Maryland Railfanning

[Cody J]

I would like to warn you that this post is not about model railroading!

For anyone in the Maryland area,
Does anyone know any railfanning hot spots for railroads such as:
Maryland Midland, Norfolk Southern, and CSX.

Thanks for your information,
Cody Jackson

[jward]

for csx, there are major terminals at cumberland and brunswick. cumberland is a very busy hub, and the line east of cumberland follows the potomac river on the west virginia side through some very scenic and remote country. traffic is heavy, with summer train counts of over 40 per 24 hour period.

cumberland is also home to the western maryland scenic railroad, which runs steam to frostburg.

[Yampa Bob]

Hi Cody
The sign on the door says "anything train related", so you're on topic.

I railfan here in the Colorado Yampa Valley, but see an occasional Norfolk or CSX. I also see many fallen flags, hard to believe some of the old locos and cars are still running. 

[ebtbob]

Good Morning All,

      First of all,  Happy Memorial Day to all you who have served our great country.   Thank you for your service.
      Now,  to the topic at hand.   The newest issue of RailPace magazine,  June 2009 is out and the featured railfanning article for the month is Cumberland, Maryland.   As always,  the article is filled with pictures and map segements.
       Interesting,  the article preceeding the Cumberland article(in the same issue) is one about the new Bed and Breakfast next to Rockville Bridge,  the Bridgeview,  just west of Harrisburg,  Pa.

Bob

[Woody Elmore]

Fox Business News did a feature about the impact of the recession on the railroads and the reporter stated that CSX didn't have enough trackage to store all their idle cars and locomotives. Any CSX fans know anything about the report?

[jward]

hmmm. i find that hard to believe. csx is in probably 20 states. they have some facilities, such as frontier yard in buffalo, that have been recently downsized. there is alot of surplus trackage there.

cnn like most other news organizations, have only the barest of ideas what a railroad is or does.

from my observations of the local railroads, i have seen once full yards sitting empty. at one time they'd have used these yards to store surplus cars, but that doesn't seem to be the case now. one thing that has changed over the years is that many cars are now leased instead of owned. i would expect the railroad to terminate the leases on those cars if space to stored them became an issue.

in cumberland, md, there are lines of stored locomotives, only half of which appear to be csx. the rest are leasers, and if space was truly an issue i'd expect to see those locomotives moved offline. there are plenty of shortlines who'd love to earn some money storing cars and locomotives for the leasing companies....

[ebtnut]

"Hot Spots" besides Cumberland - For CSX and NS - Hagerstown, where they interchange and where NS crews normally change on the run between Shenandoah and Harrisburg.  The Winchester and Western also comes into Hagerstown over the old Cumberland Valley/PRR line.  For the Maryland Midland, best bet is to start at the headquarters town of Union Bridge and see what's moving.  Further east, a stop at Point of Rocks is always worthwhile.  The grand old depot is still there at the junction between the lines to Washington and Baltimore.  Most of the Amtrak line is now fenced in, but there are some unobstructed stops.  Note that Amtrak has what amounts to a "zero tolerance" policy regarding taking pics on their property.  See the editorial in the new Railpace for further info. 

[jward]

forget railpace, read don phillips column in trains for info directly from head of amtrak security regarding amtrak's photo policy and how it will be implemented.

in a nutshell, the photo ban is only in effect at major stations, for thiose who do not posess a ticket for a train. smaller stations should be no problems. after all, how are they going to enforce this policy at a station where the only amtrak trains come through at 3 in the morning?

along amtrak's northeast corridor, there is a railroad park at bowie about halfway between dc and baltimore which seems to be well lit in the mornings, and is off amtrak property. i can see amtrak's point regarding trespassing on the corridor, as trains there are electric, silent, and moving at 100 mph.

[MARC TRAIN]

For Norfolk Southern you can go to the tipp top of Maryland going in to PA. I saw one today when we was coming home from vacation go to Maryland. CSX you can see that on any MARC lines.

[jsmvmd]

Dear Fiends,

I spent a very pleasant night camping in Brunswick, MD hearing trains all night.  The city campground is nice, roomy, hot showers, etc.  It is adjacent to the C & O Canal National Historic Park, so you can ride your bikes on a "rails-to-trails" format, easy on the wife and kids, etc.  You can play in the Potomac River, too, which borders the campsite.

http://www.nps.gov/CHOH

Best Wishes,

Jack

[jward]

jack,
tell me more about that campsite. can you see the trains all night? how much per night?

[jsmvmd]

Dear Jeff,

Here is the link to the Brunswick (MD) Family Campground.  It is right on the tow path for the C & O Canal National Hist Park.  The web info states 200 acres, and that seems about right.  There are permanent campers and itinerants, of which I am one !  The Potomac River flows right by, quite swiftly.  Be careful at night, as it would be easy for someone to wander off the edge, about 10 feet in places !  Right out of Tom Sawyer !

http://mcmullans.org/canal/Brunswick_family_campground.htm

You have to drive through Brunswick, over double tracks toward the river, and over if memory serves me right.  There is a little white house with a train museum, but I did not get a chance to go in.  My buddy says it is not much, but it does not take too much to please me.

Somewhere close to there is a staging yard.  I will have to talk to one of the scout guys who knows better.  I remember the night we stayed there or close to there, a lot of freighters coming through.

I would suggest you do a "google earth" look see of the area to get an idea of the lay of the land.

I can tell you it was very pleasant camping, relaxed.  Bring your bicycles to ride the towpath.  You will need a canteen.  About 2.5 hours from Altoona. Might be 3+ hours from the 'Burgh.  When you get to the Sheetz store, you are about 30 min away.

On another front, if you get to Altoona for Railfest, give me a call.  I can show you an area in Tipton, north of Altoona where there is a big field where the NS mainline runs through.  It is owned by PPG.  If you know someone, you might be able to camp there.  LOTS of trains, I can guarantee !  Driving in the back roads of that area there are several crossings where you can get real close, as close as the Brickyard, which the locals call Coburn.

There was a railfan trip last week from Altoona Station.  Two beautiful E7's I believe were hooked up to heavy coaches, Pennsy Tuscan red, one was named the Mountain Air. Beautiful !  Headed northbound toward Tyrone.

You have my email.  I'll give you my phone if you want.

Best Wishes,

Jack

[jsmvmd]

Dear Jeff & Cody,

Here is another inside link to the one I sent on Brunswick, MD.  It shows the area I camped at, about 3-5 miles southeast bound.  There are numerous areas to scout trains.  You might have to plan a bike trip to find the places you like.

I can tell you it took a LOT of reconnaissance to do our boy scout trip !  Hagerstown, MD has some trains, I think. Perhaps not as much as Cumberland.  Very nice biking on the C & O at Hagerstown.  Runs right along the Potomac.  I remember there was not much train activity at times.  Certain places had a lot.  Brunswick was one such place.  Too, Brunswick has a nice little memorial with bell to three gents who were killed in a wreck.  Very brave and sort of like Casey Jones.

Best Wishes,

Jack