ALC Rail Writer
Engineer
The Eastbound Cap arrived nearly three hours late into ALC because it struck a car near Waterloo, Indiana. There were no known injuries as the driver fled the scene. Apparently the car was stolen. We arrived into PGH just in time to do a cross-platform transfer, which went smoothly. We proceeded East and made up some time going through Maryland. The sky was overcast, but the fall colors were out in full view.
The Penny waiting in PGH.
Out of the railfan's window, the WV fall colors
The damage to our lead engine after it's fender bender in Waterloo.
As hotels in DC were high I elected to stay in BWI. It was confusing at first but after memorizing a few maps I must say BWI is a great place to stay. The hotels are cheaper than WAS or BAL, and there is easy access to both cities through bus, light rail, and Amtrak. Most hotels have shuttles to the BWI airport, which has a free shuttle to the MARC/Amtrak station.
The rally was extremely fun. As I discussed in earlier threads the trains between PHL and WAS were sold out on Saturday, so Amtrak leased MARC gear and ran specials consisting of Amtrak power, mixed MARC coaches (bilevels and comets) and AF food service cars. I enjoyed the bilevels, nicer than Amfleets for short runs-- certainly not for much longer than two hours.
Views from the rally:
After the rally I took some time to do some night and low-light shots of Union Station's beautiful architecture. After boarding I watched the Cresent board-- wishing I was in their diner.
Sunday morning I watched the trains run in and out of BWI, waiting for my Acela to come in, after the quick trip down to WAS I found that the Corridor Clipper was parked in front of out Acela on track twenty. By its orientation it looked as if it was recently on the road, or about to go out. Of course I'm not sure about it, but still very nice to see it. I also noticed some other stuff in the yard, notably a Heritage diner (still trying to figure out why it was there).
The Cap's consist on the way home was nice. After the power and the transdorm there were two refurb SLIs and a refurbished Sightseer. The last coach was a snack coach, which I haven't seen in years.
Acela arriving at BWI
The Clipper parked in WUS
Leaving PGH at midnight. Happy Halloween everybody!
View full photo set here
The Penny waiting in PGH.
Out of the railfan's window, the WV fall colors
The damage to our lead engine after it's fender bender in Waterloo.
As hotels in DC were high I elected to stay in BWI. It was confusing at first but after memorizing a few maps I must say BWI is a great place to stay. The hotels are cheaper than WAS or BAL, and there is easy access to both cities through bus, light rail, and Amtrak. Most hotels have shuttles to the BWI airport, which has a free shuttle to the MARC/Amtrak station.
The rally was extremely fun. As I discussed in earlier threads the trains between PHL and WAS were sold out on Saturday, so Amtrak leased MARC gear and ran specials consisting of Amtrak power, mixed MARC coaches (bilevels and comets) and AF food service cars. I enjoyed the bilevels, nicer than Amfleets for short runs-- certainly not for much longer than two hours.
Views from the rally:
After the rally I took some time to do some night and low-light shots of Union Station's beautiful architecture. After boarding I watched the Cresent board-- wishing I was in their diner.
Sunday morning I watched the trains run in and out of BWI, waiting for my Acela to come in, after the quick trip down to WAS I found that the Corridor Clipper was parked in front of out Acela on track twenty. By its orientation it looked as if it was recently on the road, or about to go out. Of course I'm not sure about it, but still very nice to see it. I also noticed some other stuff in the yard, notably a Heritage diner (still trying to figure out why it was there).
The Cap's consist on the way home was nice. After the power and the transdorm there were two refurb SLIs and a refurbished Sightseer. The last coach was a snack coach, which I haven't seen in years.
Acela arriving at BWI
The Clipper parked in WUS
Leaving PGH at midnight. Happy Halloween everybody!
View full photo set here
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