Stations without an aerial picture do not have any discernable features from the air.
At one time, when the yellow line went as far as Ft. Totten, they had even
had it going to the end of the line at Greenbelt.
Unfortunately for us (and me) it seems like BING has ended supplying "Birds
Eye Views" for most locations, if not all. They were ALWAYS better
than Google's aerial views, especially since Google has gone to their crappy 3D
image format. Bing's Birds Eye View were sharp with lot's of
good detail, even close-in, for most places - you can't get that from Google's
aerial shots -today-. Ever tried to stitch together a series of screenshots (like
I often do for my railfan guides) using Google's aerial pictures-it's frickin
awful - HORRIBLE!.... Using Bing's Birds Eye Views made the task easy-peasy! I
know, would I like some cheese to go with that whine? :-) :-)
Note: Stations denoted with "--" are underground
Acknowledgements:
Open Street Map
WMATA
Duane Lempke
Ben Schumin
Carol Highsmith
Caroline Becker
Dr Blazer
NABOB
SubrataPalStat
Er1ckRailfan
Ser Amantio di Nicolao
Metro Wire & Cable
Google Maps
Bing Maps
Wikipedia
GPS Coordinates: 38.90487, -77.02203 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Vernon_Square_station
Station is underground - serves the Green and Yellow Lines, but is the north
end of the Yellow Line service. Station opened May 11, 1991.
GPS Coordinates: 38.89839, -77.02185 (roughly)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallery_Place_station
The station is a transfer point to the Red Line, and the entrance is up on H St by 7th St NW
- it is one of four major transfer points of the whole DC Metro system.
The Red Line is on the upper level, and the Green & Yellow Lines are on the
lower level.
Station is underground. Station serves both the BLUE and ORANGE lines. Area OK for railfans.
Block away from the passenger and freight line going to Virginia.
The FAA, FCC, Federal Transit Administration, and NTSB HQ's are nearby.
McDonalds and Holiday Inn nearby. The VRE L'Enfant station is a block away.
From Wikipedia: L'Enfant Plaza station is an Intermodal transit station complex located at
L'Enfant Plaza in the Southwest Federal Center neighborhood of Washington D.C. It consists
of an underground Washington Metro rapid transit station and an elevated Virginia Railway
Express (VRE) commuter rail station.
The Metro station, which opened on July 1, 1977, is one of four major interchange stations
on the Metro system. It is the only station to serve five of the six Metro lines: the Green
and Yellow lines with two side platforms on the upper level, and the Blue, Orange, and
Silver lines with one island platform on the lower level. It was the seventh-busiest Metro
stop in 2023, with an average of 7,506 daily passenger entries.
The VRE station, which has a single side platform serving the northernmost of the three tracks
of the RF&P Subdivision, is served by the Manassas Line and Fredericksburg Line. end wiki
South Tunnel Portal
GPS Coordinates: 38.87857, -77.03555
The tunnel portal is about 620ft north of the Potomac River. This
tunnel is for the Yellow Line only until it reaches [G St SW & 7th St SW],
where it is joined by the Green Line. The Yellow Line never sees
daylight again. The Green Line trains don't see daylight until the Ft Totten station where you can transfer to the Red and Orange Lines. It is
only exposed for about 250 feet.
Yellow Line Bridge
GPS Coordinates: 38.87744, -77.03707 (north end on the river)
GPS Coordinates: 38.87219, -77.04155 (south end on the river)
https://ggwash.org/view/86760/metros-yellow-line-bridge-is-closing-for-seven-months-here-is-what-you-need-to-know
The Yellow Line is the only route of the DC Metro system that uses this bridge.
The bridge is a total of about 3,200ft long if you include the parts of it
that are over land. About 2,800ft of that spans the Potomac River.
It is a girder type bridge on concrete piers. If you're REALLY lucky
when riding either the VRE or the DC Metro, you may be able to catch a train on
the other bridge - make sure you sit on the right side of the train to see the
other bridge, whichever train you're riding on.
The bridge was closed for rehabilitation work, which included replacing steel plates,
bearings, and fire suppression systems. The bridge reopened on May 7, 2023,
after an eight-month closure
photo by Stephen Repetski
North Tunnel Portal
GPS Coordinates: 38.87107, -77.04428
Tunnel portal is about 3,000ft north of the Pentagon station. This
tunnel portal is for the Yellow Line only, since the Blue line split off from
the Yellow Line while underground, just north of the Pentagon station.
GPS Coordinates: 38.869464,-77.053825
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_station
Station is underground. Area probably NOT OK for railfans due to DOD
security concerns. Station serves both the BLUE and YELLOW lines.
The Yellow and Blue lines split just north of the station. The station
opened on 1JUL1977.
GPS Coordinates: 38.862969,-77.059243
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_City_station
Station is underground. Area OK for railfans. Station serves both the BLUE and YELLOW lines.
The station opened on 1JUL1977.
Prior to almost everything that is here now, the RF&P (Richmond, Fredericksburg
& Potomac RR) operated a classification yard here from 1906 to 1989. They
actually closed the yard two years before CSX absorbed the RF&P.
photo: Carol M. Highsmith/1980
North Tunnel Portal
GPS Coordinates: 38.82517, -77.046402
Tunnel portal is about 2,600ft south of the Potomac Yard station.
South Tunnel Portal
GPS Coordinates: 38.81907, -77.05008
Tunnel portal is about 2,100ft north of the Braddock Rd station.
GPS Coordinates: 38.813998,-77.053728
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braddock_Road_station
Station is above ground/elevated. Area OK for railfans. Station serves both the BLUE and YELLOW lines.
The station opened on 17DEC1983.
GPS Coordinates: 38.806373,-77.061324
1900 King St, Alexandria VA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Street%E2%80%93Old_Town_station
Area -kinda- OK for railfans. Amtrak and VRE Alexandria station here. Station serves both the BLUE and YELLOW lines. The Yellow and Blue lines split just south of
the station. The station opened on 17DEC1983.
GPS Coordinates: 38.803867, -77.06754 (center of, at the tennis courts)
This is where the Yellow and Blue lines split. The wye portion is so
trains have an easy way to get to/from the shops, which are on the
Blue Line, to the end of the Yellow line, which is where trains
typically start or finish their "day". PS: technically, it IS a wye,
but is not used in the traditional roll of turning trains around.
photo by Stephen Repetski
photo by Ben Shumin, 9FEB2005.
WMATA picture
from Metro Wire & Cable page
photo: Carol M. Highsmith/1980
