Rail Photo of the Month: November 2020

Acela Express Power Car 2019Acela Express Power Car 2019

Location: Halethorpe MARC Station, Halethorpe, MD
Operator of Vehicle: Amtrak
Date of Photo: November 25, 2018

Most years, railfans look forward to Thanksgiving weekend because of all the special services Amtrak runs to take people to and from their holiday celebrations.  For example, in 2018, over 846,000 passengers used Amtrak over Thanksgiving week, and over 160,000 trips were made on the Sunday following the holiday, often Amtrak’s busiest day of the year.  Some years, Amtrak has even chartered commuter rail equipment to operate extra trains, resulting in MARC and NJTransit trains being sighted well outside of their typical territory.  And railfans gather at favorite spots along the Northeast Corridor and elsewhere in the country to see the unique and frequent Amtrak service go by.  In 2018, I spent some time on the Sunday after Thanksgiving at the Halethorpe MARC Station, just south of Baltimore, and this is one of the photos that I took while I was there.

We’ll all be able to travel again sooner if we heed the medical advice, stay home, and celebrate the holiday with loved ones over Zoom. There will be Thanksgiving week railfanning in future years instead.

For more photos of Amtrak’s Acela Express, please click here.