Steam, Heritage, and an Office Car Special
After months of staying fairly close to home, we ventured out to Maryland and West Virginia on Saturday, June 5th for a day that proved to yield many excellent catches and even some unanticipated surprises!
The Walkersville Southern
We were joined by Railhead Railfan Productions, who we met up with shortly after 9 am in Baltimore before heading west for our main focus of the day; the Walkersville Southern Railroad. Situated just north of Frederick, Maryland, the Walkersville Southern is a small scenic line operating on former PRR trackage between Walkersville and the northern suburbs of Frederick. The line once interchanged with the B&O in downtown Frederick and connected with the Western Maryland at both Keymar, Maryland, and Hanover, Pennsylvania, before linking up with the greater PRR network in York, Pennsylvania. Today only a small portion remains in service, with the Walkersville Southern operating the southernmost section, and the Maryland Midland serving several industries within a few miles in each direction of the interchange with their former Western Maryland mainline in Keymar.
On this particular weekend, the normally diesel-only Walkersville Southern was playing host to Jeddo Coal #85, an 0-4-0T saddle tank engine built by Vulcan Iron Works in 1928. This has become an annual event in recent years, and catching this locomotive on the Walkersville had been on our bucket list for a while. We arrived a little before 11 am - just enough time to set up our first shots - and were able to catch the locomotive making its first pull towards the depot from the yard. After boarding an impressive crowd of visitors, the train set off on its leisurely journey south towards Frederick, and we set off in chase. The Walkersville Southern isn’t the most chase-friendly railroad, as it primarily runs amid fields and through tree tunnels, but the slow pace of the train allowed us to scout out locations on the fly. We first caught the train at an unprotected crossing on a rural backroad, before deciding to chase it to the end of the line for its arrival and turnaround. This proved to be a bit of a mistake, as the rural setting quickly transitioned to suburbia, and we found ourselves caught at multiple traffic lights. We arrived just in time to hear three toots on the whistle, indicating that the train was already positioned to shove back to Walkersville. Encountering the same traffic issues on the return drive, we decided to forgo the chase and just film the train returning to the depot. We’d have the next run at 1 pm to try for some better shots, after all.
The 1 pm chase proved to be more successful. We first caught the train as it traversed the eastern edge of the community park - a rare spot bathed in full sunlight for the angle of the sun at the time. From here, we drove to a park-and-ride which paralleled the track on the edge of Frederick, where we were treated to a nicely framed view of the railroad’s steep embankment for a final shot of the returning move.
On To The Mainline…
With our second chase of the Walkersville completed, we moved on to our next target for the day; mainline freight action on the CSX Metropolitan Subdivision. We first drove to Brunswick, Maryland to check out any possible activity in the CSX yard. After no more than a few minutes, we were treated to a fast-moving westbound intermodal. Now as any railfan will know, plans rarely tend to be followed exactly, and with a heads-up of heritage power leading a southbound on the relatively close Norfolk Southern H Line, we decided to relocate to Shenandoah Junction, West Virginia.
Upon arrival to the Norfolk Southern tracks at Shen, we found a northbound manifest (12R) sitting in the siding, indicating that a southbound on the main was likely imminent. This was confirmed in no less than about three minutes, as a fast-moving intermodal roared into view with an AC44C6M leading. With the intermodal barely clear, the signal for the siding then changed to clear, and the manifest proceeded north. We were pleasantly surprised to catch a GP38-2 in the consist, behind the usual GEs.
With the high mid-afternoon sun providing less than perfect lighting for this location, we decided to move north to a spot with a more open view of the opposite side of the track. Our heritage power was to be the next train, and we wanted to make sure to catch it in good light. Unfortunately, temperatures had now risen to almost 95 degrees, and NS sent out a heat patrol crew, putting a temporary stop to any movement on the sub. While waiting for them to clear, we briefly relocated to the nearby CSX Cumberland Subdivision to catch Amtrak’s westbound Capitol Limited. Returning to our spot on Norfolk Southern, we finally got confirmation that our train was on the move, and before too long, the Virginian-painted SD70ACe appeared at the head of an intermodal, running through at track speed.
An Unexpected Bonus
With our goal on NS complete, we returned to Brunswick, Maryland for dinner, which happened to coincide with a lull in traffic on the CSX line. Following an excellent meal from the Potomac Street Grille, we moved east to Point of Rocks, where we planned to close out the day. Of course, this was just the plan. We’d been casually following a heads-up about the newly repainted CSX OCS Train making a trip north from Waycross, Georgia, to Worcester, Massachusetts. It had departed in the morning, and we had assumed it would be at least Sunday morning before it would make it to the mid-Atlantic. However, it was a priority deadhead, and by the time we arrived at Point of Rocks, it was already closing in on Washington, DC. With all signals red following an eastbound autorack consist with a relatively rare CSX Dash 9 leading, we decided to see if we could beat the OCS to Baltimore.
It was hit or miss the entire way, but at 10.50 pm we rolled into the parking lot at St. Denis MARC Station in time to hear prime movers approaching in the distance. We had just enough time to get into position for our shots before the OCS appeared around the curve, its freshly applied B&O-inspired paint scheme reflecting the lights of the station and street lamps as it passed. Knowing that it would be facing restricted speeds as it passed through the Howard Street Tunnel in Baltimore, we got back on the road and crossed to the northeast of the city for another chance at catching it in better lighting. Arriving only about five to seven minutes before it showed up, we got one final shot in as the OCS passed us at track speed; an excellent end to the day.
Look out for the videos of our catches from this trip, coming soon to our Youtube Channel