This is one of the places where Amtrak forbids, yes forbids, you to take pictures. How or why they came up with this loony policy they can't even explain. It is costing them the support of many people like me who are natural Amtrak supporters.
I think I know a good trainwatching spot when I see one, and Perryville, Maryland is definitely one of the best. At one time a very active PRR, PC and Amtrak station, Perryville's passenger activity is limited to the weekday commuting trains of the MARC Penn Line. The platform will be all yours if you come during off-peak hours 9AM to 3PM. You will not have to wait long to see the full array of Amtrak's Northeast Corridor service from Acela Express to Regionals to The Crescent, the Silver Star and the Silver Meteor. Running under catenary with Amtrak's most powerful locomotives, these trains make up what I think is one of the few Amtrak regions that make real transportation sense. Since the station is at the north end of the Susquehanna River bridge, trains run a reduced speed of 90 MPH; still fast enough for good speed photographs. You'll usually get a fast blast of the horn from the engineer, too.
This station is also the point where Norfolk Southern's Port Road line starts its run along the east bank of the Susquehanna river to Harrisburg and Enola. Freight traffic can usually only be seen at night because of Amtrak's use of the bridge crossing the river. This is an example of the nuttiness of American passenger rail policy. While European and Japanese countries have many dedicated rail routes for passengers, Amtrak must share the few rails they own with as many as 16 freight railroads. Just half a mile upriver from the Perryville station you can watch freight trains on the CSX Transportation's B&O route with it's own bridge crossing the Susquehanna.
0 comments:
Post a Comment