I have a good friend who will travel to the DC area soon and he would like a list of good railroad tourist attractions. I mentions the B&O Railroad Museum and the Scranton National Railroad Museum. What tourist steam trains are there within an hour or two of the DC area? Many thanks !!
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Wow that is the first time I can recall anyone suggesting that Scranton is in the DC area. That is a pretty wide net to cast.
A lot closer than Scranton to DC is Strasburg PA.
If in the mood for excursions, you have New Hope & Ivy Land as well as Reading, Blue Mountain & Northern in PA., as well as Strasburg PA.
Smithsonian National Museum of History and Technology and the National Museum of American History would be good candidates. However exhibits come and go so check in advance to determine what is on display.
@Jerryrails posted:I have a good friend who will travel to the DC area soon and he would like a list of good railroad tourist attractions. I mentions the B&O Railroad Museum and the Scranton National Railroad Museum. What tourist steam trains are there within an hour or two of the DC area? Many thanks !!
The B&O Railroad Museum is within an hour or 2 all depending on traffic and where you start in the DC area, 
Scranton is not within an hour or 2.
Strasburg is a long 2 hours... EBT (the Rockhill Trolley) is a long 2 hours... and at times it can be a lot longer coming back.
National Capitol Trolley Museum is a short hop to Colesville.
I see mention of trolley museums; there is the Baltimore Streetcar Museum on Falls Road about twenty blocks due north of downtown. It is only e few blocks away from Penn Station and directly under the B&O main so some train watching is available, too.
I would say Union Station is a good start...National Capital Trolley Museum or he could railfan....
Good train watching at old station in Harpers Ferry.
Not sure where your 2-hour radius is centered, but from the The Ellipse (downtown) it is 2+15 to 2+30 to Strasburg and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Worth the trip and stop by the Choo Choo Barn.
Count me as another vote for the two hour trip up to Strasburg, PA. The Strasburg Railroad and PA Railroad Museum are well worth the trip. B&O Museum in Baltimore is about an hour away. There’s also a (free) B&O museum in downtown Ellicott City, MD in the old B&O station. There’s a caboose you can go in and a HO scale layout in the freight house. Union Station in DC is worth the visit. There’s a lot of great spots to rail fan too.
The Point of Rocks Station (a B&O classic) is worth a stop for pictures. Can be incorporated into any trip to points north out of D.C.
Edit: Just realized no one has mentioned the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad! Pushing the 2-hour radius limit but definitely worth considering.
Western Maryland Scenic Railroad | Scenic Train Rides Through Mountain Maryland (wmsr.com)
I'm really surprised no one has mentioned the Walkersville Southern Railroad. Much closer to the DC area than Strasburg. They host a visiting steam locomotive once a year and have a fine stable of critters to pull the trains the rest of the time.
The Wilmington & Western RR is a 2.5 hour drive from Alexandria: https://www.wwrr.com/ Some of their trips are with a steam locomotive.
Obviously historic Union Station downtown by the Capitol should be considered a must see. Easily reached by Metro Rail's Red Line if you don't want to drive. If you drive, beaucoup parking at the station garage complex although $$$$. Great views of the yard from the higher floors of the garage.
One of the easiest places to see a lot of trains in DC/Northern Virginia is the old Southern (now Amtrak) station in Alexandria, VA. CSX, Amtrak, Virginia Rail Express (VRE) trains run thru the day and Metro's Blue and Yellow lines pass on the east side of the CSX main line. Reachable by car, Metro bus or Metro Rail (King St-Old Towne Station on Blue or Yellow line). Many hotels and eateries are walkable in the area. George Washington Masonic National Memorial is the highly visible landmark just west of the station. Many historic photos at the station are found on Google which can give you a sense of the railroad history that has rolled through the area. Google Maps on satellite view recommended for reconnaissance purposes.
Just north of the station on Route 1 is where the monster RF&P Potomac Yard was located. Very little is left as development has taken over, but you can understand the scope of the massive yard by following Potomac Ave from Rt 1 north over Four Mile Run (creek in NoVa language) into Crystal City near adjacent to Reagan National Airport. The entire road runs through what was the Yard alongside the mainline on the east side. The entire area is still known as Potomac Yard. Lots of shopping and eats there too.
From the north end of Potomac Ave, get back on Route 1 and take the Airport Access east to the George Washington Parkway. Go north on the GW and exit right at Gravelly Point for parking on the north side of Reagan National. You can easily watch the planes land and take off here. Walk a half mile north on the Mt. Vernon Trail alongside the Potomac and you can catch trains crossing the river over the Long Bridge. Next bridge north is where the Metro trains cross.
