From Germantown Station, take a left out of the parking lot and head west on Rt. 118. Hang a right at the first light, Rt. 117 (Cloppers Road) and head out towards Boyds. There are two places at Boyds that provide good photo opportunities. First, you can head towards the MARC "station" (actually, just an asphalt platform in a parking lot). After stopping at the stop sign on Cloppers, go straight and up the little hill, and turn right into the parking lot. This spot works well in the evening as the sun will be behind you. The obligatory "Bridge Shot" can be obtained by taking a left upon leaving the station, and going back down the hill. Turn left to go under the tracks and there is a parking in the lot just down the road on your right. Cloppers makes a "dog-leg" going under the tracks, and then turns left heading out towards Barnesville. If you go north on Rt. 117, heading towards Barnesville, about 1/2 mile after the bridge, you will come upon a pasture that gives a nice panoramic view of the tracks. Better in the morning than evening as you will be facing southwest at this point.
Continuing north on Rt. 117, take a left onto ??? Road. Proceed about 1 mile and you will come to a one-lane bridge taking you over the tracks. There is no walkway on the bridge, but there is also little traffic on the road. and parking is difficult at best. This area is about half-way between the signals at Barnesville and Buck Lodge. Continuing on towards Barnesville, cross over the bridge and fillow ??? Road to the right. Another half mile or so on your right will be XXX Road. Turn right here and head to the grade crossing. NOTE: This grade crossing has been "closed". I take that to mean that there is no CSX or county maintenance in this area. The last time I was through there (October 1995), I was able to drive over the crossing in my car. Your mileage (and suspension) may vary.
To get to Barnesville station, head back out XXX Road and turn right. Go to the stop sign, and cross over Rt. 109 into the station parking lot. The only problem with Barnesville is that it is surrounded by tall trees on all sides. This makes it rather difficult to get good pictures in the early morning (before 9 a.m.) and late afternoon (after 4 p.m.). It is better in the summer, much worse in the winter. Once again, if you have any questions, please drop me a line at [email protected].