CSX Meets Tri-Rail At The Diamond...

Up-and-coming South Florida Railfan Timothy Duggan bagged a really good catch. It came with good timing, and GREAT business news for the Downtown Spur.

Train Y322-18 Looks like CSX is doing great on the line and it's surely due a check. Cars from FP&T, Family and Sons, Miami Iron and Metal, Sun Gas, and a hodgepodge of boxcar customers. This is a 13 car train which about ties my 13 car Y322 from July 2011, and shot on a Wednesday. I hope to be getting action here on the 26th or 28th, and will be focusing on the monitor to know which days are choice for the catch. What makes this more appealing is as you'll see below in my archives, I had a catch from June 18th that was only 4 cars of length, and when scouting the spur, found it to be almost desolate and on near-abandonment, for lack of a better term.

2 High Gondolas (Miami Iron)
3 low gondolas (FP&T)
2 LPG Tankers (Sun Gas)
4 Boxcars (Either Trujillo, Miami Waste Paper, or some surprise customer)
1 Tanker (Oil) (Family & Son)
and 1 Boxcar (Family & Son)

The 2011 catch: (13 cars) 

The 6/2012 catch: (4 cars)

Train P619-19 Tri-Rail's SB 9:00 train from West Palm Beach had an all Hyundai-Rotem consist.

Santeria on the Lehigh Spur & O721-11

Miami is known for it. Chicken sacrifices placed spiritually on a set of railroad tracks, with a Cuban person's bad luck and the expectation that the train crew will pick it up. Now what makes this case particularly interesting is the fact that the chickens I saw are not covered.

It is without a doubt gross to catch one of these sacrifices in plain view. But historically and sociologically, it is utterly fascinating. When spotting on Tuesday, Dec. 11, I managed to see these while running after O721-11, the Sterling Switcher. Belief has it that the crew of Y322-10 ran the chickens over.

For more information: http://www.lancemindheim.com/lore.htm

Note: O721 had 1 for ProBuild, 1 for Seal-Tite, 1 for Cemex (loaded) and about 15-20 CYDX empties.

Thanksgiving Holiday Train Annullments

As Thanksgiving is a pretty big holiday, local railroads operate on a much slower note during the holiday, Black Friday, and into the weekend ahead.

(copied from FECRailway)
FEC: 
Wed. Nov. 21,2012 - 335
Thurs. Nov. 22,2012 - 123-224, 193-292, 336, All locals except 963 & 965
Frid. Nov. 23, 2012 - 101, 109-210, 202,All locals except 963,965,970,937
Sat. Nov. 24, 2012 - 109-210, 202

CSX:
All trains that would operate on Thanksgiving day proper that are not of priority.
Expected: ALL SFL area locals, which are O721, O722, O717, O718, Y322, Y121, et al
Q453 and Q452 MAY run. New Years saw them running.
All K Trains are usually annulled. If a V-series coal train for Miami is coming, it may run.

Amtrak:
No interruptions

Tri-Rail
Weekend Schedule. P600-P649 do not run, instead P660-P675. Thanksgiving day only.

Record Length CSX O721 & New Camera

I have gone on a trip to Central Florida on the 27th and will be reporting on that soon.

On Sunday the 28th, the whale of the Lufthansa A380 came back. Also, I'd take the time to spot planes and watch for CSX  train O721 which had freight from Q453 plus what happened to be two rock trains' worth of hoppers. Tony (Train Hunters ) would join me.

This record train clocked in at 115 cars, 6,000'. Here are a couple of pinnacle shots from my Nikon S4000, the last train historically that would be shot with that Point-and-(you know what).

O721, led by SD60I 8738 and GEVO 5378. The last time this power would go on the HS before going north.

Nice little wave from the engineer.

So all I can say now is the winter season is back. And it is with a fresh start:

I purchased a Canon Rebel T4i with the 18-55 mm lens. It's a great deal and an excellent cam. Above's a night test shot, representative of a feature that I will really appreciate when it comes to catching the likes of Q453.

CSX K951 w/ ES44AH & SD40-3

Check this one out. Daylit catch and our second SD40-3 in SFL... ever.

