[:D] Thanks to positive comments about Baltimore by Dave Klepper and others, I decided to explore the area today. (Rode the Crescent to/from Manassas, VA for this trip).
I did not actually make it to the Trolley Museum, though…that will be on another trip…
From the Baltimore Amtrak (Pennsylvania RR) station, rode the Light Rail system south to the Convention Center. From there, walked west several blocks to the B&O Museum. Well worth a visit (some of the damaged equipment has not been repaired yet, though). Rode the ‘Mile One’ trip, a short train ride, in MARC equipment, that traces the route of the first commercial railroad in the US, according to the museum staff. After returning to the museum, checked out all the equipment on display. The equipment within the museum grounds is kept in good repair. The collections–mostly old freight cars–on the “outside” have suffered from graffiti and vandalism. I found no trace of the rail line that used to run from the museum grounds down Pratt Street…long ago removed and paved over.
Walked back to the Light Rail line at teh Convention Center, and rode north to North Street. The Light Rail line is closed north of there because of a double-tracking project. There is a shuttle bus that substitutes for the light rail trains on the northern segment of line, but it does not “meet” the light rail trains so there is a bit of a wait at each transfer point. Rode the bus up to Timonium to check on the “progress”…new concrete ties have been laid there. Judging by the progress so far, it will be some time before the second line is done. I did not see a sign saying when the double tracking will be completed. {Side note - in California, signs near transit projects usually have dates when the lines are expected to open. These dates are usually wildly optimistic}.
Rode the bus and light rail train back to Mt. Royal, which is near Penn Station, and checked out the old B&O station and train shed there.
Cannot keep hotel power while switching locomotives. It would zap the people making the electrical conncetions. If the individual cars had batteries to probide needed standby, the weight and additional maintenance would be excessive.
What they can do is speed up the engine-change process by sharp operation. That would require more people on the job. In the old days before head-end power, the Yankee Clipper and Merchants Limited were scheduled for a five minute stop in New Haven, other trains six minutes. This included the engine change, brake test, everything. But there were always four or five men at the coupling instead of just one or two as typical today.
From what I’ve been reading about Baltimore recently before doing any railfanning in that city think I would apply for a concealed weapons permit first.
Ugh. Forget that idea. If there was only one state that forbid “right to carry”, it would be the left-wing fever swamp of Maryland, the “Free Lunch State”. BTW, the next time you’re up, be sure to check out our lovely open air drug market on North Avenue. [Not responsible for random, stray bullets.]
There are some good railfan sites in the Baltimore area, but [and this is true of any metropolitan area] if you don’t know the territory, you can walk into some NASTY sections where your camera, your wallet and your life could be in serious danger. Railfanning is fun…we all do it, but it isn’t worth your life. SAFETY FIRST!
My suggestion is that anyone planning a railfan jaunt to some strange city should find out not only good sites, but dangerous areas to avoid. The locals who know there way around can also give advice about where not to go.
Your points are well taken; I live near L.A. Keep foaming in check while in the city.
Actually I had scoped out some of the Baltimore areas before. I had been to the Convention Center site a couple of years ago, on the Light Rail, with co-workers (but we went east to the inner harbor, not west). I had also been up by Timonium before, in a car.
I have ridden Amtrak trains through Baltimore several times, but the neighborhoods that are by the NEC tracks look, uh, really dicey. It is that “out the window view”, plus the steady dose of crime reports in the media (paper and TV news) that kept me away for all this time.
MP 57313’s itinerary in Baltimore was relatively safe, however, there are stretches of the MTA Light Rail Line south of Camden Yards which are a little dicey to ride through, and there are places to be avoided as photo locations if you are alone. There are also places to avoid as photo locations in Baltimore and vicinity on CSX and Amtrak.
If you don’t have any information about a certain neighborhood for a photo location then you need to be able to size it up, and this is especially crucial if you are traveling by public transportation. If you are in your car, you can take your time in sizing up the neighborhood; if it looks a little dicey, it probably is, so you can get out of there immediately. But, if you’re using public transportation, you have to be able to size up the safety of the neighborhood as a photo location quickly. If the neighborhood appears to be dicey, it probably is, so stay on the bus.
Baltimore is a dangerous city for those who dont call it home. There are whole neighborhoods along N. Ave and the SW side that cater to the drug trade. The Block near the harbor is partcuraly bad at night. To the eastside with Patterson Park and other locales along Pulaski Highway (Or US 40) is pretty unsafe.
The Band O museum, Trolley Museum, Camden Yards (The stadium’s large warehouse wall was actually a Freight House for the B&O at one time.) and other buildings in the area tell the story of railroading at it’s best.
Dont forget to check out the BSME on Saratoga Street (Are thjey still at that location?) and I think christmas time is alot of fire halls hold layouts for trains etc.
Dont wear Blood, Crip or Vice Lords colors. Just dress normally for the weather and try to travel light. The usual common sense applys regarding street level safety against violent crime that may actually be executed against a random target. (You? That camera will get someone a good meal and several days worth of fun at your expense)
I recall some streets are still used by cobblestone and have track in them. Alot of the industrial areas have extensive trackage. The Canton Railroad operates in the area quite extensively.
Personally I stick to the Convention/Inner Harbor/Stadium and no further east than Fells Point and beyond Federal hill/Ft. Mc Henry area on foot. The day time is good the night time not so good.
Did they ever fix the cosmetic damage on the Alley they have at the museum?