Good place to watch the morning rush?

I will be in the Washington DC area the next few days and would like to catch some older MARC and VRE power during the morning rush hour. Can anybody suggest a place to go with good morning light, preferably with the locomotive leading? I'd love to get some MARC diesels and CPLs or MARC electric but an open to any good suggestions.

Any assistance will be appreciated. I have a car and am can to travel anywhere in the MARC / VRE system.

I can't speak for MARC, but Alexandria station is a good place to catch the morning VRE and Amtrak northbound rush....only thing is the VRE NB's all have the cab car leading(unless they are shifting a protect motor to DC...rare) except for 321, the only Manassas SB, and me(323...a deadhead...I come through ALX around 7:55 or so, usually on track 1) that has the engine leading. Have fun...

Cobra is serving you the short end of the stick! (just kidding you Cobra!)

Why settle for ALX when you can catch the whole show from DC? Set up shop right in the destination for the trains!

Here's how you do it!

Drive to Union Station and park your car. Get on the Metro at Union Station (Red Line) and take it one stop to New York Ave/Galludet University. Get off and remain on the platform! You will have a view of EVERY MARC and Amtrak train the arrives and departs Washington. Additionally, you will have a view of every VRE that arrives and heads to IVY CITY for storage, as well as the switching/positioning of the trains. You'll see engine moves to and from the station, cars being set out, etc.

This picture should help:



As you can see, all of Washington Terminal's action can be observed from the Metro Station.

Yep, I was gonna say the New York Ave Metro. Beware that you don't attract too much attention from Metro personnel though, although you should be fine. Every commuter and Amtrak train in the Area passes by there, plus of course Metro's busiest line (which can cause problems if you're taking photos/videos). They're actually planning on building an elevated park where railfans and residents could hang out and watch trains.

ThirdRail7 wrote:Cobra is serving you the short end of the stick! (just kidding you Cobra!)

Oh yeahhhhh....I didn't even think about that. What do you expect from someone who never goes further than the K Tower signals on the north end of the platform these days??? LOL

realtype wrote:They're actually planning on building an elevated park where railfans and residents could hang out and watch trains.

Interesting. Surprised Homeland Security isn't going overboard and objecting to it.

The top floor of the Union Station parking garage (where that picture above was taken) is also an excellent spot.

Amtrak has offices at 900 Second Street NW. It's shared with others and as of 3 years ago there was a cafe you could get breakfast at and a pretty good view of the yard.

gprimr1 wrote:Amtrak has offices at 900 Second Street NW. It's shared with others and as of 3 years ago there was a cafe you could get breakfast at and a pretty good view of the yard.

You need identification to be in that area. It is strictly enforced, so you won't be able to hang out for very long.

ThirdRail7 wrote:

gprimr1 wrote:Amtrak has offices at 900 Second Street NW. It's shared with others and as of 3 years ago there was a cafe you could get breakfast at and a pretty good view of the yard.

You need identification to be in that area. It is strictly enforced, so you won't be able to hang out for very long.

Not really. I used to work in the REA building and I used to see civilians there all the time watching the trains, mostly families with young kids. There are even picnic benches to sit on. You can't park in the lot, but otherwise anyone can walk around in the non-restricted area between the building and the tracks. Amtrak is not the only tenant in that building. The cafe is still there, in the lobby at the center of the building.

And technically, the offices are 900 Second Street NE.

jcepler1 wrote:

ThirdRail7 wrote:

gprimr1 wrote:Amtrak has offices at 900 Second Street NW. It's shared with others and as of 3 years ago there was a cafe you could get breakfast at and a pretty good view of the yard.

You need identification to be in that area. It is strictly enforced, so you won't be able to hang out for very long.

Not really. I used to work in the REA building and I used to see civilians there all the time watching the trains, mostly families with young kids. There are even picnic benches to sit on. You can't park in the lot, but otherwise anyone can walk around in the non-restricted area between the building and the tracks. Amtrak is not the only tenant in that building. The cafe is still there, in the lobby at the center of the building.

And technically, the offices are 900 Second Street NE.

Key word: You USED to work there. Things have changed. I didn't say you need Amtrak ID, but you need ID to be in that area. Every worker in that buildng has to wear their ID. I was standing with the Terminal Superintendent and I still needed to retrieve my ID (I was on vacation and I popped in since I was in the area.)

Like I said, you can go there and hang out, but you probably won't be there too long.

ThirdRail7 wrote:

jcepler1 wrote:

ThirdRail7 wrote:

gprimr1 wrote:Amtrak has offices at 900 Second Street NW. It's shared with others and as of 3 years ago there was a cafe you could get breakfast at and a pretty good view of the yard.

You need identification to be in that area. It is strictly enforced, so you won't be able to hang out for very long.

Not really. I used to work in the REA building and I used to see civilians there all the time watching the trains, mostly families with young kids. There are even picnic benches to sit on. You can't park in the lot, but otherwise anyone can walk around in the non-restricted area between the building and the tracks. Amtrak is not the only tenant in that building. The cafe is still there, in the lobby at the center of the building.

And technically, the offices are 900 Second Street NE.

Key word: You USED to work there. Things have changed. I didn't say you need Amtrak ID, but you need ID to be in that area. Every worker in that buildng has to wear their ID. I was standing with the Terminal Superintendent and I still needed to retrieve my ID (I was on vacation and I popped in since I was in the area.)

Like I said, you can go there and hang out, but you probably won't be there too long.

It has only been a year, but I stand corrected. Oh well.