Love this series. Just a suggestion, but when you get done with the Silver Line, it'd be cool to do two follow ups on Baltimore's metro and light rail lines since they're so close.
I would ride this line every Sunday with my dad when I was little. We’d just go from end to end, just for fun. I was so fascinated how they operated. 😅👌🏽
Internally, WMATA refers to it as the L line bridge because the section of track between the turnouts at L'Enfant and Pentagon is designated as the L line and is the only lettered line with no stations on it.
I lived in the DC area from 1990 to 1995, first in Alexandria then in Springfield. It's amazing how much things have changed since I used to live there. I worked in an office building on Eisenhower Blvd, just down the road from the Hoffman Center. Back then, it used to be one big parking lot from the Metro station all the way over to Telegraph Rd. I used to park in that lot right next to the station when I needed to ride the Metro somewhere (usually on the weekends). It is amazing how built up that area around Eisnehower station is now. The Hoffman Center building used to be a large DOD office building that we would walk over from work to eat in the cafeteria over lunch. I started to use the VanDorn St. station once it opened in either '91 or '92. I was kind of a Metro nerd back in those days. I remember a few times I would get on the Metro and just ride around the system, going nowhere in particular. I like anything that runs on the rails. I could see the Tropicana juice train roll by the Alexandria station into Patomac Yard from my office window back then. And not far from the office building was an old round house and engine service area that served Patomac Yard. All of that long gone by the looks of it. Thanks for the memories.
Great video as always! I used to use the Huntington station all the time and I did not realize it was so unique. I appreciate it more now. Since I’m familiar with the area, here’s a fun fact for the future: Just south of the Huntington terminus lies US Route 1. It’s currently being widened to install a center running BRT, which will be finished sometime in the 2030’s and offer expidited connection to the Huntington station from points south. Interestingly, it is also being designed with the ability to be converted to a Yellow Line extension in the distant future. If this happened, it would bring the Yellow Line all the way down to Fort Belvoir.
I rode the yellow line to commute to DC and Rosslyn for a few years after college. Back in 2018/2019 there was this man who would hand out the Washington post express. He always had a smile on his face. Unfortunately the express was discontinued and I never saw him again. I loved being able to pick any seat since the trains were always waiting on the platform. L
i love this series! when you run out of lines, i’d love to learn more secrets of the metro system- like all the different train wraps that exist, the design changes from the old model cars to the new models, and more historic events that are related to the metro. research i could do on my own, sure, but you capture facts in these videos so well! i’m a relatively new metro rider, but a PG County native. i watch these videos on my metro commute!! i got so excited when i discovered these having just started regular metro-ing! Thanks for all the work you put in these videos.
There is something very special in learning about such a specific but familiar piece of your hometown - thank you for these videos and the obvious effort you've put into them (also I can't believe I didn't notice you color coordinated your shirts until this video).
I agree that this is PBS Quality. I watched it the moment it appeared. I would love for DC to put in more lines to have more "Secrets" videos. After you do all of the Metro lines, perhaps the Maryland "Purple" Line?
Huntington is my favorite station and now my home station. Just moved here so that I can take metro to work. It's so reliable with trains leaving every 6 minutes during rush hour!! Love living on the yellow line
Used to live around there, it has so much potential. The area is set to change a lot in the near future with much more TOD coming due to rezoning and the Route 1 BRT project. If you bought property, you’re in an exciting position! Consider pushing for road diets on the roads that surround the station like Huntington Ave, it’ll make the area a lot safer for transit users.
The line is expected to return to Greenbelt upon completion of the Purple Line but this depends on the timing of the delivery of the entire 8000 series fleet. The retirement of the 2000 series means we don’t have enough rail cars to support 3 minute frequencies north of Mount Vernon Square.
My guess on the big space at mt Vernon square is that it’s excess capacity for people waiting around in large groups going to / from events at the convention center, plus general space for convention center crowds to spread out. Also could potentially be used for things set up that are related to various events (security protocols, check ins for events, etc) depending on a number of factors
I like Huntington Station. It's built into the hill like a villains lair. And I think the Convention Center Station mezzanine might connect to the expo hall in the Convention center, since they're right next to each other.
