19-03-26 PHOTOS: Capitol Limited Spring

I wrapped up my main series of Amtrak Cross Country LD trips in 2017 with a makeup run on the sunset Limited between San Francisco and Denver. Since 2011 I had gone on 8 western LD trips, some routes more than once, but I still had one omission from my collection and that would be the Texas Eagle. Now in theory I should have arranged another cross country run to take an Eagle through sleeper from LA to Chicago, but since I had already done the Sunset Limited twice and the Eagle portion of the trip was practically bankrupt in the scenery department, my travel buddies were not supportive of the plan. After taking the 2018 season off, I found an opportunity in the spring of 2019 to ride the Eagle westbound to Dallas, with an westbound Capitol Limited segment from Washington to Chicago. This would allow us to try out the new sleeper lounge in Chicago Union Station as well as have a few hours for Chicago things.

This trip will be documented in 6 or 7 photo posts, starting with the Capitol Limited heading out of Washington, DC. While I am not a stranger to this route, I often am stuck riding in the depths of winter when the rear car is closed and the sun sets before 5pm. While March is no June, it is certainly no December and I had usable light all the way through Cumberland, MD. Also included at some photos in an around Washington Union Station and the DC Metro. The full set can be found here (mirror).

My trip begins early on a Tuesday morning at the BWI Rail Station with an southbound Acela Express with power car #2017 running ahead of my MARC express train led by K-car #7847.

I had an activity in DC prior to my late afternoon Amtrak departure and caught 7k car #7606 at Union Station and 3k car #3062 at Metro Center.

Power for my Train #29 that day was the single Amtrak P42DC #136. This would leave only about 3600hp available for traction and reduce any ability to make up time lost en-route. 

On the adjacent track was Amtrak ACS-86 #652, leased to MARC to supplement its HHP-8 fleet for use on heavy peak period express trains. 

Amtrak SW1000R end cab switcher #796 was still going strong in its job towing lite power and trainsets out of the stub end terminal. Here the little pup is posing in front of the Union switching substation.

As it was the start of the afternoon rush, VRE MP36PH-3C #V59 with an outbound VRE trainset.

MARC single level cab car #7759 rolls past K TOWER with a Camden or Brunswick line trainset and MARC MP36PH-3C #24.

 

Sunlight shines through the diesel exhaust on the long, low level boarding platform between tracks 15 and 16 with Train 29 on track 15.

Point-of-Rocks MARC station.

CSX GP38-2 #2564 at Brunswick Yard.

MARC single level coaches being towed by a trackmobile at Brunswick Yard.

MARC MP36PH-3C #16 with a Brunswick Line train standing at the service pad just shy of the still standing WB tower.

Potomac River bridges at Harper's Ferry.

NA cabin lives on at Martinsburg, WV along with some additional historic structures nearby.

WEST CUMBO interlocking, former site of W tower.

CHERRY RUN interlocking, former site of R (MILLER) tower. These two interlockings are situated at either end of the low grade track #4.

HANCOCK interlocking, former site of HANCOCK tower.

View from inside the Chessie eared Graham Tunnel looking eastward over the Potomac river bridge. The tunnel was recently notched for doublestack container traffic. Part of the ~1911 Magnolia cutoff project, this is the only part of the route in the state of Maryland.

Another feat of the Magnolia cutoff was this massive concrete retaining wall that shows off the elevation difference between the older "low line" right of way and the cutoff.

CSX ES44AC #3138 heading east near Okonoko, WV.

The Greens Spring tie plant was opened in partnership with the B&O in the early 20th century to manufacture new creosote impregnated wooden ties that would last many times as long as the un-treated counterparts. It closed in 2015 due to decreased demand for ties in the rail industry and now little remains.

MoW conga line on the Greens Spring siding getting ready to head out and do their thing. .

As twilight descends, my train passes FN tower at Paterson Creek.

The Potomac River bridge just east of Cumberland Yard was replaced around 2015 with a brand new structure.

The closed yet still useful MEXICO (M) tower at MEXICO interlocking.  

ET44AC #3272 at the head of a DPU container train waiting for the railroad at MEXICO.

Two additional ES44AC's were at the head of a train on the Cumberland yard departure tracks.

BNSF ET44AC #3944, was on the rear DPU position.

CSX SD40-2's #8253 and #2431 were flat switching the now closed Cumberland hump yard.

As the sun set it was time for dinner and I retired to my sleeping accommodation until the midnight arrival in Pittsburgh.

Normally this would be the end of the set, but I stayed at the back for a while longer to get some photos of the endangered PRR position lights on the Fort Wayne Line between CP-PENN and CP-WEST CONWAY. Here the train crosses the Fort Wayne Bridge with downtown Pittsburgh and the David L Lawrence Convention Center in the background.

Along the way I managed to catch SD70ACC rebuild #1800 in the bright yellow paint scheme less than 6 months after it had entered service.

That's it for this set, tune in next week as we ride the NY Central racetrack into Chicago.