The Garrett Park Cafe provides an excellent place to watch trains AND grab a good meal at the same time. There is also a field just across the tracks that gives an excellent panoramic view of trains passing through. It is located just to your right after you cross the tracks. If the cafe is closed, a small commuter shack provides protection from the elements, and if you forget your scanner, the grade crossing (actually goes to someones driveway) is protected by a bell, so you will get some advance warning of westbound trains. Trains heading west are comming around a curve about 200 yards to the east, so heed the crossing bell. Again, these tracks are CTC controlled, so expect a train on either track at any time. You can easily see eastbound trains comming for about two miles if you look down the tracks.
To get to Garrett Park, from the Beltway and take Connecticut Ave. north for about 1-1/2 miles and turn left onto Knowles Ave. Go another mile and a half or so up the hill after the second light, and turn right onto Montrose Ave. You can also take Wisconsin Ave. from the Beltway, north for about 2 miles, and turn right onto Strathmore Ave. Go about 1/2 mile to and turn left onto Montrose Ave. Follow Montrose Ave. to Waverly Ave. Take a right onto Waverly and you will see the Garrett Park Cafe on your right. The parking along the tracks to your left is public parking for commuters, feel free to park there.
The old Rockville train station has been moved from its original location along Stonestreet, about 100 yards or so to the south on Monroe street. A long concrete platform paralleling the Metro station is now the MARC and Amtrak Stations. There is a station attendant located downstairs near the entrance to the Metro station. Personally, I don't take many photo's in downtown Rockville as the angles and sight lines are horrendous. However, if you really want to get there (or maybe you're staying at a nearby hotel on business), take Wisconsin Ave. (MD Rt. 355) North from the Beltway for about 5 miles (Note: Wisconsin Ave. changes its name to Rocville Pike just north of the Beltway). You will see the Rockville Metro station on your right. Turn right onto Park Rd., and right again onto Stonestreet Ave. Park at the Metro Parking Lot (Be prepared to pay upon exit from 2 p.m. til 10 p.m.).
Next stop is Washington Grove. To get there from Rockville, follow Rockville Pike (MD. Rt. 355) north to Shady Grove Rd. Right on Shady Grove Rd, and then turn left at the second light onto Oakmont Ave. Go through the STOP sign (Don't worry about that grade crossing, we'll get back to it), and park at the clearing along the tracks on the right where the MARC sign is. This (believe it or not) is the Washington Grove commuter stop. From I-270, take I-370 west. Take the first exit to Shady Grove Rd. East. Turn left onto Shady Grove Rd., cross over MD. Rt. 355 (now called Frederick Ave.) and follow the directions above to Washington Grove.
Either side of the tracks provides fairly good sight lines, but the sun can be a hinderence at different times of the day. You can also walk back down Oakmont Ave. to the grade crossing (See, I told you we'd get back to it). Cross over the tracks, and stay along the road to take some shots across the field. Please note that the field is acutally someones backyard, so please respect their land. Also, as of this writing, the house backing up to the tracks and the 2 acres or so around it are up for sale (a railfans dream house!). Across from where your car is parked is Hershey's Resteraunt. Excellent food at reasonable prices. Several of the booths have windows that look out towards the tracks, so once again you can dine and watch at the same time.
The City of Gaithersburg offers two EXCELLENT photo spots within walking distance of each other. First is the train station, which is still used by MARC commuter passengers. The station is open from 5:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The attendant is a CSX employee and is quite freindly. There are also some old (like 1890's) passenger schedules, as well as some historic pictures haning on the walls. The freight station, just next door, is open on the 2nd and 4th Saturday's of each month with a small model railroad and various memorabilia for sale. Just west of the station on the other side of the Southern States store, is the old Gaithersburg Wye. The wye is acutally owned by the City of Gaithersburg, so you won't be trespassing if you go out there to take pictures. Most of the tracks have been torn out, but you can still see the roadbed where they were. The south point of the wye is still in tact. This provides a good place to get some "panoramic" pictures if you don't mind dealing with a couple of piles of old ties left by CSX. Behind the Gaithersburg station you will find an old Buffalo Creek & Gauley steam locomotive (not operating) as well as an old RPO car, a C&O caboose and a few other cars that are being restored. On some Saturdays, the museum will have these cars open to the public, but it's a completely random chance.
There are also several places to eat in Old Town Gaithersburg, the two best (IMHO) are The Old Towne Brewery, a micro-brewery with good food and excellent beer, and Chris' Steak House.
To get to Gaithersburg, from I-270, take I-370 west. Take the exit to MD. Rt. 355 North (The sign says "Old Town Gaitherburg"). Go about 1-1/2 miles north to Summit Ave. Turn right onto Summit Ave. and head towards the tracks. Just before the grade crossing is a parking lot for commuters on the right. You can park there. If the lot is full (usually is on weekdays), cross over the tracks and park in the lot on your right behind the train station.
