MARC AEM7 Spotted today 5/31/2009 In Philly

Sweet, this is great news. I haven't seen 4900 in yeeears. Good deal with the horn as well, if it sounds as good as 4901 then it sounds great.

Ran train 133 to DC yesterday and passed to NB MARC trains being pulled by AME7's. 1 train was a mixed train and the 2nd train was a double decker 8 car set. Nice to see tha tthese gals can handle those cars well.

At least one part of the MARC power crisis has come to an end. Any news on the diesel locos?

Still expecting "this year".

Time is running out, but I've got my fingers crossed.

realtype wrote: ...I've noticed that Odenton has a really long platform, probably the longest in the system besides DC, Penn, and the new ones at BWI.

Anyone correct me if I am wrong but I believe the longer length of the platforms at Odenton is due to it being near Fort Meade. When it was built it might have been presumed that the base's population was going to grow (which it now is) or if there was ever an evacuation of some sort they would need to board longer trains. One thing that leads me to believe that there is something behind my latter idea is that Odenton is extremely accessible. There's tons of access ramps and stairs up to the platforms (more than other MARC stops).

At Odenton I believe the SB platform is 10 cars long with a low level access on the North end. The NB platform is about 11 cars long with low level access on its south side for about 2 cars.

At BWI I think the SB platform is complete and that only holds 8 cars and when the NB platform is fully replaced/extended it will match the other at 8. So Odenton would still be the longest which is pretty impressive.

Davis

BWI SB holds more then 8 cars, more like 10 and the NB will be the same.

When I did the measurements it was like 8 or 9 but I can go out there and measure it again, I may have been off a bit.

Davis

Odenton, 11 cars?! Wow. That's longer than probably most NJT platforms. You're probably right about that Ft Meade thing. I also think BWI may be more than 8 cars long. When I was last there the SB platform looked extremely long, so I would say more about 10 cars. I also boarded a 9 car MARC train there a good while ago, and IIRC the entire train platformed. Plus, I doubt Amtrak/MARC would have made it 8 cars considering thatboth run a few longer trains. I think Maryland was seeking money from the FTA this summer for a third platform, although I can't see where they would put it.

I think all the high platforms on the Penn line should be of uniform length. Seabrook's platform is really short with only enough space for about 4 cars.

r40slant wrote:BWI SB holds more then 8 cars, more like 10 and the NB will be the same.

Hi R40, when I was still posting, 1 of the old timers I was running with told me that the sb platform can hold 12 cars. Its pretty long so I dont doubt that it can hold at least 12 cars although maybe not from end to end. It will be nice when the nb platform is done but currently as it stands it can hold 6 cars which is alot better then what it could. You dont have to come into that platform as slow as you use to to spot the train exactly perfect. Haha

I'm just going to do a list with all of the car length measurements for every station.

Key:
NB--Northbound
SB--Southbound
HL--High Level Platform
LL-- Low Level Platform
Cars--85ft Railcars
Door--Vestibule Length

Washington D.C. Union Station:
Platforms vary in length, many over 10 Cars.

New Carrollton:
Both HL's. No LL access.
Island Platform-- 9 Cars

Seabrook:
Both HL's.
NB 3 Cars, LL access for 1 door
SB 3 Cars, LL access for 1 door

Bowie State:
Both HL's.
NB 3 Cars, LL access for 1 door
SB 3 Cars, LL access for 1 door

Odenton:
Both HL's.
NB 11 Cars, LL access for 2 Cars
SB 10 Cars, LL access for 1 door

BWI Thrugood Marshall:

Both HL's.
NB 12 Cars, LL access for 1 door
SB 12 Cars (under construction), LL access for 1 door

Halethorpe:
Both LL's.
NB 3 Cars
SB 3 Cars

West Baltimore:
Both LL's.
NB 1 Car
SB 1 Car

Baltimore Penn:
Platform lengths vary in length, many over 8 Cars.

Martin State Airport:
One platform- LL
2 Cars

Edgewood:
Both LL's.
NB 2 Cars
SB 2 Cars

Aberdeen:

Both LL's.
NB 3 Cars
SB 3 Cars

Perryville:
One platform- LL
5 Cars

**If anyone has any questions or concerns regarding this information please do not hesitate to post.

-----------------------------------------------

If they added the 4th track it would go on the opposite side of the station and parking garage and would probably use the SB platform. If they then added a 3rd platform then I guess trains could open their doors on both sides. Its similar to how Stamford, CT has 3 tracks in the middle with two platforms, then two tracks on the outside (one on each side) and then outside platforms so the two outside tracks open on both sides.

Davis

strench707 wrote:I'm just going to do a list with all of the car length measurements for every station.

If they added the 4th track it would go on the opposite side of the station and parking garage and would probably use the SB platform. If they then added a 3rd platform then I guess trains could open their doors on both sides. Its similar to how Stamford, CT has 3 tracks in the middle with two platforms, then two tracks on the outside (one on each side) and then outside platforms so the two outside tracks open on both sides.

Davis

Thanks for that great list! I think the longest high platforms at WAS are only 9 cars long (trks 9/10,11/12,13/14). Track 16 (low level) is the longest overall (prob ~14 cars), and is what the Capitol Limited usually uses. Track 7 (low level, the one furthest West) is the shortest, and I think can only platform at most 5 cars. These are for the platforms on the upper level of the station, I'm not sure about the platforms on the lower level (LD Amtrak to the South, and VRE). I also think Penn can platform 10 since I've ridden in the last car of a 10 car Regional that suprisingly fully platformed there, but didn't at trk 12 in DC.

MARC is supposed to replace the platforms at Edgewood and Halethorpe, the latter with a high platform, hopefully they lengthen them as well.

Saw 4901 and 4902 this morning, and this evening since I took an early train home. Still looking out for 4900. Here's a quick vid I took of the other 2 AEM-7's pulling train #530 a couple weeks ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EW6wSWqi ... r_embedded

Strench: Good info on MARC station platforms and car stops-it gives me an idea on how big or small each station is.
I would like to see the info for the Camden and Brunswick line stations after you research it. MACTRAXX

MACTRAXX wrote:Strench: Good info on MARC station platforms and car stops-it gives me an idea on how big or small each station is.
I would like to see the info for the Camden and Brunswick line stations after you research it. MACTRAXX

Well, I can tell you about the Camden and Bruswick Lines since I ride them everyday (Germantown-WAS-College Park)

For the stations I've actually been to:

-College Park and Washington Grove aren't even a full car length and have very short "platforms," and are basically just shelters with paved/concrete boarding areas.

-Kensington and Garret Park are slightly longer and have actual platforms, but trains are still only able to board from 1 set of doors.

-Germantown, Gaitherburg, Metropolitan Grove, Silver Spring, Rockville are all 5-6 cars long.

-Greenbelt has 2 high side platforms on 2 pocket tracks that are at least 6 cars long. Monocacy, which has a platform on only one of the two tracks, also has a high platform about 4 cars long with a connecting low platform on the North end about 2 or 3 cars long.

-Riverdale has a platform about the same length as Kensington's--about 2 cars long.

-Camden station has platforms at least 6 cars long.

I haven't been to any of the other stations.

Saw 4900 for the first time in a while parked over at Ivy City (down where all the other Amtrak electric power sits) on Thursday afternoon. Maybe that means that it's ready to come back in service?