Hi everybody, I just moved from DC to Colorado to spend a couple years in the Army, and on my way out here, I made my first pilgrimage Cumberland to do some railfanning, since I probably won't have a chance to go back there for a while. I had an absolute blast! If you get a chance to visit, stay in the Cumberland Holiday Inn, and ask for a railroad side room - the rooms looke right across the street at the CSX mainline where it passes the Amtrak station! The minute I walked in my room, around 6PM, I heard a heavy freight approaching and immediately shot off a whole roll of film when I found myself looking down at the train going by! There was tons of action that evening, and the local railfans hang out on the Amtrak platform to watch the action. I ended up shooting about 8 rolls of film on Friday evening and Saturday morning - all with my poor little automatic camera that doesn't have a zoom or anything, but I got some good photos, including a couple of the SD50 helpers at Baltimore St, and repainted CR SD60M 8756. I drove past the main yard on Saturday and took two rolls of Mexico tower and the surrounding area - I plan to eventually build a module/diorama of that area in HO scale. I'm afraid the tower may be gone in a year or two, since it's already boarded up and inactive. My dream is to someday build a layout of the CSX line from Cumberland up over Sand Patch, so that's a start. I had a great time, and I'll try to post some photos soon. Definitely visit Cumberland if you have a chance. It exceeded my expectations, and I can't wait to go back! ------------------ Dave Railfanning & modeling modern CSX The MARC Railfan and Modeler Site
Dave, I stayed in Cumberland, Md. once on a business trip, at the Holiday Inn... It was really neat because I was trackside too. Unfortunately, I did not arrive until after dark. But that did not stop me from running to the window to look out every time I heard a train! Keep up with the forum and we'll try to keep you abreast of the CSX happenings back east; you can be our Western correspondent and loco spotter! Chessie ------------------ Harold Hodnett Fan of NS, CSX, and their predecessors! Coming soon: The North Carolina Railfan Web Site http://www.trainweb.org/ncrail/
<BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by chessie: Dave, I stayed in Cumberland, Md. once on a business trip, at the Holiday Inn... It was really neat because I was trackside too. Unfortunately, I did not arrive until after dark. But that did not stop me from running to the window to look out every time I heard a train! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I did the exact same thing! After walking down to the tracks and long the Amtrak station platform, I went up to my room, ordered dinner from room service, and sat up late watching trains go by - most of the time I could only tell what type of diesels I was watching by the number of fans on the roof! I did make out a BN SD40-2 that appears to have been lettered for a leasing company, but I couldn't tell who. <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by chessie: Keep up with the forum and we'll try to keep you abreast of the CSX happenings back east; you can be our Western correspondent and loco spotter! <HR></BLOCKQUOTE> I'll definitely try to keep up - I think I may use the couple years I have out here to dabble in some BNSF and UP modeling. I saw a bunch of BNSF SD70MACs a couple weeks ago along the Joint Line between Denver and Colorado Springs. I always liked the cream and green "Eddie Bauer" BN SD70MACs, but the new ones in the Heritage II scheme look really great too. Some of the guys out here told me that they call them "Chili MACs" because they were built in Mexico. ------------------ Dave Railfanning & modeling modern CSX The MARC Railfan and Modeler Site
