Here are the answers to whichWMATA week 127

On Tuesday, we featured the 127th challenge to see how well you know the Metro system. Here are the answers.

This week, we got 19 guesses. Twelve got all five right. Great work, Greg Jordan-Detamore, Christopher Deal, ArlFfx, Peter K, Solomon, AlexC, Mike B, Ginger, Manny, Brian J, Stephen C, and Spork!

The first image shows a view of the northern mezzanine at National Airport from the bridge to Terminal C. I thought this would be a fairly easy clue since so many of you have likely walked across this bridge to the station when flying into or out of DCA. But it actually got fewer right answers than any of the other photos. This mezzanine is connected to the newer metal canopy, rather than the modified Gull I design on the southern half of the platform. You can see that canopy above the tracks. Other clues included the glassed mezzanine and the stripes on the airport bridge windows.

Several of you guessed Largo Town Center, but the setting is completely wrong for that station. I assume you mistook the metal canopy at National Airport for a Gull II canopy, which Largo has. But that's where the similarities end. The canopies are quite different anyway, and Largo's does not include the lower height exension in the foreground, which is acutally the portion of the canopy above the escalators at National Airport.

Thirteen of you knew this one.

The second image shows a unique view of one of Rosslyn's entrance pylons. This pylon is for the westernmost entrance to the station's mezzanine, facing Fort Meyer Drive. The view here is from the Rosslyn skywalk which leads to the roof above the mezzanine and then to a pedestrian bridge over Fort Meyer Drive. The clues include the three-stripe pylon showing the Blue, Orange, and Silver lines and the walls along the ramps beside the Fort Meyer Drive underpass.

Fifteen of you got this one right.

The third image shows the crossover at Vienna station, seen from the station mezzanine. This is one of a few freeway median stations in the system. You can narrow this down to a station with a crossover, which eliminates Dunn Loring. West Falls Church does have a crossover west of the station, but that crossover is very different because it also includes leads to the Falls Church Yard and to a third track in the center of the station. East Falls Church has its mezzanine below the platform, preventing a veiw like this one. Wiehle Avenue isn't a good guess because of the size and age of the vegitation and the width of the freeway.

But Vienna fits the bill. A close look at the distant freeway signage includes purple and white signage for the I-495 Express Lanes, which I-66 is approaching. Seventeen of you figured this one out.

The fourth image shows the Washington Square entrance to Farragut North station. The signage above the escalators was blurred intentionally to make this one a little more challenging, but it's there to notify riders of alternate entrances (across the street) when this entrance is closed on weekends. You might have also made out part of the Victoria's Secret sign in the background. There's a location of the retailer above the station. The glass skylights here are fairly distinctive and match the overall design of the Washington Square building, in which this entrance is ensconced.

Seventeen of you guessed correctly.

The final image shows a view of Twinbrook station seen from the second level of the parking garage. To narrow this down, you'd need to have identified one of the Gull I stations with a parking garage. There are 15 stations with Gull I architecture, but you can eliminate Cheverly and Eisenhower Avenue, which have side platforms. National Airport is also out because its modified Gull I canopy doesn't have a center skylight (and the station has 3 tracks). That leaves 12 stations. Of those, only Minnesota Avenue, New Carrollton, Rhode Island Avenue, Shady Grove, Silver Spring, and Twinbrook have garages.

New Carrollton and Minnesota Avenue can be eliminated because there are no visible catenary supports for the adjacent railroads. From there, establishing the correct setting was probably the easiest way to solve the puzzle.

Seventeen of you came to the correct conclusion.

Great work, everyone. Thanks for playing! We'll be back soon with challenge #128.

Information about contest rules, submission guidelines, and a leaderboard is available at http://ggwash.org/whichwmata.