Steel Highway
Ratings:
Overall Rating: A
Video Quality: A
Audio Quality: B
Number of Cams: A
Cost: A+
Steel Highway is a free Youtube-based railcam service, offering many cameras in the upper Midwest portion of the United States.
Video Quality: Steel Highway cams are mostly 1080P, with a few at 720P. The videos stream smoothly, although I have noticed some stutter from time to time. Colors on many cams appears washed out.
Audio Quality: The sound from the Steel
Highway cams is good.
Sound volume is consistent from camera to camera.
The sound has
some depth. Live radio feeds are also embedded in many of the
Youtube feeds. Some cameras are high-angle shots, leading to lower
quality audio. For the Dynamic Range test, I chose the newest
camera, Galesburg Peck Park. The DR is 5. For reference, Virtual
Railfan tests at 7, Railstream is as high as 13.
Camera Locations: Steel Highway currently has 32 live feeds on Youtube. Locations include Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin. One camera in New Jersey operated by Big Trains TV is also available.
Cost: Steel Highway is free, and they accept donations via Paypal.
Amtrak: Amtrak trains on Steel Highway include the California Zephyr, Empire Builder, and Missouri River Runner.
Social Media: Steel Highway has a business page on Facebook