In keeping with the gushing overing Huntington Station, Hunting Creek/Cameron Run, which the tracks pass over between Huntington and Eisenhower Ave, pretty good fishing! There are some really cute beavers that live in the park, they swim around in the evening by the park's easternmost edge!
I've been waiting for the next episode since your last one dropped! Your videos are genuinely one of the best videos to introduce someone on the interworkings of the DC metro and with in-depth history!! Keep it up im so excited to see the next one!!!
Correction: Eisenhower Avenue is not the only twin platform surface station with gullwing canopies. The twin platform Cleverly station on the Orange line also has gullwing canopies. The Yellow line to Huntington was originally planed to open as the Blue line before the Yellow line opened from Gallery Place to National Airport. WMATA delayed the opening to Huntington because of a rolling stock shortage, however WMATA figured out that by redeploying some rolling stock they could open is as the Yellow line. After the putting into service the 2k cars the rolling stock shortage was somewhat reduced but still existed. Service changes to the Yellow line date back to before the first segment of the Red line opened. The Yellow line was originally planed to split into two branches west of Van Dorn Street with one of the terminal stations north of Franconia Road, in the existing alignment of today's Blue Line, station name Franconia. The other terminal station was to be east of Backlick Road where the VRE station is today, station name Springfield. Other secrets. The Tunnel under the Washington Channel is unique as it is a sunken tube tunnel, composed of three segments, built in a shipyard on the Susquehanna River in Perryville Maryland. The segments were floated down the Chesapeake Bay and up the Potomac and filled with concrete to sink them into a trench dredged in the bottom of the Washington Channel. The top of the tunnel is roughly 15' below the resorted bottom of the Washington Channel. The two tracks that connect to the Yellow line north of the Eisenhower Avenue station are lead tracks that connect to Alexandria Yard. These track are used for non revenue train movements between Alexandria Yard and the terminal station at Huntington making it unnecessary to make reverse moves using C&J junction. The tracks are under the control of the Rail Operation Control Center and are not fitted for Automatic Train Control. The ends of the tail track tunnels south of the Huntington station have knockouts to allow the extension of the Yellow line further south.
Yes, correction noted--originally meant to say that it was the only elevated station with side-platform gullwing canopies (again, really grasping at straws to call the architecture unique here haha). And thank you again for the bonus secrets!
Another fantastic video - it's always a great day when Andy on Track uploads! Your production work is superb. Very much looking forward to some secrets of the Silver Line, my home line.
Andy, your videos are amazing. You are a true Metro nerd, in the best way possible. As a lifelong Metro fan who grew up on the Yellow Line, I salute you!
Huntington is definitely a unique station. It also used to have a self-cleaning bathroom at the north entrance. The tracks also extend further south just a bit if there would ever be an expansion of the yellow line.
i think they just use it for extra storage to ease space in the nearby alexandria rail yard that is shared by both the blue and yellow lines. But yes anything is possible so smart to have that extra space in case
As someone who has been visiting Mount Vernon Square station for well over a decade, I’ve always wondered what that giant space was for also. If you ever find out, please make another video!
Huntington is on such a hill that that the tracks to get up to it are on a pretty significant grade. I’ve only been there once, but when I went, the train I was on ended up having to stop on that grade and it took the driver like 3 tries to get the train moving forward again once they got the clear signal.
