Trainless Railfan Days

It is possible to spend an entire day sitting by railroad tracks and not see a single train. That isn't always a bad thing, especially if you're willing to get dirty, climb trestles and shoot everything you find. Above: Looking west on the CSX bridge over the Monocacy River near Dickerson, MD in 1993.

Okay, so there is ONE train in this set, but it's far away and of little overall consequence to this composition. This is westbound CSX Q397 approaching the east end of the yard at Brunswick, MD in 1992.

Winchester Station in Winchester, VA - 1997.

Old B&O target signal at Barnsville, MD - 1995.

It's not always pretty. Grafton, WV is the second ugliest place I have ever seen. Sorry, midwestern city who shall not be named here - you're still number one. This shot includes CSX "D" Tower and the hulking old B&O Railroad Willard Hotel, both of which stand as symbols of the Great American Railroad, as well as its decline. The year was 1997.

"WB" Tower in Brunswick, MD in 1999. One of the last of its kind.

The iconic B&O station at Point of Rocks, MD in 1991. Its church-like appearance is no accident. It was designed by E. Francis Baldwin, a devout Catholic responsible for many of the B&O stations in Maryland, as well as several churches and seminary buildings.

The east portal of the Sykesville, MD tunnel on B&O's Old Main Line.

Silver rails and the old "HO" Tower at Hancock, MD - 2001.

Slightly less silver rails leading into the yard at Brunswick, MD in 1991.

Right. I think that'll do it for trains for a while. Miles to go before I get to my digital material...

Trains In Black And White

Trains look older when photographed in black & white. We railfans tend to like our trains old. Above: Idle Power at Brunswick, MD in 1993.

CSX GP40 #6223 emerging from the west portal of the Point of Rocks, MD Tunnel in 1999.

At the same location, but facing west, the eastbound Q216 is captured in 1997 with the C&O Canal tow path and the Potomac River in the background.

Q398 rumbles east through Dickerson, MD in 1993.

At Riverside Shops in Baltimore in 1993, this ex-Burlington Northern E-9 has received its new MARC identifiers and awaits a "67" number board.

In 1992, westbound Amtrak train #29 "Capitol Limited" rolls toward its first stop in Rockville, MD. It will be in downtown Chicago by lunchtime tomorrow.

Two shots of a CSX freight heading east out of Cumberland Yard and past Mexico Tower at North Branch, MD in 1992.

A train robbery reenactment at the old Western Maryland Station in Cumberland, MD in 1996.

Westbound Q217 approaching Cumberland Yard in 1992 and not making nearly enough noise.

Check back for more. So much more...

Old Stuff On The MARC, Part Two: The F-Units

The MARC Commuter Rail system in the early 1990s was loads of fun for railfans. We've already covered the rickety old RDCs. Tonight, we'll take a quick look at some of the F-units MARC employed during the period leading up to their mid-90s fleet upgrade. These classic locomotives from a bygone era in rail travel are extremely photogenic. Dating back to the late 40s and early 50s, they're streamlined and elegant and with the right paint scheme can appear to be smiling. Enough said. The CSX F7 (A-B) set above, followed by one of MARC's own F7 A units, is seen crossing the Monacacy River near Dickerson, MD in 1992.

MARC #7100 at Brunswick, MD in 1994, awaiting repainting in the silver/blue/orange scheme.

CSX #116 and MARC #83 in the yard at Brunswick, MD in 1991.

CSX #116 pushes its train east past Point of Rocks, MD in 1992.

MARC #'s 85 & 7100 on the west end of Rail Appreciation Days special train at Brunswick, MD in 1991.

CSX #118 and MARC #7100 approaching the Thomas Viaduct en route to Baltimore on MARC's Camden Line in 1992.

MARC #85 approaching Metropolitan Grove Road in Gaithersburg, MD in 1994.

MARC #83 races west past eastbound auto-racks near Derwood, MD in 1993. For the record, I would recommend against trying to cling to the top of a barbed-wire fence to shoot two high-speed trains heading in opposite directions within seconds of each other in insufficient light. Just sayin'.

THANKS FOR LOOKING. MUCH MORE TO COME...

Basic Training

I have been fascinated with trains since I was a child, but I didn't start making a semi-serious effort to photograph them until early 1991. I have approximately eleventy-five bazillion photos of trains now, so it's been a challenge to select favorites to post here. I've gathered a nearly-random sample of five shots from 1991-1992 below. All were shot along the Metropolitan Subdivision of CSXT's former Baltimore and Ohio line, between Kensington, MD and Brunswick, MD. The banner photo above is a tracks-eye view of what was left of Brunswick's yard in 1996.

Above: Westbound auto racks rumbling through the defect detector at Rock Creek, just west of Kensington, MD in 1991 - in one of my very first railfan shots. Yes, I'm pretty sure that headlight is out. No, I have no idea why.

Idling coal drags at Brunswick, MD in August 1991. The SD50 on the right and GP40 on the left, still sporting Chessie System colors, had yet to be repainted in the CSX blue and grey scheme.

For much of the early 1990s, MARC Rail employed CSX power on many of its commuter trains. Rolling past Brunswick station, this F7-A (former CRR, I think) is on the east end of a special Railroad Appreciation Days excursion from Brunswick, MD to Martinsburg, WV and back, in 1991.

Okay, the shot above is far from perfect. I've got motion blur, an overexposed nose and my focus is about halfway back on the lead engine, thanks to firing a quarter-second too late. I don't mind all that, because bright sunlight on a train (and trees!) with dark clouds in the background is one of my favorite settings. It was still 1991, and I was still learning to shoot these things. Empty coal trains (this one is coming off the Old Main Line past Point of Rocks, MD) can be awfully fast!

This 1992 photo of GP30 #4253 as the middle unit on the westbound (empty) "Rock Runner" crossing Randolph Road near Rockville, MD goes in the "lucky shots" file. My friend and railfan mentor and unofficial life coach had given me a heads-up that this engine was coming and that it was facing backwards, so I had pre-focused and composed the shot, but the train was absolutely flying, so getting it in the right spot was just luck. This engine, with its rare B&O "sunburst" paint scheme, has a story all its own for me and my buddy, but that's another post for another time.