Annual Accidental Railfanning

Every Memorial Day Weekend since 2008 my speech and debate team has traveled to a national tournament in some major city where time to chase trains was non-existent.  I've also managed to find something rail related despite the odds each time.  Here are a few photos from this year's trip to Baltimore.

Here is the team's first encounter with the light rail system.  We would ride from the Timonium (Maryland Fair Grounds) station to the downtown Convention Center station three times.  Each trip had its own adventures involved.

Next to the Convention Center stop is the Hilton Hotel Baltimore where our tournament was headquartered.  Next to that was Camden Yards ballpark and the former Camden Station. 

I was somewhat surprised at what was left of the old B&O around the ballpark.  The massive warehouse building still dominates the skyline of the ballpark.  It appears that the building is being restored for various commercial applications. 

We happened to be in town when
Camden Station was being restored.  That meant staging all over the place around the front of the building.   The back side was open as part of a museum complex featuring sports and local subjects.

The lower photo shows the two buildings together.  The very end of the warehouse, under the awning is the Orioles ticket offices where we bought our tickets to see them play against Kansas City that night.  (KC lost 8-2 Orioles)


A brief lull in the day's action meant I could hang out at the station with one of my team members and take a ride south.  I didn't take many photos but I saw a few sights.

Catching a couple of passing light rail trains was about as good as it got in that place.  These two didn't have the obnoxious plastic wrap advertisements that some cars had.


Late in the evening at the ball game.  I had to grab a shot or two of the ballpark interior to show the links to the railroad history here.


The warehouse is seen past the outfield.  At this particular angle the top of the Camden Station can be seen.

At the Timonium Station this historical marker notes that this piece of line was originally the Baltimore and Susquehanna, built on iron rail with marble sleepers.  It later became the Northern Central line to Buffalo and later an important part of the Pennsylvania RR.  I think Conrail did away with the line.  It used to be big time PRR commuter rail territory and a vital passenger link to Baltimore.

On Saturday night we were at the Hilton for a late night party which gave me the time to use the skyways by the light rail station at Convention Center.  The shots aren't great but not terrible for just pointing and shooting.

I did play with the aperture override to get the station.  It was washing out in the light.  The lights on the far right are from the ballpark.



Back at Timonium on Sunday.  Trains don't begin running until about 11am so I actually had time to shoot these bicycle lockers.  I didn't examine them to see how they were used.  Timonium was the temporary end of the line while repairs were made north to Hunt Valley.  The bus loop was filled with shuttles that rode in circles to the remaining stations on the light rail system. 


Somewhere around Timonium station was this sign describing the marble ties originally used by the B&S.  Many were quarried in Cockeysville, where our motel was located.  The ties were simply buried by subsequent layers of ballast.

I returned to the skyway to see what I could see.  Some of that was the artery of light rail heading north.


Our tours included the World Trade Center of Baltimore.  The top floor is an awesome observation deck.  Well worth the $5 elevator ride.   Aside from being able to spot old stations, the B&O museum and port facilities, there are signs describing many of the things you see.  There was even an N scale model of a container facility.

My last photo was something that semi-surprised me.  I knew Baltimore was more or less a southern sympathizing city during the Civil War.  What I'd long forgotten was that the first bloodshed of the war was caused when some Union soldiers got off the train at one station and marched to Camden Station.  The good citizens of Baltimore didn't like that and started antagonizing the soldiers.  Four days of bloodshed followed.  I suppose that's a bit more trouble than getting between North and South Station in Boston.


Who says I can't find railroad content in a purely school activity!

BC