Point of Rocks, MD and Shenandoah Junction, WV

When you read the subject line you would think that we did a LOT of driving today. We drove less than 100 miles and covered a lot of road in 3 states. Ah yes...the 3 state tour. Eric and I both stayed home from work today....a little R&R or what have you. We slept in and then decided around 10:30 to head out for Point of Rocks. We picked up some blunch (breakfast/lunch) on the way and got to Point of Rocks a little after 11. We heard some chatter of an EB train and headed over the tracks to park. We climbed up the bank to get in position and got what I think is my best railfan picture ever. The shot I was talking about with Eric and my parents of hoping to get one day....yes friends...I got the train coming through the tunnel.



I told Eric that all we need now is a cam corder so we can get audio AND still shots. hehee....it would have been awesome to hear the sounds of the whistle bouncing off the tunnel walls.

We hung around to catch 2 more trains after this one and then got into that lull where there isn't a lot of movement on the rails. We decided that we would head out and started back towards home. All of a sudden I got an idea to head up to Shenandoah Junction, WV to a hot spot for railfanning. We turned around and headed back towards Point of Rocks up through Lovettsville and Brunswick and into WV via US - 340.

When we got to Shenandoah Junction there were a couple of other railfans there already so we grabbed a spot and waitied. Not long after we got an EB train and then a SB on the Norfolk Southern line. It was a busy day.

SB NS.


We stood outside with the other railfans and had a good time talking with them and getting info on different sites, webgroups, etc.

It was an awesome day and a much needed one. Here is a link to all of our pictures from January 21 and January 28. I'm working on captions so you have the feeling of actually being there. :)

Railfanning

Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living. - Miriam Beard

Monday is Maryland Day.

Eric and I were both off of work today for the Martin Luther King Holiday so we headed up to Maryland to visit Barnes and Nobles and take in a little railfanning. We had heard on the local news talk radio station that there was a closure on Route 15 north of Lucketts so we took a detour through Loudoun County by way of Route 9 to Route 287 and then through Lovettsville. We hit Brunswick, Maryland and then got on US - 340 from there. We went to Fredrick and the Francis Key Mall to hit up B&N. I got a couple of books from the bargain table and I think Eric picked up one of my birthday presents. :D After we were done there we headed back towards Brunswick, MD in search of some trains.

We saw 2 engines with a lumber car heading WB towards the 84 Lumber there. After awhile the 2 engines came back EB towards the yard. From the chatter on the radio it sounded like they were doing some track testing. Not long after we got a WB of mixed use cars (coal, box, intermodle). Things got quiet after that so we headed down to Point of Rocks, MD.

When we pulled into Point of Rocks there was an EB Amtrak waiting for clearance to continue through. Come to find out they were waiting for a CSX work truck to clear the tracks. The radio was pretty quiet so we decided to drive down towards the west end of the tracks where the signal towers are to see what they read. All red. Bummer. I remembered an entrance to a park just after you turn onto MD-28 from US-15 so we went down there to wait for some action. I saw a bridge that went across the tracks and the old Canal so we got out of the car and started walking towards it only to realize that it was a vehicle bridge. So we jumped back in the car and drove over there. Boy was I happy to have found that. I was finally able to get a picture of the Point of Rocks tunnel which we always see from the bridge but can never get a good picture of.
It's not a straight on picture as I dare not cross the tracks. But I'm happy with it. :D



A couple minutes after we got to our new found spot we got a WB train. It was such an awesome spot to capture the train moving along the tracks. Here is the train on approach.



And moving along the tracks. Yes, that would be snow on the ground. On January 17 we got about 4 - 6 inches in Leesburg. Most of it has now melted (aside from the areas that don't get direct sun).



I love this photo a lot. The shadows from the support pilar of the bridge we are under and from the surrounding trees. I just like it a lot. heh. :)



After the train passed we moved down from the tracks and headed back to the car (since it was colder than we like). Soon after we headed home and called it a day. We had a lot of fun and wish we had more 3 day weekends to do some railfanning.

All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware. - Martin Buber

The 3 state tour.

Our first road trip of the year took us in search of a train museum I remember seeing multiple times on US - 11. For some reason I thought that is was in Pennsylvania, but lo and behold it was in Maryland. We hit the road late that day but made the best of our time (and what little day light we would have left). We headed up US - 15 to US - 340 and then to US - 40 before jumping on the interstate (our last resort of travel).




We got into Hagerstown and found a Sheets to grab a bite to eat before we headed over to the museum. When we pulled into the parking lot at the museum there was a lot of train activity in the yard.



We headed into the museum and were a little disappointed to find that it is mostly geared towards model railroads.


(click on picture to see full view...for some reason it is getting cut off)

While we don't mind watching the model trains for a few minutes we were hoping to find a museum along the likes of New York Central depot in Elkhart, Indiana. Though we were met with disappointment we talked with some of the gentlemen there and they gave us some pointers on places that are decent for railfanning.

We headed back to the car and back down US - 11 to Shenandoah Junction, WV to locate and mark on our GPS a possible railfanning spot. It is usually pretty quiet in our neck of the woods as far as train travel goes (on the weekends that is) so we hope to make it out there on a week day at some point.

After we got the place marked we headed towards home with a stop in Brunswick, Maryland as we heard some chatter on the scanner of a possible west bounder. Not to long after we heard whistles and the arms went down and we were met with Amtrak 29. Though it was a train it is never as exciting as your old freighters.

After the Amtrak went through we went full steam ourselves towards home.

Another good day on the road, another 3 state tour* and a couple trains to boot.

It is not down in any map; true places never are. ~Herman Melville

*editors note: The 3 state tour is when you hit Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland all in one trip. ;)