Railfanning 3/8 and 3/9

Hi, Friend Dale Diacont presented a program to the Baltimore Chapter of the NRHS on Monday evening, March 9.  As he would spend two nights with Ruthe and me I met him at Shenandoah Junction, WV around 1:00 PM on March 8.  Our plan was to spend the remainder of March 8 and all of March 9 railfanning and then attend the meeting.

I arrived about 11:30 AM and noticed the NS dispatcher had a northbound lined up.  Just as I was parking my truck the crossing bells starting ringing.  I grabbed a camera for this shot of a northbound coal train.

I relocated to the CSX track (NS passes overhead on the bridge here), our agreed meeting point.  About 1/2 hour later a coal train (above and below) and Q216 showed up running neck and neck.

The final train at Shenandoah Junction was Amtrak's Capitol Limited running a little late at 1:00 PM.  Dale arrived a few minutes later.

Dale wanted a shot at Harpers Ferry so we headed there after the Capitol.  First up was coal empties E725

followed by K273, an empty oil train, and

another empty coal train.

We finished the day at Brunswick, MD where we caught the west bound Capitol passing the now closed WB Tower.

The next day Dale asked to visit the Northeast Corridor.  We began our day at Bowie, MD.  Among the trains we photographed were this Acela and

and a MARC commuter train (above and below).

We then moved to the Martin State Airport station north of Baltimore.  Again a number of trains were photographed on this long straight stretch of track.  Here an Acela rushes south while another train approaches in the distance.

This was the first of three long distance trains we would see during the day.  We believe it is a very late Silver Meteor.

Another Acela, this time northbound.

A northbound Northeast Regional Train is pulled by one of the new ACS 64s.

After lunch we stopped at Halethorpe, MD.  An Amtrak Regional Train heads north as a MARC commuter train departs for Washington, DC.

One of two very unusual sitings (at least for me) was an ACS 64 pulling a train with a dead AEM-7.

Our second unusual siting was a GP15D/GP38 combination hauling an Acela, probably to Ivy City in Washington, DC.

Here an Amtrak regional train comes south.

We saw three MARC HHP-8s.  The train in the photo above is headed north.

This train slowed to a walk as it approached us and then passed our spot as it pushed south to DC.

In these "going away" photos an Acela rounds the curve north of our spot (above and below).

Thanks for looking.