Of note, today is a good day to be a SFL Railfan. Perfect weather and also O717 is running.

Sunrail Cars Under Construction

Progress is not only moving along swiftly in Central Florida's Sunrail system, but the agency responsible, MetroPlan, which is the Orlando version of SFRTA, had this shared on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/MetroPlan_Orl/status/257879794287538177

Enjoy! I like the design. Surprised that Bombardier is providing the cars; I expected Rotems.

CSX NEW Hoppers on the Lehigh Spur

Did a short hop to the Homestead Sub after the doctor's appointment I had today and found a cut of the brand spanking new hoppers on the Lehigh Spur.

October 10, 2012 - A BIG Day for CSX Operations!

It was 9:53 PM when for the first time since April 26, 2012 I have heard a horn on the Lehigh Spur in regular hours. It was an eastbound power move, running as Y220, which had freshly set out a cut of Florida Rock NSC hoppers at Lehigh Spur's very own Florida Rock plant. The spur was reborn.

Information provided by my CSX sources was too vague that evening. Either the power just arrived into Miami or the cars were Progressively Stored in Hialeah. But today, I got the confirming answer that they were "Placed at Industry: Lehigh, FL" after midnight.

Meanwhile, in Tampa, on a similarly fated Brooksville Sub, CSX N036 has brought in the first cut of coal to Cemex in over two years. This action has spurred cheerful conversation on the mailing lists and has brought new hope to business on the line.

Both of these lines, sharply changing from desolate to active, are bringing hope that the economy is recovering. Things are finally getting back to normal, and for that I am very happy.

CSX N036:

All Aboard Florida Keynote Speech

The talk of many FEC fans and local planners, FECI's All Aboard Florida is about to begin construction. An event that I missed, the FEC Railway Society's convention in Deerfield Beach, presented a 25 minute speech by VP Jose Gonzalez, followed by a 50 minute Q & A session about the future of intercity passenger rail in Florida. I STRONGLY recommend watching it as lots of useful and good info is within. Also, the economic implications are just wonderful.

I am very happy to be hearing that we are "going back to the future" with this. I cannot wait to be a rider on AAF when it opens. As my history teacher says, "We kids have it too easy"; there certainly wasn't any of this fast stuff years back. It will take plenty of stress out of travel to Orlando and make it a lot easier to get there.

[HD] SD40-2 and SD40-3 on CSX O721-25 / K996-25 - 09.26.2012

Another favorite from the Homestead Sub. A pure SD40 consist leads rock loads towards the mainline to Tampa, FL to become K996. 4003 is the first SD40-3 to be in Miami Terminal.

CSX Juice Train New Profiles

For the second time in the last 10 years, CSX has resymboled the Tropicana Juice Trains.

For all five northbound runs, the new Northbound ID will be Q140.
For southbound runs out all days but Thursdays that go in all days but Saturday, the new ID is Q141. (Sound familiar?)
For the Thursday run that goes in on Saturday, the new ID is Q121.

This ID change was unnecessary. I believe they belong with the Q7## or high Q0## series. The only understanding I can make however is the fact that intermodal is carried from Philadelphia to Jacksonville. Maybe this change relates to how "hot" the train is. I suppose my first taste of the new IDs will be on the Central Florida blitz on October 27.

[..CSX..] 4719

News hot off the press!

Just in from Ben's FB Group Roseville Yard Productions, CSXT 4719, an SD70MAC, now has the boxcar logo applied. Amid a bunch of repaints into YN3 that never got it, this is the first non-ES44AH locomotive to have it. Let's hope it's not a photoshop!

I find it cool. The logo allows CSX to get competitive and market their product better. As DH puts it they are getting serious about their corporate image.

Links:
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/404689_413992165334836_454070219_n.jpg
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/284260_413992282001491_2017664646_n.jpg

South Florida Night Trains 1995 part 1

Some old time Downtown Spur and East Rail action here. Nice!

Jacksonville Blitz Photo Essay - Part II

After Hardee's we moved south and battled the rains of the day. Q452 which I missed in Miami the night before finally got caught. The Great Chase...

