Alexandria VA Platforms - Shooting VRE

This is the same post I made in the DC area.

One of the few moments of sunshine on my recent ten day NJ and DC trip resulted in these two unusual (unusual to me at least) passsenger movements.

The first was a northbound VRE led by the a locomotive (it had two cab cars in the consist).

http://freericks.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... ?id=872419

Coming to a stop.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 449&nseq=2

The second was an Amtrak regional with the fast vanishing older paint scheme on a Dash 8 leaer.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 499&nseq=1

The same train pulls up to the platform.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.p ... 500&nseq=0

Hey

Glad you enjoyed the DC/VA area and got a picture on railpicures.net .

As for your observations:

1.) Seeing commuter equipment with 2 units is not uncommon. Commuter rail service in the area is growing faster than anyone can find money to keep it going. Across the Potomac, MARC trains are so full people don't even get seats. With equipment in such high demand, it's not really practical to take an entire coach out of service to repair the cab cars, and there are usually protect engines available so it's easier to run the train with two engines. By using MU cables, both engines are in sync operating as a whole, each doing half the work, and it isn't as wasteful as you think. Amtrak does this in New England as well.

2.) Those engines are older and not as commonly used. There is at least 1 in Ivy City yard. They are a little more common in the Midwest.

Here are two pictures from an earlier visit back in 2003. Although conditions are tight, I really like the Alexandria platforms as a safe place to watch trains with good lighting.

Any advice for my next visit on other spots to shoot VRE?

Here's an F40 in great sun.

http://freericks.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... ?id=827768

And here is an RP39-2C with Sounder cars.

http://freericks.rrpicturearchives.net/ ... ?id=827769

I'll have to defer that question since I live in Maryland.

If you wanted to shoot MARC, a great place is Landsdowne MD area.

There is so much action there.

You can take Route 1 to the Halethorpe MARC station and walk up to the NEC Mainline and see Amtrak and MARC or drive down Route 1 to Relay and see MARC trains and see both CSX's Capital (to DC) and Old Main Line (to Frederick) subdivisions.

You might be interested in this, at one point, MARC/VRE considered running through service. Two main issues were identified that prevented it.

1.) Engine change and power needed at DC. Some MARC equipment is certified for 120mph, higher than the deseil limit so VRE would have to use Electric's it doesn't have. On the flip side, there is no wire south of DC so MARC would have to use deseil's it can't spare.

2.) Timing issues with CSX's Potomac River bridge.

However, with Virginia investing in VRE and BRAC, this could one day become reality.

Thanks for the tip. I will definetely try Lansdowne when I get back.

Both locations provide signal helpers; however the signals for Amtrak are hard to read. If you to to the actual St. Dennis platform, there is a great view of southbound trains.

As you approach the station, you will cross the tracks on a bridge, then you make a SHARP right. If you take the left instead, you go down a big hill to a place were you have an unobstructed view of all three tracks in both directions.

Downside? You loose the advantage of the signals.

From being on the L'Enfant Station platform (though no trains were there), I think that may be a good spot to get some train photos, if you are allowed to do so.

The King Street Metro platform can also provide a vantage point.

I was there in the summer and was amazed about all the trains comming through. lirr415-Peter

erielackawanna wrote: Any advice for my next visit on other spots to shoot VRE?

There are a few good spots.

First is the Lake Accotink trestle in Springfield (Manassas line only). It's in a public park, so access is pretty good. You might have to mapquest it though.
The second is just west of the Alexandria station at AF interlocking. There's an access road that runs just beside the tracks. The trains normally run at 30-40 mph here and it's more exciting than them just sitting at the station. You'll see Manassas and Fredericksburg trains.
The Franconia - Springfield and Rippon (Fredericksburg line) both have pedestrian bridges linking the platforms to the parking lots, these are really good spots, but Rippon is a ways away from the city. FS has a Metro Rail station adjacent to the VRE platforms that make access to the city easy (within 35 min.)

enjoy our trains!

chuchubob wrote:The King Street Metro platform can also provide a vantage point.

Bob, I've taken pictures from King Street WMATA myself of Amtrak Trains and they come out godd from the WMATA Yellow/Blue Lines Platform, especially where you wait to change from Yellow to Blue and you happen to see an Amtrak Train at Alexandria and then I'd pull out my camera to take a picture or even a movie clip.