Does anyone have tips for shooting Northeast Corridor trains around Baltimore?

[Bart1701]

I will be out in the Baltimore area in mid-September and want to spend a day shooting trains on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor. I will be shooting in the areas around the BWI (Airport) station - going up to Halethorpe  and down to Odenton.

I want shoot Acelas, Northeast Regionals, and everything else that goes by.

I do have some questions and hope I can get some help and advice!

1) Does anyone have any good spots between Halethorpe and Odenton where you have a good open view of the tracks? I have mapped out some spots using Google maps, but am interested in any good spots you might know of.

2) Can you go onto the platforms at Odenton, BWI, and Halethorpe stations freely?

3) Can you shoot from the upper floors of the parking structure at the BWI station - or will security see a guy up there pointing something down at the station and think I am about to cause some trouble?

4) When I am shooting pictures at locations other than at stations, I may not have a good view looking down the tracks. Since these trains may be going pretty fast, can you hear them coming from a ways away or do they just suddenly appear? I need to be able to get the cameras powered up in time for the shots and am worried I will miss them!

5) I'll be riding into the DC Union Station also - when you get off the train, are you able to wander around the platforms a bit or are you herded out into the station?

Any other ideas and suggestions are welcome!

Thanks,
Bart

[Mark5]

2) Can you go onto the platforms at Odenton, BWI, and Halethorpe stations freely?

Yes.

[GaryHinshaw]

Paging @Ed Kapuscinski for any updates on this post.

[basementcalling]

Not sure the last time it was updated, but it's all things Baltimore railroads.

https://railfanguides.us/baltimore/maps.htm

[davefoxx]

I’d point out the obvious that shooting pics from the platforms can sometimes limit your shots, because, while you can get up close and personal with the action, you’re limiting what you can fit in the viewfinder.  Better to step back from the tracks.

This photo is from the platform in Wilmington, Delaware.  Great shot of the locomotive, but any video isn’t going to get a good shot of the whole train.  Interestingly, this locomotive was destroyed in the Philly crash just a few weeks later.



A shame you can’t get up to Havre de Grace and/or Perryville, where it’s easy to get clear shots of trains on the Susquehanna River bridge.  This was Obama’s inauguration train bound for D.C. with my favorite heavyweight car, the Georgia 300, on the rear.



Hope this helps,
DFF

[aikorob]

[John]

Given the news reports about Baltimore and the goblins therein............................
I would have thought the trains would have been shot enough already.

Actually, not .. there are trespassing incidents and accidents just like on any other railroad, but I can't recall any incident of intentional shots fired at trains ..   there are areas where a  should not go though .. but that's in any city