Not just the country! College Park Airport is the oldest continuously operated airport in the whole WORLD! College Park Airport was established back in 1909 by the Army Signal Corps as a training location for Wilbur Wright to instruct military officers to fly in the government's first airplane! A Wright Model A biplane was assembled there in October of that year. So yes, the Wright brothers were there! Civilian operations began as early as December 1911. The multi-levels being the same as the NJ Transit ones is giving me serious déjà vu! I've heard about the Camden Line, like when an architect TH-camr was talking about Camden Yards and said that the area is no longer used for rail and I was like "Uh, actually, freight still uses it and the Camden Line is right there too" but never seen footage of it until now. It looks kinda scenic, I'll give it that, and the light rail transfer at Camden is convenient, but man is the schedule limited. And the limited amount of helpful signage at DC Union pointing to it makes me more thankful for NY Penn...as much of a madhouse as it is.
I used to take that 8am from DC every morning before the pandemic. There used to be about a car's worth of people on it. These Camden trains were designed to be rush hour into DC, and had had a couple reverse trains out. Before the pandemic, the rush hour Camden trains going into DC in the morning used to be full. However I think this video proves again that people's travel patterns have changed (mine did). I would love to see this train and the Brunswick to Frederick become hourly trains. This kind of service would be more useful to me in a post-pandemic world.
One time I was at the ticket counter at Union Station. A couple at the ticket counter kept insisting that they needed a ticket to Camden Yards. The ticket agent kept telling them there weren't any trains there for a while, but they could take a train to Penn Station and take the light rail. The couple was appalled. Like, how dare you suggest that! Never saw what happened to them after that
I believe that the speed on the entire Cap sub is 70mph, not 80. Also the road at Dorsey is Route 100, which does not go directly to the airport. That would be I-195 that the Camden Line crosses just after St Dennis. If you review your footage you might notice the old Elkridge station just before Route 1 and the Thomas viaduct. It was replaced by Dorset around 1992, but the platform and underpass are still visible.
Know if the old station house is the one on Brumbaugh and Main St? I've scouted out that tunnel from the north end thinking I could use it to bike safely past the rail without taking Rt 1.
I use to ride the line in the mid 80"s as a student at UM college park. The Line has made some big improvements. The Trains are a big one because I use to ride this big ugly budd car that was desal and it was rough. Much improved. cheers!.
dude thank you for a stroll down memory lane!!! I grew up in Baltimore and took the Marc and amtrak down to DC often!!! it warms my heart to see downtown B-more again! Thanks you!
Somehow the schedule for the Camden Line is the only one that doesn't align for me to ride it after classes. I've done some good day trips on the Penn Line and maybe even the Brunswick Line to Rockville but anything I plan for the Camden Line never works.
I live near where the Camden and Penn lines intersect. I really wish Maryland went all in on transit oriented development instead of randomly placed suburbs like around Arundel Mills. The Penn Line is great for getting into DC but the Camden line's been hurting for ages and the work-from-home switch has worsened it. It's not too late- Odenton's been growing and Muirkirk and Savage might be next. Also, Patapsco State Park is a wonderful place to bike and see the Viaduct up close. A cool bit of history- during the Civil War federal troops were stationed there to keep Confederate sympathizers from using dynamite to sever the main line from Washington to the North.
what's especially interesting is that the Camden Line actually has a higher density and is more direct than the Penn Line yet has a way lower frequency and ridership because it isn't on the NEC
The Camden line used to be a nice way to get to Laurel Race track. It runs right by the track but with both the reduction of people attending the races on live racing days and the reduced service it does not work for most people today. As you mentioned with the right service and promotion there is no reason this line could do better as traffic in the area is bad and the train does serve stations that are near homes or business areas. It is also nice that you have good transit connections at both ends of the line. Baltimore’s light rail there and Metro and other commuter rail as well as Amtrak service at Washington DC.
Those bi level cars look the same as those found on New Jersey Transit. I also attempted to ride that line from Dorsey to Washington but since the trains barely run, I ended up finding an alternative route to DC.
Thank you for bringing us this very interesting video presentation. The train looks comfortable and well looked after. It is a pity that they are commuter and peak period only, it could be that people may use it at other times also, maybe even at weekend.
