A wild way to move cars between the lines

I seriously doubt this ever has been done but it looks to me it may be doable.

Trains can access the Penn Line by using the NS Running track that leads up to the MTA light rail and into the NS Yard on North Ave.

Trains can access CSX trackage by using a switch located just north of Patapsco (this line looks unused but I know it sees auto racks to Seagrit.

Then use the light rail tracks to move between them.

This connection is theoretical and the rollar coaster alignment between Mt. Royal and North Ave might make it impossible.

Considering the LRV's have to twist and bend through there like contortionists, there's no way any railroad equipment is going to fit through there, not without becoming considerably shorter than before the experiment.

Besides, that's what equipment swapping between runs at Union Station is for.

We can call it MTA's Wild Ride

Is the thought behind this to allow MARC to maintain more of the Penn Line equipment at Riverside, rather than having Amtrak do it at Ivy City?

I haven't been around MARC much at all recently -- where is car maintenance being handled nowadays? Years ago, I was under the impression that the two fleets were fairly separated -- Amtrak handled the Penn Line equipment, and CSXT took care of the Camden/Brunswick fleets.

MARC wants to build a Penn Line maintenance center in Perryville. I just thought this might be a unique ride.

A wild ride indeed - particularly following the "rebel yell" segment! But you are right - the track connections do exist.

I'd guess a safer way would be to run the cars/trains out to Bayview, and use an assumed interchange there to the CSX Beltline to run the trains across through Clifton Park and into the Howard Street tunnel to reach Riverside or Camden Station.

Less than 10 years ago, plans had gone pretty far to reactivating the Claremont spur (that heads to the East between West Baltimore and Halethorpe) to interchange cars between lines, and operate Penn line trains in and out of Camden.

I've always considered the Rebel Yell a poor engineering decision (we are talking about just north of Mt. Royal)

They could have just built a small bridge and kept the track level.