Blasting through Franconia - An Amtrak Moment

Blasting through Franconia - An Amtrak Moment

The empty platform here at the Franconia-Springfield station on the Virginia Railway Express
Fredericksburg Line has seen its last commuter train of the day...

No reason, though, for a train-loving photog to pack up his gear and depart in such a pleasant golden hour, for the still adequate sunlight will still illuminate a CSX freight train (*), to say nothing of a speeding northbound Amtrak Northeast Regional passenger train, its P42DC "Genesis" diesel-electric locomotive making light work of the five-car consist.

The train will blast through this commuter-only station and make its last Virginia stop about ten miles up the CSX mainline at Alexandria Union Station before crossing the Potomac River into Washington's Union Station. There, on a Lower Level through-track, the P42 will depart the train for the warm soapy scrubby rollers and a full tank of fuel for its next assignment, and a waiting ACS-64 Sprinter electric locomotive will couple onto the front to power the journey's continuation to New York on the high-speed Northeast Corridor.

The overbridge connects the VRE station to the Washington Metro Franconia-Springfield rapid transit station,
serving Blue Line trains, as well as connecting local and intercity bus service.

©2024 Steve Ember
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