NS In Alexandria, VA

[Bob Bufkin]

Decided to head to Crystal City, VA to visit one of my favorite deli's and get some subs to take home.  Stopped at the Alexandria station and managed to catch several trains in a little over a hour.  Will post photos on Thursday but here is an NS train Northbound past the station.  Guess it's a local.  Anyone know where this runs too.  Benning perhaps?  First time I've seen an NS train in Alexandria in quite some time.


 It's refreshing to something besides GEVO's and SD70s. 

P.S.  Also caught a CSX train with solid Herzog ballest cars

[AlkemScaleModels]

Decided to head to Crystal City, VA to visit one of my favorite deli's and get some subs to take home.  Stopped at the Alexandria station and managed to catch several trains in a little over a hour.  Will post photos on Thursday but here is an NS train Northbound past the station.  Guess it's a local.  Anyone know where this runs too.  Benning perhaps?  First time I've seen an NS train in Alexandria in quite some time.


 It's refreshing to something besides GEVO's and SD70s. 

P.S.  Also caught a CSX train with solid Herzog ballest cars

You were very close to my house. I am two blocks from the Monroe St bridge.

[Bob Bufkin]

That's the Duke St overpass in the background.  Used to live about 9 blocks from there myself many years ago. 

[Mark5]

Paint looks good on 5051!

[AlkemScaleModels]

That's the Duke St overpass in the background.  Used to live about 9 blocks from there myself many years ago. 

Sorry I didn't mean to imply that that was Monroe St. I know that was Duke St. One of my runs takes me across that bridge. It's amazing how steep that little overpass is to a 54 year old jogger!

The Alexandria station is a favorite of rail fans, and has been for many years.  A friend of mine told me that when he was a little kid in WWII lots of women would bring their children to watch the trains at station for something to do. There used to be a grassy mound behind the station. He told me there he could see a steam train going by about every other minute.   

My kids preferred Gravely Point where we would park and watch the airplanes coming in to National Airport through the sun roof of my car. The kids loved that. Then it was off to Ben and Jerry's for ice cream.

[Bob Bufkin]

Used to hand out there alot back in my single days.  Early Amtrak would bring just about anything through the station.  Remember seeing a Q E5 or 6 pulling a Southbound Amtrak train one time.  Of course, I didn't have a camera with me that day.  And I have been to Gravely Point to watch the A/C take off and land.  Used to ride a bike along the path there.  Alexandria is still a good place to watch trains.  More passenger trains today with VRE and Amtrak Regionals but the freight traffic is way more dull without Southern, RF&P, B&O/C&O, etc.

[fulltritty]

Bob, where there any other cars besides the box car and caboose? Usually NS runs north from its Alexandria Yard and onto CSX trackage to service the Pepco coal-fired plant north of the Alexandria station and just before Slater's Lane. They will bring coal there and covered hoppers with ash.

[Bob Bufkin]

There was 1 more box car behind the caboose.  I was wondering where it was going.  Exchance with CSX in Benning?  Don't kinow of any other business they serve north of the station.  Three units seemed way excessive unless they had a train to pick up and return southl.

[Virginia Atlantic]

I believe ther are other businesses active on the PEPCO Spur.  Three units inbound probably meant a pickup job.