Chasing mojo fell slightly apart as a prospective overpass  shot of a W057 got pooched by the rain, and Q025 would have to wait until we hit Red Dog. We narrowly missed Q026 departing at the spot and saw this treasure fronting 025:

The famed UPS hotshot Q034 (ex. Q174) would dog 026:

Q025 would finally get the go leaving Q155 behind it waiting for it to enter the yard. Q025 had an ex con leading and Q155 had a Boxcar GEVO leading.

We made our way towards Thomas Creek Rd to Crawford when NS 295 sped by.

Q602 was dogged over to Callahan which much to no delight had NO Union Pacific Power.

Another one too fast for the shutter was P098 for NY.

We returned to Hilliard for a little railfan gathering with Matt and another railfan who had been chasing with us all day. Here's S473.

Pardon the blur due to poor lighting but Q609 came by with a CSX-only dogs breakfast

And lastly, Q235 with a Spongebob Squarecab SD40-3 rolled by. I caught two more manifest but on video.

Big thanks to Paul Mathis for having us and the other members for making this an enjoyable trip.

Video

Jacksonville Blitz Photo Essay - Part I

The season finale for me due to a UM Open House seminar, I made the trek to Jacksonville with the gang on August 4. As I type, my friends are hanging out in Folkston getting a couple good ones as I watch the cam from the comfort of my house.

We started this awesome day with coal for FEC. This is another train scratched off the list: V189. Thanks to ETH for the heads up... This train headed east off of Jax Ramp to stop at West Jacksonville Yard and wait for further instructions to go to FEC.

Next up after topping off Paul's van we hit up Crawford for a morning reel of trains. All morning and day we were joined by a friendly area railfan. I didn't get his name but I *think* it was Charles. 

First was Q453, a photo exclusive. As I shot a similar looking train the night before (Q453-03) I didn't have any particular interest filming it.

Then NS pinged up 229's light and here it came. This is one of the hot trains for FEC. Also it is my first catch of an SD70M-2 on the Thoroughbred.

An eyesore on CSX but a little more unusual on NS, an ex Con C40-8W led 209, a much longer intermodal.

The Funnel did not let up. We would be finding our way to Callahan into the high noon and later Hilliard for the intermodals and manifests that had to be offered. Not to say coal didn't have a cameo this day.

A train I monitored on the Orlando Rail Log, N172 emerged empty from Stanton with the power turned. They ran the train around at West Jacksonville hence having 878 lead. 

After it was Q037, and with its speed this is all I could get... CR 115 sidewalk.

I got my first taste of Dyal Hill in time for Q613, a train which normally sports trademark Bone Valley power but had GE power this morning. I was focused on the video so this is all I got.

We finally made it to Hilliard for Q652, Q457, Q458, and T082. I focused on videoing the Jacksonville hauls so I only have three of them.

In following tradition we hit Hardee's at Callahan for lunch. This ends part I of the essay and I will follow up with Part II.

FEC 107 with Idiots Jumping the train

Nick, an engineer for FEC says that it happens more than you think. On Friday night/Sat Morning I saw FEC Train 107 through Downtown Fort Lauderdale. The train had to stop for some which reason preparing for its set-out and in that process, impatient drunks (probably) crossed the train jumping on a flat car.

This is not only illegal but it's extremely dangerous. The slack even pushed it north and I'm sure the last rider gave a scare for it.

This is trespassing on railroad property, and I recommend no one do it. Be patient. even I was and I had to make it to Rudy's house by 2:30 AM to begin a day trip.

Friday Night @ Hollywood

As a prologue to the August Jacksonville Blitz I hit up Hollywood in search of trains.

This Friday night outing followed the usual dinner item except it was scheduled later than before. I hope this becomes a new tradition as the numbers were and could be very decent.

First the usual showstopper, 101 passed by about half past 10 with a full intermodal train. It was making good speed which was a welcome thing since I've always seen them crawling through Hollywood since the signal got moved.

Q453 who paralleled closely got a visit from me for logistical reasons. Lots of gravel for Conrad Yelvington on it aside from usual manifest loads for area customers. 10:42 PM

I almost missed out on dinner at A La Turca which was closing a bit early. Fortunately we weren't turned away and had dinner. We walked around Hollywood as 226 got the go through town.

