, before I forget, on the way out this morning, I got nailed by a CN train at the McKinley Ave. crossing (not nailed as in the train actually hit me, but nailed as in we were already running late and wound up later than we would've been if we hadn't see the train, not that I'm complaining or anything, as many times as I cross that crossing every week, I get to see something moving about once a month or so), and it had a couple of interesting points. I didn't get the camera out in time for pictures (and I had to be somewhat civilized in my behavior, one of my non-railfan friends was with me), but one of the boxcars on the train was so covered with rust and, well, rust, that the reporting marks and number were written in what appeared to be chalk (or scratched in the paint) vertically on the door. Also, something I'd never seen on the CN before, four or five 89 foot flats with Chevy and GMC TopKick trucks (cabs and chassis) three or four to a car. I've seen those things on the freeway quite a bit, but never on a train. Is this something new, or unusual, or do I just usually have my head in such a hole that I've never noticed this kind of shipment before? One thing I was able to note about them was that they all appeared to have red or white cabs.
So, in summary, this is how I spent most of my afternoon. To see the videos, click the links...