Looking north from Washington DC’s Union Station, there is a lot to see, although all the capitol’s famous landmarks are to the south. From here, Union Station’s trackage is a jumble of turnouts, double-slip switches and catenary. The tracks on the far left are those of DC’s Metro subway system. Next to that are some Maryland Area Regional Commuter (MARC) trains, ready to head up to Baltimore, Maryland. In the distance, a southbound Amtrak Northeast Regional consisting of a string of Amfleet passenger cars behind an AEM-7 electric locomotive, and to the right of the station’s K Tower is an incoming Acela Express high-speed train. And, up in the sky is a US Marine Corps helicopter from Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1), the "Nighthawks". This is the unit that supplies air transport to the president when he leaves the White House, with the chopper carrying the Commander-in-Chief then assigned the call sign "Marine One". (January 22, 2015)