One more spot is at the Chestnut St. entrance to the Montgomery Agricultural Fairgrounds. From the lot BEHIND Gaithersburg Station, turn left onto Diamond Ave. Proceed until the road ends at a "tee" at the stoplight. This is Chestnut St. Turn left on Chestnut, and take a right just before the grade crossing onto the road that takes you into the fairgrounds. I usually park alongside the fence near the tracks and shoot from there. FWIW, on any given weekday evening, my kids and I MAY be found there on our way home from daycare (usually between 5:30 and 6:00). Depends on how they feel. If not there, we may be found at our next stop.
The Metropolitain Grove MARC station has pretty lousy sight lines, with railings and light posts all over the place. One good thing is that the lights on those light posts allow for SOME night photography as they are quite bright. The only reason I go there is that it's on the way home from the kids daycare, and we can all watch the evening rush together. To get there, from I-270, take the exit for Md. Rte. 124 West. If comming from the north, turn right at the second light onto Clopper Rd. If comming from the south, the exit to 124 dumps you right onto Clopper Rd. first. If comming from the last stop at the fairgrounds, cross over the tracks on Chestnut St., and turn right at the first light. This is West Diamond Ave., but turns into Clopper road after you cross over Rt. 124. Follow Clopper Road north to Metropolitain Grove Rd. (second light after crossing Rt. 124). Turn right onto Metropolitain Grove Rd., and take the first left into Metropolitain Ct. Bear right into the parking lot, and you will see the platforms for the commuter stop.
If you are looking at a map, and see that Game Preserve Rd. will take you right to the tracks past Metropolitain Grove, don't even think about it. First, you will end up at the defect detector at Cloppers, which is CLEARLY marked as CSX property, NO TRESPASSING. Second, there has been a lot of vandalism (rocking trains, and placing boulders, logs refridgerators, etc on the tracks), so CSX and Montgomery County police regularly check the area.
Germantown has three good photo spots. First, take I-270 to Middlebrook Rd. west. Follow Middlebrook to Great Seneca Hwy. Left on Great Seneca and go to the first light. Turn left here onto Wisteria Rd. Go down Wisteria about 1/4 mile and look towards the right. You can see the tracks from Wisteria. Park along Wisteria and follow the footpath through the field towards the tracks. IMPORTANT NOTE: I do not know where "public" property ends, and CSX property begins. Also, there has been some vandalism around this area. The kids are harmless, but keep an ear on your scanner for calls to the dispatcher or CSX police.
Next up is the Germantown Station. This station is similar to the one back in Kensington. I've found that standing on the steps gives you and excellent vantage point for photographs. To get there from I-270, take MD. Rt. 118 west towards Germantown. The road makes a short "dog-leg" to the left and then to the right, so pay attention. Cross over the bridge taking you over the train tracks (Warning this is a narrow brige) and turn left into the station parking lots. The actual station attendant is located in the white building on your right, and the station itself is on the left. From the Wisteria Rd. location above, turn around and head towards Great Seneca Hwy. Cross over Great Seneca and go to MD. Rt. 118. Turn left on 118 and cross over the bridge as above.
Finally, there is Seneca Field. This too is located along Wisteria Rd. From the Germantown station, cross back over the tracks, and turn left at the first light. Instead of "dog-legging" back onto Rt. 118, go straight through the light, and you are on Wisteria. Follow Wisteria Rd. past the shopping center (Fast food and groceries if you need them) and after about 1/2 mile or so you will see some houses on your left. Just past the houses is a tennis court. Start to slow down here, and you will see a driveway entrance on your left. Turn around in the driveway and park on Wisteria. Walk back to the driveway, and bear to your right. There is a dirt road there that leads up to a field. To the west is the Seneca Field block signal. Once again, I am not sure where "public" land ends and CSX land begins. There is ample room for photographs, and I have never been hastled by either CSX or Montgomery County police. While I lived in Germantown for 6 months, I took my daughter there almost everyday. You may also be treated to some wildlife here. I've seen deer, beaver, woodchucks and racoons roaming around. It's also been known as a popular teenage party spot at night, so there could be that kind of "wildlife" as well.
As a final note in this section, weekday evenings provide for some excellent railfanning. Between 4:30 and 6:30 on any given evening, you will see at least seven trains between Germantown and Rockville. In addition to the MARC traffic (5 trains), you will also catch Amtraks westbound Capital Limited, and at LEAST one eastbound freight. Wednesday's seem to be a bit better with 2-3 freights mixed in.
Once again, if you have any questions, please drop me a line at [email protected].