And since you are so close, do visit the 9/11 Memorial at the Pentagon. Parking at the Memorial is very tough (only 5 spaces for disabled only), so park at the Fashion Square Mall and walk north through the pedestrian tunnel under 395 into Pentagon South Parking and follow the signs. You should not miss it if in the area.
Best of luck!
Well, there aren't really any tourist railroads right near DC, but there is Amtrak, MARC, and VRE. New Freedom, PA north of Baltimore has Steam into History. They run train rides to the north on an old PRR line with a replica 1800's steam train, but sometimes a 20th century high hood diesel pulls the train instead. PA has some nice tourist railroads, most are at the eastern end of the state and a few in the middle.
A 2 hour car trip, starting from or returning to the D.C. Metro area, can very often end up being a 4 hour drive, thanks to the utterly clogged, overwhelmed, Capital Beltway system and the major interstate highways that connect to that hub.
The morning Rush hour on the Beltway and those highways starts at 5:30 A.M and ends at about 10:00 A.M., and the evening rush hour starts at precisely 2:30 P.M. and ends at 7 P.M. Bumper to bumper, 15 mile an hour traffic, is the norm.
It used to be that Saturday and Sunday traffic was basically OK, but you can now expect huge traffic jams on both of those days as well.
I travel up to D.C. and back, once a month, and have done this for the past 15 years, so, I'm just telling you how it is.
Last month, I returned from Ocean City Maryland to the Fairfax County, VA, starting out at 10 AM in Ocean City. On paper, it is a 2 hour drive. It ended up being a 3.5 drive, and I didn't arrive in Fairfax until 1:30 P.M.
My advice: Once you have fought your way into the D.C. Metro for a vacation, for goodness sakes, stay there! Don't try to drive into or out of it for a tourist attraction. :-)
Mannyrock
I have done and would recommend the following: Railroad Hall at the Smithsonian's American History Museum. National Capital Trolley Museum, B&O Museum, Ellicott City B&O station, Strassburg RR, Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania and most recently Northern Central Railway in New Freedom PA. Some of these by themselves might not be enough to justify a trip, but would be worth hitting if nearby. I have not done Walkersville Southern or Wilmington & Western, so would appreciate thoughts on those.
If you can push further out there are a number of places in Pennsylvania, in western Maryland/northern West Virginia, and there is the Virginia Museum of Transportation in Roanoke and the Virginia Scenic Railway operates out of Staunton, and slightly further west is Cass. Last time I was in Richmond the Virginia Science Museum (in the former Richmond Union Station) had a C&O steam loco, and there is the Seaboard Station Museum in Suffolk VA, and rumor has it a steam loco and a few cars in Portsmouth VA.
Jerryrails: Many folks have already given you many good options for your friend's visit to DC. As Mannyrock mentioned; traffic in the DC area can be horrendous anytime of the day or night. I have lived in this area all my life and can firmly attest to that. Northern Virginia area traffic is much worse than Maryland area ... which in itself is no picnic! LOL!
VISITING THE B&O Museum ... To get around the vehicle traffic obstacle from DC: IF your friends visit Baltimore they can take a MARC train from DC's Union Station. Doing so they have a choice of the Camden Line ( former B&O Washington Branch ) which terminates at Baltimore's Camden Station ( Camden Yards .. home of the Orioles ). Camden is closest to the B&O station and is a short Uber/Cab or bus to the B&O Museum.
The other option from DC Union Station is MARC's Penn Line ( former Pennsylvania RR ROW ) which will take your friends to Baltimore's Penn Station ( owned by AMTRAK ) which serves AMTRAK and Baltimore's Light Rail. Taking a Light Rail train from Penn Station to Camden Station then hopping a cab/Uber or bus to B&O Museum is another way to go. Note too, that it is possible to ride an AMTRAK train both ways too ... however more expensive than a MARC train. ) The B&O Museum is definitely a must see for serious rail fans when in this region. The B&O Museum has a partnership with the Smithsonian.
Strassburg offers lots of railroad experiences! The Strassburg Railroad ( Runs steam locomotives on their trains daily ) Railroad Museum of PA, The National Toy Train Museum, Choo Choo Barn, are all located within the same condensed area in Stassburg ) Travel time by car ( from downtown DC ) will require 3 hours ( if extremely lucky ) to 4 plus hours of road travel ONE WAY ( depending on traffic one way from downtown DC. ). Take into account that there is summer road construction/ infrastructure upgrade projects going on too. IF your friends choose to do this, I would suggest they book a hotel/motel in the Strassburg area for at least one night depending on how much they want to see of Strassburg.
At the Seabrook station on the MARC Penn line you will see plenty of Amtrak trains (Acelas and others) Marc trains, and freight trains.
Also as mentioned earlier the B&O train museum Baltimore.