It clocked in just after the stroke of 12 with a nasty RS3L and IM hotshot to JAX.

the real treat was FEC 141 which was a rock extra out of Fort Pierce. This was sort of a trip down memory lane and the likes of 191. It passed by at 1:03 AM.

To be posted separately is a catch in Fort Lauderdale around 2 AM which was prolonged due to where I was in terms of where it had to set out and made interesting by the idiots tampering with it.

South Florida Four Pack Blitz Part II

After running shopping errands in Dania we trekked up I-95 over to Deerfield Beach to intercept FEC 101. It went in the ATCS dark for a while but popped up again at Villa Rica once we hit Pompano. This catch was then ensured to be a no brainer and it rolled by 10 min. after 8.

We had our usual dinner in Boca Raton and then coffee at the Mizner Park Starbucks. This was kind of a time kill for Q453 to make it and gain on us. With the 10pm closure I was basically stuck waiting at Deerfield Beach for some 25min for the train to advance. I saw the same railfan mom-and-son that I saw August 17 and chatted it up while waiting on 453. Anyway as I arrived a "crazy" woman was lying there in the lot attracting the attention of Coconut Creek PD and G4S. I tried to steer clear of this odd event and waited until I was in the clear to meet the people  at the south end of the platform.

Q453 rolled by 10:40 PM with its average sized 41 car train.

336 was lined and I headed south to Griffin, then Old Griffin Road to see it. Even more interestingly it had a close call with a biker.

After that I was able to squeeze in Q452, at 77 cars, to cap the day. Compared to the equivalent 8/17 trip this had better car numbers in Q453 and Q452.

On my way home I got to see 226 from the highway but do nothing else with it. I was already exhausted and enjoyed my day out in the Tri-County area.

South Florida Four Pack Blitz Part I

Sometimes it takes a day to do both railfanning and needed shopping in areas around Broward. Hence I took Thursday July 26.

As always the outing started with BK Joe (now Seattle's Best coffee). After which I made the usual trek around Hialeah but instead flew through the area since the yard area was dead.

Following a business engagement we had time to rush over and get FEC 965 which did double duty - Fort Lauderdale manifest empties and Airport rock empties.

I continued beating a path through the city and wound up skipping Ready  to Roll trains and hit up the RaceTrac in Hallandale. After which I toured Golden Glades around Hardy and found the Sysco Lead overgrown. The middle lead had its usual influx of tankers and at the time O722 was doubling back after a setout.

***that light in the background is Amtrak P092. I got him on freehand video by me soon after.

For the formal video of O722, I raced to Hollywood to get a hold of him. Meanwhile I was surprised to find P623 with a Hyundai-Rotem cabcar. TRCX only has two of these in service.

O722 finally rolled by on T-1 making this pooched shot happen.

I tracked up to Copans to scout on O717, which had already finished its pickup moves at Home Depot and Grace Construction. At Publix was when I found the train, which had just set out one covered hopper of pellets. As you will see, I was cautious not to trespass or risk falling in the deep ditch.

After a pit stop at BK which was not for lunch this afternoon but instead a smoothie stop, I found Dave Shelley gaining on me on FEC 202. He was already around Wilton Manors when I left the Deerfield Beach area BK. I made it just in time to Pompano Airpark to see him. This was my first time seeing him in 11 months and 9 days and his S&HC and wave was missed.

I had lunch at the Deerfield Beach proper Subway and skirted around Military to find O717 at the Boise lead. This train was handling 6 loads for delivery, 2 loads for Fast-Dry, and empties from both and/or Keeman Brick.

--INTERMISSION--
After another refreshment, this time at Mickey D's "McCafe", I did the usual westward round to Sawgrass. Bought LEGO elements for this project I am doing plus other miscellaneous endeavors.

Having finished after P091 and P097 were able to pass (Well I could've gone for P091 but tough luck when a drawbridge goes off), I ran to Croissant Park for 222.

Always its interesting looking rock & all FECIM train, 222 rolled by to finish off what the point and shoot could take. This would be the last train photographed on this outing.

I did compile some video footage during this outing of the misc trains I caught. Enjoy!

