The Old Main Line is exactly that, the original B&O Main Line between Baltimore and Ohio constructed in the years after 1831. Today most traffic heads to and from the double track Metropolitan Branch as the OML has a large number of tunnels and is not cleared for double stacks. Furthermore to improve clearances from their 1830's design the line was single tracked in the 1950's further restricting capacity and combined with its slow curvy track it made the Metropolitan-Capitol Sub route the preferred one even if it is several miles longer.
Point of Rocks remains a passenger station on the MARC Brunswick Line and sees weekday directional service to Washington, DC. It also sees the daily passage of Amtrak's Capitol Limited with the eastbound Train 30 passing around 11am and the westbound Train 29 passing around 5:30pm.
This selection of photos was taken on a trip to Point of Rocks last August and highlights the various rail action as well as the fixed infrastructure available. The presence of the station makes Point of Rocks a very accessible railfan location with platforms and walkways that put you right in the middle of the action.
You can find the full set of photos here. As usual I will be posting a variety of select photos, but the train shots will be down at the bottom to encourage you to read through the entire essay :-P
We begin with the Point of Rocks station building. It was constructed in 1873 and is a Nationally Registered Historic Place. I believe it is still staffed by a CSX ticket agent, one of the last in the entire company and the job position probably stretches back to the early days of the B&O, nearly two centuries ago. A newspaper article profiled the woman who worked there and at the time CSX had opted not to bid to continue running the MARC commuter service and there was a big thing about her finally going into retirement. However with CSX continuing to run the service I am assuming that the agent position was saved and with it a piece of living history.
The station also serves as a crew base for local CSX track and signal maintainers and there is a large parking area for CSX owned trucks and hi-rail vehicles. The south side platform canopy was damaged in the February 2010 blizzard, but as of January of 2011 work had been started to restore it.
Of course as a railroad crew base the required motivational safety poster was present.
The inbound platform had been provided with rather austere bus type shelters for waiting passengers, but in 2008 these were replaced with a new design that matched the look and feel of the 1873 station building across the tracks.
The main island platform between the two main lines is still equipped with its original brick paving as well as cast iron lampposts and signs. (Alert Forgotten NY!) Still a second, modern type sign has been provided at a lower level, probably for ADA reasons.
POINT OF ROCKS interlocking comprises the west apex of the wye and is a double-track flat junction between the Old Main Line and Metropolitan Sub with the OML being given the straight route and the Metropolitan Sub the diverging. As the Metropolitan Sub begins a few miles to the west at Brunswick trains taking the same logical route at the junction must actually make a diverging move. In this case looking east we see a Medium Clear indication displayed on the #2 track mast for a diverging route from #2 track to...#2 track.
A conveniently placed set of duckboards allow one to stand right in the middle of the interlocking. Here we are looking west at the parallel set of crossovers for the double track main line split between the OML and Met subs. While each individual interlocking that makes up the Point of Rocks Wye only contains a half crossover, combined there exist a full set of crossovers for all tracks.
Here we see CSX C44-10W #939 splitting the westbound OML mast signals as it moves from OML track #3 to Met Sub track #1.
Behind 939 was fellow AC4400 #501 at the head of a long strong of empty coal cars headed westbound.
