Cumberland Railfanning

[Cody J]

Hey,
I am planning on taking a railfanning trip to Cumberland, Maryland on November 1. One of the trip highlights is catching the Eastbound AMTK Capitol Limited at the CSX Mexico Tower which is at the end of the CSX Cumberland Terminal. The train is scheduled to arrive at the station in downtown at 9:29am and depart at 9:36am. Does anyone happen to know what time the train will be rolling through Mexico Tower? Also, the night between Oct 31 and Nov 1 the time changes so where will the train make up for lost time? Will it be an hour earlier?

Thanks for your information,
Cody

[jward]

if the capitol is on time, it should pass by mexico about 5 minutes after it is scheduled to depart cumberland.

it is my understanding that amtrak trains wait for an hour at the next station they arrive at after the time change. so it should be on time in cumberland.

while in cumberland, you may want to have lunch at kline's restaurant in the cumberland narrows. good food, and the back room has a nice view of both the cliffs of the narrows, and the b&o mainline.

[Cody J]

Thanks for your info Jward. But one question:

if the capitol is on time, it should pass by mexico about 5 minutes after it is scheduled to depart cumberland.

If I'm catching the eastbound it should pass Mexico before it arrives at the station right?

thanks
cody

[ebtnut]

No, the station is in downtown Cumberland.  Mexico tower is at the east end of the Cumberland yards, about 2 miles from the station along Rt. 51.  Mexico Farms Road is marked as an intersection, and there is a bridge across the tracks about 200 yards south/east of the tower. 

Other spots to consider for rail pics include the area right at the south end of the Narrows.  There are places to pull of the road and park safely there.  The WM Scenic line is across the road and creek, if they are still running by then.  Further north there are some spots where the road and CSX tracks run side by side.  There is occasional access going up Sand Patch, but you will need a good local map to know where to go. 

Beyond Mexico, the tracks are largely inaccessible until you get down to Green Spring and Paw Paw. 

[Cody J]

Thank you for your information.

while in cumberland, you may want to have lunch at kline's restaurant in the cumberland narrows. good food, and the back room has a nice view of both the cliffs of the narrows, and the b&o mainline.

Do you have any information on this restauarant like:
What kind of food?
What are the prices like?
And what are you supposed to wear like casual clothes or dress clothes... etc.

thanks,
cody

[Cody J]

I know that you are probably getting frustrated with me but I just want to make sure. The eastbound from Chicago-DC goes through the downtown Cumberand Station then through the CSX yard then through Mexico?

sorry,
cody

[Cody J]

Sorry for all these posts but also for Kline's, is it actually in the Narrows or what is the address?

thank you,
cody

[ebtnut]

Yes - Narrows, Downtown station stop, yard, Mexico. 

[Cody J]

Thank you. Sorry for my ignorance.

cody

[jward]

kline's is in the narrows itself, between the creek and the road right next to the fruit bowl.

they are reasonably priced, under $10 a person, casual dress. the food is home made with the chicken and the roast beef both highly recommended.
kline's is one of those locally famous places, the kind that used to be everywhere before the big chains took over everything.

mexico is, as others have said, the far easten end of the yard. the amtrak station is at the western end of the yard......about a mile east of mexico is a little picnic area right where the b&o line crosses the river into west virginia. not good for photos, but a wonderful place for a cookout. the picnic area is part of the c&o canal park.