Part II will entail all of the night trains I got to videotape and see in person.

News: Homestead Sub Hasn't Kicked out a Rock Train in Four Days

I hope I didn't jinx it but there hasn't been an outbound rock drag since Sunday. I wonder if they're running at random times and heading north at night. Maybe the local O721 is only relegated to local hauls now and these things run out of nowhere. Last Sat. there was a run in the daytime to produce K996. Things have been slow and bust this week on the sub and today all 3 sets of rock train power were in Miami. Maybe I'll get lucky as I railfan today (Thurs.). I'll wait and see.

A Good Day on the Homestead Sub

I like it when O721 has freight for more than one customer. It gives the train variety and connotes a good sign to the economy. While these cars don't reflect the Homestead area proper, they do represent customers on the upper end. It was a pleasant surprise to see plastics hoppers on this one as I don't usually get to see them the days they work Seal-Tite.
Yesterday the train was fronted by 26 and 817 with 2 from Seal-Tite, 3 hoppers and one tank for Orr (my first catch of tanks on the road), TEN cement hoppers for Yelvington, and the rest empty rock.

In  the video as well before O721 is Friday's FEC 101. This train had 11,350' and a bunch of empty rock on the bottom. That is long for its size but its average is only 8950'. More on the FEC in a later entry.

Trip Report - O721 Chase - July 19

I may be blogging trip reports here for the future. Why? Well, this is a blog - a web log. Everything that tells a story, shares an experience, and brings a lesson (trips do that!) belongs here. Expect a few more blog adjustments soon to this site.

While for some trips a friend of mine, Paul does the write ups, I will form a version separate for entry to this blog. Yes, we tell the same story but our eyes may just see different things.

Anyway - time to cut to the chase here.

I don't fancy chasing O721 in the weekdays but today was the exception to the rule. For the first time this week, with my night owl sleeping (Hello Summer!) I woke up to see clear sunny skies. Well, I have woken up at 3pm (probably to uphold future trips with the SFRM Gang which entail all nighters) and of course been greeted by very happy thunderstorms. Yet I look outside, don't hear thunder... yes, it's going to be a hot one but at least the trains will look pretty! Pretty... they sure were.

My mother had expressed an interest in going to Dadeland for some shopping. I find it a cool mall but a great excuse to run around and chase O721 at times, and it has been done that way a few times. On this day I would continue that trend as I timed O721's departure to when I would leave.

Nonetheless at 6:08 PM the lights are given and it leaves 5 minutes later. I leave when it leaves and manage to bear the level of traffic needed to match it up on the dot at Flagler St.

Looking north as the gates activate when I cross, I noticed a YN2 leader. I expected engines 939 & 9014 to run, 939 pointing South, but it turned out that 636 and 593, the other pair was leading. A happy camper, I would finally be able to see pure AC power on a SFL freight haul that is not coal.

We managed to beat it across SW 16 ST and turn to a couple back streets to access the winding SW 75 AV. As the train picked up speed I found it imperative to hold on to the west side so that if any shot had to be taken in any case, it could be done beautifully. We turned on to SW 21 ST which gave the train its leeway to activate SW 21 ST once we got there.

I made almost last minute plans to film at SW 24 ST. This was my target when I passed it at Flagler. I got off as the engines were already in plain view, with almost no time to set up. I still managed to get the telephoto as the train was creeping, though.

636 led 593 with 1 Centerbeam Flatcar and about 50-60 empty hoppers of aggregate. Only 636 did any work.

636 up close.

An up close of 593.

Something that has increased in 2012 was centerbeam traffic to Probuild. A sign of hope in this economy.

The actual purpose was to shoot this train in Kendall, but to avoid waiting I wanted to get this very trademark Coral Way shot. We headed south on the 826/874 overtaking the train slowly but surely (25mph for them) and got out as planned. I had enough time to take pose at my favorite spot on the Homestead.

The wide open pasture of SW 88 ST makes for a beautiful shot in the late afternoons which is when Homestead Sub receives any traffic nowadays.

With this I finished my CSX safari. 3 sights, 3 bolts, 2 engines, 2 video shots, and 1 train in 1 hour.