Baltimore Penn Station tracks

I've noticed Baltimore Penn Station has more tracks than it ever uses.

The platform farthest from the station seems to be reserved for Amtrak, the middle platform seems to be used mainly for MARC but the platform closest to the station is a mystery to me.

The track is electrified and maintained but the platforms are low so Acela could never use it.

Is it just a relic of the past kept maintained incase it's ever needed (broke down engine, etc) or is it used to store MARC trainsets? Do people ever board on track 1 or 2?

NS still operates local freight service through the station, partly to reach the bulk terminal north of North Ave. and pasrtly to serve customers south of Baltimore. These trains are often routed over the track you mention.

gprimr1 wrote:I've noticed Baltimore Penn Station has more tracks than it ever uses.

The platform farthest from the station seems to be reserved for Amtrak, the middle platform seems to be used mainly for MARC but the platform closest to the station is a mystery to me.

The track is electrified and maintained but the platforms are low so Acela could never use it.

Is it just a relic of the past kept maintained incase it's ever needed (broke down engine, etc) or is it used to store MARC trainsets? Do people ever board on track 1 or 2?

Tracks in Baltimore station are as follows -

No.1 track - MTA Light Rail train. Track is no longer connected to any other track

No.2 track - NS/CSXT northbound freight track. Lowered and moved slightly away from the platform. Note: This track is refered to as No.1 track on the Amtrak CETC dispatchers screens. The track used by the MTA Light Rail does not show up on the Amtrak CETC screens. As far as Amtrak is concerned there is no longer a No.2 track.

No.3 track - Low level platform track. This is the longest platform track at Baltimore and is used by long distance trains.

No.4 track - High level platform track used mostly by MARC.

No.5 track - High level platform track used only by MARC. This is a stub end track that is only connected to the south.

No.6 track - High level platform track used by northbound Amtrak and MARC trains.

No.7 track - High level platform track used by southbound Amtrak and MARC trains.

"F" track - located just to the north of No.7 track this track is the southbound freight track for use by NS/CSXT. However due to the lack of freight traffic between Baltimore and Washington, this track is used at night to store MARC equipment. Norfolk Southern local switchers use this track during the day.

Note: All tracks through Baltimore station (except stub end No.5 track) are signalled for use in both directions.

Hope this helps.

That's exactly what I wanted to know.

Following on this theme,

Northbound Amtrak's come in at an angle, but if you look strait up, you see anouther ROW. Now I know this is most likely the abandoned NCR, how much of the ROW remains.

In MS Train simulator, just north of the station is a weird track that viers off towards the right. Any ideas?

Lastly, is it true the B&O and PRR (Now CSX and Amtrak) parrallel each other north of the Union Tunnels and around North Baltimore.

gprimr1 wrote:Following on this theme,

Northbound Amtrak's come in at an angle, but if you look strait up, you see anouther ROW. Now I know this is most likely the abandoned NCR, how much of the ROW remains.

In MS Train simulator, just north of the station is a weird track that viers off towards the right. Any ideas?

Lastly, is it true the B&O and PRR (Now CSX and Amtrak) parrallel each other north of the Union Tunnels and around North Baltimore.

If your standing on the platform at Baltimore watching a northbound Amtrak train arrive, the track you see branching off the the right is what's left of the old "Northern Central" line. This line used to connect Baltimore with Harrisburg but was cut during flooding back in 1972. Today the line is used by MTA Light Rail trains as far as Hunt Valley. The connecting track you see is used by NS local switchers to service industries along the Light Rail line at night (when the Light Rail isn't running).

As far as the B&O and PRR parralleling each other north of Baltimore, yes, the B&O (CSXT) and be breifly seen to the right as you pass "Bay Tower".

To expand on RRspatch's remarks, the "weird" spur that diverges from the Amtrak line near the B&P tunnels portal is NS's access track to its bulk terminal yard north of the light rail shops. It extends as far north as Cedar Ave., near the old Mt. Vernon mill complex. This line is separate from the light rail, and NS must cross the light rail at grade to get to its yard. There's also a connecting switch with the light rail at this point, which in the past was used to handle freight as far north as Cockeysville on the light rail line. This operation was suspended during the light rail double-tracking work and, as far as I know, hasn't been resumed. The MTA wants NS off their line and has made a deal with the freight customers to subsidize their extra transfer and trucking costs for something like five years. NS applied to the STB to abandon service, but there was a protest (from a certified weirdo) and some procedural problems which may or may not have been resolved yet. Maybe somebody can update us.

East of Baltimore, CSXT and Amtral parallel one another as far as Bay View, but until CSXT reaches Bay View, it's some distance north and not visible because of the terrain. But the western portions of both the old B&O (CSX) and PRR (NS) Bay View yards are within sight of each other, and there was (maybe still is) an interchange track at Bay View tower.

Ya its kind of the same in Providence. Cause the station has 5 tracks, but they only use 4 for passanger trains. Tracks 1 and 2 are usually used for Amtrak. Sometimes You do find MBTA commuter rails there sometimes. Tracks 3 and 5 are usually MBTA. Amtrak only operated there once. That was when the Acela Express's were out of service in April.

alex43 wrote:Ya its kind of the same in Providence. Cause the station has 5 tracks, but they only use 4 for passanger trains. Tracks 1 and 2 are usually used for Amtrak. Sometimes You do find MBTA commuter rails there sometimes. Tracks 3 and 5 are usually MBTA. Amtrak only operated there once. That was when the Acela Express's were out of service in April.

And Track #7 is used by the Providence & Worcester and has no platform if I re-call correctly.

Yes you are correct