I almost forgot this rail line existed. I’ve been to the Camden Station on the light rail before but I’ve never seen any trains there when I was there.
0:27, 0:35 The signage is nonexistent to utterly inadequate! At least the MBTA at Boston's South Station tells you which track to go to and sign the tracks.
Why do transit companies run train they know people don't use? Then when people ask for some improvement they say "we don't have the money/infastructure" *cough cough* MBTA... We are waiting for electrification, at least on the NEC lines
So I actually took this line very recently, a couple weeks ago to be precise. I also took that exact 8AM train and pro tip, be careful at Baltimore - Camden! I actually slipped and fell, scraping myself pretty badly because MTA Maryland didn't do a great job de-icing the station... Overall though it was a pretty nice ride on the Camden Line, and I had a fun day exploring Baltimore after the fact in spite of that injury. That's interesting that your train had few passengers and no announcement signing the tracks, as the track for my train was announced around 10-15 minutes early, and my car was roughly a quarter full. Wonder why that is...
@@ClassyWhale Ah that makes sense. The MARC is a commuter line and most federal or state employees (who probably make up the bulk of passengers) would be off.
MARC is a freaking joke. People heading to DC from suburban Maryland drive to the northern terminals on one of the DC Metro lines. People use Amtrak to travel between Baltimore and DC (and vice versa). If MARC was properly promoted and had better service then more people would use it.
So you're riding a train between Christmas and New Year's in the opposite direction of rush hour travel and you mock it for being empty. Not very classy, Classy Whale!
Not just the country! College Park Airport is the oldest continuously operated airport in the whole WORLD! College Park Airport was established back in 1909 by the Army Signal Corps as a training location for Wilbur Wright to instruct military officers to fly in the government's first airplane! A Wright Model A biplane was assembled there in October of that year. So yes, the Wright brothers were there! Civilian operations began as early as December 1911.
The multi-levels being the same as the NJ Transit ones is giving me serious déjà vu! I've heard about the Camden Line, like when an architect TH-camr was talking about Camden Yards and said that the area is no longer used for rail and I was like "Uh, actually, freight still uses it and the Camden Line is right there too" but never seen footage of it until now. It looks kinda scenic, I'll give it that, and the light rail transfer at Camden is convenient, but man is the schedule limited. And the limited amount of helpful signage at DC Union pointing to it makes me more thankful for NY Penn...as much of a madhouse as it is.
Thanks for all the background info!
I knew those bi-level cars looked familiar. I guess they are the same ones used on New Jersry Transit.
I used to take that 8am from DC every morning before the pandemic. There used to be about a car's worth of people on it. These Camden trains were designed to be rush hour into DC, and had had a couple reverse trains out. Before the pandemic, the rush hour Camden trains going into DC in the morning used to be full. However I think this video proves again that people's travel patterns have changed (mine did). I would love to see this train and the Brunswick to Frederick become hourly trains. This kind of service would be more useful to me in a post-pandemic world.
Interesting additional information, thanks!
It's also useful for commuting to UMD, I actually commuted with it twice a week last summer to get to my internship there.
One time I was at the ticket counter at Union Station. A couple at the ticket counter kept insisting that they needed a ticket to Camden Yards. The ticket agent kept telling them there weren't any trains there for a while, but they could take a train to Penn Station and take the light rail. The couple was appalled. Like, how dare you suggest that!
Never saw what happened to them after that
I believe that the speed on the entire Cap sub is 70mph, not 80. Also the road at Dorsey is Route 100, which does not go directly to the airport. That would be I-195 that the Camden Line crosses just after St Dennis. If you review your footage you might notice the old Elkridge station just before Route 1 and the Thomas viaduct. It was replaced by Dorset around 1992, but the platform and underpass are still visible.
Know if the old station house is the one on Brumbaugh and Main St? I've scouted out that tunnel from the north end thinking I could use it to bike safely past the rail without taking Rt 1.
I use to ride the line in the mid 80"s as a student at UM college park. The Line has made some big improvements. The Trains are a big one because I use to ride this big ugly budd car that was desal and it was rough. Much improved. cheers!.
dude thank you for a stroll down memory lane!!! I grew up in Baltimore and took the Marc and amtrak down to DC often!!! it warms my heart to see downtown B-more again! Thanks you!