Seeing this at the top of my youtube homepage absolutely made my day! Thanks for your detail and explanation on how and why the yellow line was extended and cut back so many times over the years. I'm really looking forward to Secrets of The Silver Line and hopefully (if it ever gets finished), Secrets of The Purple Line.
i swear the only reason ppl use the yellow line is for getting from reagan to dc, THERE IS SO MUCH SPACE RIGHT NEXT TO REAGAN, USE THAT FOR THE YELLOW LINE AND GIVE EISENHOWER AND HUNTINGTON TO THE BLUE LINE, also how did u make the vid this long, this is actually impressive.
well from April 2019 to September 2022 they did do service to Greenbelt full time after doing it for rush hours only (along with limited trains on weekends to help make up for single tracking related delays or for special occassions like cherry blossoms, fourth of july or the capitals 2018 cup victory parade) then cut it back last spring due to limited 7000 series trains avaliable to the public and to use the ones they had for the southern green but now that more are back and that the fbi headquarter is gonna go to Greenbelt and the Purple line transferring at College Park is coming relatively soon, it shouldn't take long to re-extend it back up to Greenbelt
I went to DC recently and went as far out as Eisenhower Ave... I thought about going to Huntington to finish the yellow line, but decided against it because I had no reason to go there and didn't think there was much to see. Guess I was wrong... shoulda just gone one stop further!
@@andyontrack Just finished it! Super well done. I'd love to see your research process (like how do you find the discount Ms?) - whats next once you finish the metro rail lines?
Great question--typically when we visit a station we really comb the whole place (and beforehand we do research online and in our usual sources). As for the discount M's, I think that's a Fairfax County thing--we first noticed one at West Falls Church, so we were on the lookout at Huntington. As for what's next--there's MARC/VRE, also a fair amount of "bonus secrets"!
I wonder if the large mezzanine level at Mt. Vernon Square has to do with the simultaneous development of the yellow line, green line, and renovations to the convention center. With lots of construction in progress, it might have been difficult to set up a solid location for the mezzanine or its connections to the surface & connecting buildings?
Mt Vernon Square station entrance was expanded in the early 2000s when the convention center opened. Three new elevators were added and the mezzanine was lengthened as well. My guess is that the massive room is to accommodate passengers from large events. The convention center has a large basement level, and maybe they planned to build a direct entrance there.
I think Eisenhower Ave was the station with the lowest ridership for a long time. I doubt it is anymore due to the new TOD & the opening of silver line phase 2 tho
Not sure if you knew this or not, but the Huntington station used to have a self cleaning bathroom up until 2017 or so. It was located in the north entrance side.
Actually, the Yellow Line was not intended to go to Huntington but instead to Springfield. Look at the early maps and you'll see that the Blue and Yellow lines were each planned to go to the other terminus. And Springfield and Franconia were supposed to be two different stations. Not sure why the swap was made but I suspect it had to do with wanting to open the "new" Yellow line and the issues with finalizing stations on the route to Springfield.
What will your channel talk about after secrets of the Silver Line? The Purple Line is still a few years away. Will you cover secrets of other metro systems or talk about something else related to the DC metro?
interesting, why was it cut back again in 2023? Having Yellow and Green go all the way to Greenbelt seems like it would be great for commuters or people going to the airport, all though I suppose a quick transfer at Union Square isn't too bad
i think it was because there was still so many 7000 series trains still sidelined and they wanted to use the limited supplies to focus on the southern green line. Now that a lot more are back and the new FBI headquarter building is going to Greenbelt I am sure they will bring it back soon.
Great video! By any chance, do you or someone else know why the northern terminus for the yellow line is Mt Vernon square? It seems kind of random, and looks incomplete. It used to terminate at Fort Totten and Greenbelt for a time, so I wonder what their reasoning is.
Yes--the reason why Mt. Vernon Square was chosen is because there's a pocket (third) track just north of the station where trains can easily turn around without disrupting passing trains. As for why they cut back--that was so that better frequencies could be provided on the Yellow and Green Lines--a good move tbh.
@@andyontrack Actually, there is one fun tidbit you missed out on, perhaps you can throw it in to the Silver Line video. Until "Tysons Corner" was renamed in 2022, the only station to not contain any of the letters in the word "mackerel" was Huntington. Similarly, there is only one station in both London (St. John's Wood) and Boston (Bowdoin) that meet this criteria. Why this is known among railfans is beyond me, but that's how trivia works sometimes 🙂
