RAILROAD SIGNALS of the U.S.
RAILFAN
GUIDE to
CENTRAL MARYLAND
and northern VA / WV
The central Maryland and northern parts of Virginia and West Virginia area offers the railfan a wide variety of photo ops.
There are quite a few tunnels in the area, due the hilly and sometimes mountainous terrain, and there are oodles of bridges. In Harpers Ferry, you have them combined in a rare sight.
CSX, Norfolk Southern, Amtrak, and MARC all have a presence here, as well as the short excursion line, the Walkersville and Southern. The CSX runs pretty much E-W from Baltimore and Washington DC to Toledo and Chicago, and the NS is running N-S from Hagerstown to Roanoke.
Hagerstown and Brunswick both have railroad museums, the one in Hagerstown is on the site of the former Western Maryland roundhouse.
If you are into non-railroad "things", you have to visit the first Washington Monument built in the U.S., and the Monocacy Aqueduct, which carried the C&O Canal over a tributary of the Potomac River, a most impressive site!
West of the central area is Hancock, Cumberland, and Frostburg; and Oakland in far western Maryland, which all have notable points of interest for the railfan.
For specific guides of the area:
Click
here for a guide to
Boyce and Berryville VA
Click
here for a guide
to Brunswick MD
Click here for a guide to
Charlestown WV
Click
here for a guide to Frederick MD
new 8/14/2010
Click here
for a guide to Hagerstown MD
new 9/3/2010
Click
here for a guide
to Harpers Ferry WV
Click here for a guide to
Martinsburg WV
Click
here for a guide to Mt Airy MD
detail pix added 8/14/2010
Click
here for a guide
to Point of Rocks MD
Click here for a guide to
Winchester WV
Getting Here
Interstate 70, from the west or east provides access to the Central Maryland region, followed by US15 to go north, and US15 and US340 to go south.
From the south, and the far north, I81 provides your access, and depending where you're going, you can get off onto I70 at Hagerstown and come east if you're coming down from PA or NY, or you can get off at the many exits around Winchester in northern VA. From the north, you could also come down on US15 from the PA side. From NY, a trip down I95 and around the Baltimore Beltway (I695) to I70 west will get you here.
From DC, you have a couple of choices. You can head west from the DC Beltway on either VA7 or VA267, the Dulles Airport Access Road, which is a toll road, and head to Leesburg where you can pick up US15 heading to Point of Rocks. Just on the other side of the river and Point of Rocks, hang a left onto MD464, Point of Rocks Rd, and take that the seven miles into Brunswick.
If you're coming from the north side of DC, I would just head up I270 to Frederick, and then catch US340 south... while it may be a little longer, you don't have the stop signs, traffic lights, and slow moving idiots that plague the back roads.
Click here for the Central MD map in PDF version.
Click here for the maps of Harpers Ferry, Brunswick, Point of Rocks and central MD in one PDF.
MARC and Amtrak Schedules
Barnesville MD
MARC Commuter Station
Boyds MD
MARC Commuter Station
A typical "bus stop" style station, the underpass has been
closed off, and a bird hotel :-)
Brunswick MD
The ex B&O
Depot and WB MARC Commuter Station
CSX's
Brunswick Yard
The
Brunswick Railroad Museum
"B&O's" WB
Tower
The EB MARC Station
The C&O Canal
More stuff on the Brunswick page.
Charlestown WV
A quaint historic district, NS/CSX crossing, and a small ex N&W depot make this town a good stopover point.
Dickerson MD
MARC Commuter Station
Just west of Dickerson is this set of signals for a
crossover and siding
Duffields WV
MARC
Commuter Station
Frederick MD
MARC Commuter Stations
Gaithersburg
MARC Commuter Station, small park with train display
Germantown MD
MARC Commuter Station
Harpers Ferry WV
One of the most famous Civil War towns, along with
spectacular scenery around the HF Tunnel.
More stuff on the Harpers Ferry page.
Hagerstown MD
CSX (ex WM) Yard, the Hagerstown RR Museum, and an ex WM depot all make this a worthwhile stop!
Martinsburg WV
End of the MARC Brunswick Commuter line, has two trains a
day in each direction.
Metropolitan Grove MD
MARC Commuter Station
Monocacy Aqueduct MD
For it's time, a wonderful engineering feat to build the C&O Canal over a river!
A must see if you're passing through.
Mount Airy MD
ex B&O depot and a tunnel on the Old Main Line
Point of Rocks MD
A
division point for the CSX, and a beautiful old B&O depot are here.
Lots more stuff on the Point of Rocks page.
Shenandoah Junction WV
Although the Junction disappeared many, many years ago, it nevertheless provides for some interesting shots.
Shepardstown WV
In a view looking south, you see the bridge and depot in
the upper right hand corner.
Walkersville MD
Home to the short excursion line, the Walkersville and Southern... take a ride behind "Bangy", the manual shift switcher.
Washington Grove / Gaithersburg MD
MARC
Commuter Station
Zittlestown MD
Washington Monument
Not as magnificent as the Washington Monument in DC, it pre-dates it though and
has a commanding view from the top of the mountain it's on!
New: 3-19-2010
Mod: 03-Sep-2010