If you stay in the DC burbs, Metro is the way to get around. Be mindful of station closures such as on the Green line til Sep 5 (shuttle buses available). Once in the city, avail yourself of the Circulator which has 5 or 6 routes around the city. Fare is 50 cents or $1.00. All of the above downloadable, of course. I haven't driven downtown in years. No more free parking on the mall either, but, hey, early birds in garages start at only $28.00.
Check out Long Bridge Park in Arlington. There is an elevated walkway next to the CSX tracks with Amtrak and VRE action as well as flights into and out of National.
Isn't it odd that the original poster has not returned to acknowledge ANY of the great suggestions?
What's with THAT?
@Hot Water posted:Isn't it odd that the original poster has not returned to acknowledge ANY of the great suggestions?
What's with THAT?
Absolutely! A lot of people spent a lot of time making insightful observations and recommendations in these messages. But this non-response happens in many other threads, too. It's just common courtesy to acknowledge a thoughtful response. I am amazed at the depth of knowledge exhibited by forum members and recognize the time it takes to research and prepare some responses. I've lived in the DC area for over 50 years and didn't know a lot of the info presented above! 
Many, many thanks to all of you for the great suggestions about tourist railroads for our good friends. They are enjoying many of these great ideas. I apologize for the delay in responding. I have had a fall and have been injured which has made it very difficult to get to the computer. I had to have surgery to correct the problem and was stuck in bed. Hot Water is absolutely correct. When someone asks for help, it is important to acknowledge all of the great advice available. Once again, many thanks to all of you and I am sorry for the delay in thanking you. Hope to meet each of you in the future because the Forum is a wonderful place with great people. Thanks for your patience. I will be up and around asap.
Jerry
Another mention for Baltimore, inner city. In addition to the B&O railroad museum, with-in walking distance is the National Aquarium, and Baltimore Orioles', Camden Yard baseball park. There was a short train ride associated with the railroad museum. The inner harbor, which can port sea-going cruise ships, has also helped with the Baltimore developement. Note: as the cruise ships become larger/taller, there are limitations, due to bridges, over the harbor area. Historic Fort McHenry is also accessible from the inner harbor area.
@Jerryrails posted:Many, many thanks to all of you for the great suggestions about tourist railroads for our good friends.
Jerry,
Thank you very much for your response and very sorry for your accident. We hope you will be feeling much better in the coming days and thanks for your participation in the forum. If it wasn't for your question, some of us would not have learned so much about all the places to go in DC !
No train rides here, but a 90 - 120 minute drive from the DC area is the Round House Museum in Hagerstown MD: https://roundhouse.org/
Their property is immediately adjacent to a CSX yard so you can see real trains. Please note their warnings about no trespassing.
The museum has an outdoor train yard and several indoor layouts. One layout is 2 rail O Gauge. Another is an HO layout of the (former) round house and surrounding area. Over the holidays they have one of my favorite holiday train layouts in 3 rail O Gauge.
FWIW, there is a very good Bavarian German restaurant in downtown Hagerstown: https://schmankerlstube.com/
Thanks, BZ. I will pass that along.
If your friend is fond of walking / hiking, I might suggest the Avalon area of Patapsco State Park (just south of Baltimore) or the C&O Canal towpath between Brunswick and Point of Rocks. Both parallel CSX (the route by the towpath sees more traffic, but both lines see trains daily). Both areas are picturesque and both are drenched in rail history, being part of the original route of the B&O. This website has a good orientation to rail artifacts in both areas: http://trainweb.org/oldmainline/ The Milepost numbers are 8-11 for Avalon (the walking trail follows the disused route to Ilchester, mp 10) and 68-73 on the towpath.
There is a small fee to park at the Avalon area (it's a state park). The area is close enough to the city that break-ins have happened. Make sure to secure the car hide valuables, etc., etc.
Last time I walked the towpath, I parked at the public park in Point of Rocks, and walked a couple miles down the towpath and back again. Then I moved the car to the lot at Lock #29 (Catoctin Creek Aqueduct), which is about mp 72, and walked farther from that point. That didn't save me much walking, but I knew that I was never more than 2 miles from the car.
There is one other Baltimore attraction that I failed to mention. If you get around to the east side of Baltimore's Inner Harbor then a couple of blocks further east is the old President Street train station of the Philadelphia, Wilmington & Baltimore. At least it was still there about 10 years ago when I was last in that neighborhood. For Civil War buffs it was the train station where the 6th Massachusetts regiment arrived in Baltimore in April 1861 on their way to Washington. While moving through the city to get to the B&O station to proceed to Washington there was a confrontation between the Massachusetts troops and pro-Confederate residents of the city. Rumor has it there was at one point a Civil War related museum in President Street Station, but it wasn't open when I was there. Probably not worth a special trip, but if you are in the area you might want to swing by and take a few pictures.
Thanks Nickaix and Bill N. I will pass those ideas along.
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