Somehow the schedule for the Camden Line is the only one that doesn't align for me to ride it after classes. I've done some good day trips on the Penn Line and maybe even the Brunswick Line to Rockville but anything I plan for the Camden Line never works.
I live near where the Camden and Penn lines intersect. I really wish Maryland went all in on transit oriented development instead of randomly placed suburbs like around Arundel Mills. The Penn Line is great for getting into DC but the Camden line's been hurting for ages and the work-from-home switch has worsened it. It's not too late- Odenton's been growing and Muirkirk and Savage might be next.
Also, Patapsco State Park is a wonderful place to bike and see the Viaduct up close. A cool bit of history- during the Civil War federal troops were stationed there to keep Confederate sympathizers from using dynamite to sever the main line from Washington to the North.
what's especially interesting is that the Camden Line actually has a higher density and is more direct than the Penn Line yet has a way lower frequency and ridership because it isn't on the NEC
It’s shared with freight so it’s crap
The Camden line used to be a nice way to get to Laurel Race track. It runs right by the track but with both the reduction of people attending the races on live racing days and the reduced service it does not work for most people today. As you mentioned with the right service and promotion there is no reason this line could do better as traffic in the area is bad and the train does serve stations that are near homes or business areas. It is also nice that you have good transit connections at both ends of the line. Baltimore’s light rail there and Metro and other commuter rail as well as Amtrak service at Washington DC.
Those bi level cars look the same as those found on New Jersey Transit. I also attempted to ride that line from Dorsey to Washington but since the trains barely run, I ended up finding an alternative route to DC.
Thanks for trying to end on a positive note this time, and thanks for sharing! :]
What do you mean this time? The Cleveland song two weeks ago was so positive!
Thank you for bringing us this very interesting video presentation. The train looks comfortable and well looked after. It is a pity that they are commuter and peak period only, it could be that people may use it at other times also, maybe even at weekend.
I got chills at the end! Great vid!
3:44 those multilevel Coaches interiorwise Look JUST like NJ Transit's
I almost forgot this rail line existed. I’ve been to the Camden Station on the light rail before but I’ve never seen any trains there when I was there.
Does Washington Union have a departure board?
0:35: That has to be one of the worst platform areas I've ever seen.
0:27, 0:35 The signage is nonexistent to utterly inadequate! At least the MBTA at Boston's South Station tells you which track to go to and sign the tracks.
But you missed the incomparable Jessup station. Oh wait, that's right - you were not on the one train a day that stops there.
Nice ride on the rejected NJT Multilevels!
0:27 someone dropped the ball. If i would’ve known, I’d played the boarding calls myself
To this day, I have still not come up with a good Savage pun
At least when the trains _do_ run it's in both directions. *sidelong glare at Brunswick Line*
Why do transit companies run train they know people don't use? Then when people ask for some improvement they say "we don't have the money/infastructure" *cough cough* MBTA... We are waiting for electrification, at least on the NEC lines
So I actually took this line very recently, a couple weeks ago to be precise. I also took that exact 8AM train and pro tip, be careful at Baltimore - Camden! I actually slipped and fell, scraping myself pretty badly because MTA Maryland didn't do a great job de-icing the station...
Overall though it was a pretty nice ride on the Camden Line, and I had a fun day exploring Baltimore after the fact in spite of that injury. That's interesting that your train had few passengers and no announcement signing the tracks, as the track for my train was announced around 10-15 minutes early, and my car was roughly a quarter full. Wonder why that is...
Probably because we shot this between Christmas and New Year's
@@ClassyWhale Ah that makes sense. The MARC is a commuter line and most federal or state employees (who probably make up the bulk of passengers) would be off.
MARC is a freaking joke. People heading to DC from suburban Maryland drive to the northern terminals on one of the DC Metro lines. People use Amtrak to travel between Baltimore and DC (and vice versa). If MARC was properly promoted and had better service then more people would use it.
Enjoyed video but I want more of you in front of the cam
So all the importance is in history.......
Essentially
But what is the reason that "MARC's Camden Line Is More Important Than You Think"? Or is that the joke - that it actually is NOT all that important?
It’s utterly useless
So you're riding a train between Christmas and New Year's in the opposite direction of rush hour travel and you mock it for being empty. Not very classy, Classy Whale!