New Fredericksburg, VA member checking in

[IronHorse44]

Hi everyone and fellow Amtrak Railfans.

My name is Rick and I live in the Fredericksburg, Virginia area between the CSX mainline (ex-RF&P) and NS mainline (ex-Southern) which both see plenty of Amtrak regional and long-distance trains. I am excited to be here and learn more about Amtrak operations, schedules, routes, etc.

I work in Washington, DC for the US government (Deptartment of Transportation) so I am at Union Station all the time and on the rails to and from the big Federal city. I am a very active media creator with a camera always close by so please feel free to visit my video (Recon Five Media) and photography (Rick Charles Photography) sites and my social links.

I look forward to seeing many of you on the forums.

Rick C.

Some shots:

 

[pennyk]

Welcome to Amtrak Unlimited

 

[chadamfleetrailfan]

Welcome Rick! Glad to have you.

I know that the line you are on sees a lot of Amtrak action (like you said), such as a lot of NER trains and the Auto Train as well. What a great line to be on for Amtrak action!

Please also feel free to post more photos of your Amtrak findings in the Rail Photography room on here!

 

[Trollopian]

Welcome, Iron Horse! Just curious...do you take VRE all the way to Union Station, then the Circulator to DOT headquarters? As opposed to the alternative, VRE to L'Enfant Plaza then Metro's Green Line? Or both, depending on the day and the weather?

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

Hi everyone and fellow Amtrak Railfans.

My name is Rick and I live in the Fredericksburg, Virginia area between the CSX mainline (ex-RF&P) and NS mainline (ex-Southern) which both see plenty of Amtrak regional and long-distance trains. I am excited to be here and learn more about Amtrak operations, schedules, routes, etc.

I work in Washington, DC for the US government (Deptartment of Transportation) so I am at Union Station all the time and on the rails to and from the big Federal city. I am a very active media creator with a camera always close by so please feel free to visit my video (Recon Five Media) and photography (Rick Charles Photography) sites and my social links.

I look forward to seeing many of you on the forums.

Rick C.

Some shots:

View attachment 31687 View attachment 31689 View attachment 31688

Welcome, Iron Horse! Just curious...do you take VRE all the way to Union Station, then the Circulator to DOT headquarters? As opposed to the alternative, VRE to L'Enfant Plaza then Metro's Green Line? Or both, depending on the day and the weather?

Welcome! What a wonderful place to live! Trollopian beat me to it—I was going to ask if you took VRE.

I’m in NJ, and my favorite short getaway to the south is to go to Alexandria and Fredericksburg for a few days and watch trains. I especially love sitting on the deck of the restaurant overlooking the river and with the train bridge in view.

 

[user 13416]

Welcome, fellow Virginian

 

[IronHorse44]

Welcome, Iron Horse! Just curious...do you take VRE all the way to Union Station, then the Circulator to DOT headquarters? As opposed to the alternative, VRE to L'Enfant Plaza then Metro's Green Line? Or both, depending on the day and the weather?

Hey there. VRE to L'enfant in the mornings and then VRE or P125 from WAS in the afternoons. I do not work in the DOTHQ buildings. I'm offsite.

 

[IronHorse44]

Welcome! What a wonderful place to live! Trollopian beat me to it—I was going to ask if you took VRE.

I’m in NJ, and my favorite short getaway to the south is to go to Alexandria and Fredericksburg for a few days and watch trains. I especially love sitting on the deck of the restaurant overlooking the river and with the train bridge in view.

You means Brocks in Fxbrg? In 22 years living here Ive only been there once! Have you tried the Ironhorse Restaurant (no relationship ) or Origins Brewery in Ashland? Literally adjacent to the tracks. You can see both places from the Virtual Railfan cams.

 

[IronHorse44]

Welcome, fellow Virginian

Thanks! Originally from NYC but been here long enough to qualify as a Virginian guess

 

[Mystic River Dragon]

Yes, Brocks.

I almost went to Ashland for a day trip once from FBG, but the Fredericksburg hotel desk clerk said “Oh stay here—there’s so much more to do here!”

So it’s still on my list.

 

[chadamfleetrailfan]

Ashland is great for railfanning (and also has a Virtual Railfan camera set up at the station ICYDK). They also have a big train day where lots of railfanners from around the region meet up as well.

 

[IronHorse44]

Ashland is great for railfanning (and also has a Virtual Railfan camera set up at the station ICYDK). They also have a big train day where lots of railfanners from around the region meet up as well.

Ashland Train day is Saturday, April 29, 2023. Great fun for railfans. Link: Celebrate Ashland Train Day — Downtown Ashland, Virginia!

 

[IronHorse44]

Yes, Brocks.

I almost went to Ashland for a day trip once from FBG, but the Fredericksburg hotel desk clerk said “Oh stay here—there’s so much more to do here!”

So it’s still on my list.

Well that's technically and generally true...unless you are a railfan. You can see more trains in FBG (if you add in the VRE during weekday commuting times) but I enjoy the locale and beverage opportunities in Ashland while railfanning a whole lot better (if that's your MO). Also, the "BB" (Buckingham Branch short line) isn't too far away either, just not on the CSX/RF&P mainline. The BB crosses CSX in Doswell, about 10 miles or so north of Ashland, and is a good railfan spot also but without the restaurants/brewery or anything to be honest..

 

[chadamfleetrailfan]

Ashland Train day is Saturday, April 29, 2023. Great fun for railfans. Link: Celebrate Ashland Train Day — Downtown Ashland, Virginia!

Yep. That's the one I was talking about I'm glad you're aware of it. Do you usually attend?

 

[IronHorse44]

Yep. That's the one I was talking about I'm glad you're aware of it. Do you usually attend?

I've been once in 2018 or 2019. Virtual Railfan was there in force. Lots of people. Fun time. You should come down and spend your money here! ;-)