tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68419249204295364862024-03-14T06:02:46.836-04:00Train Stuff from a Miami Train BuffReal train and model train postings. Trip logs, multimedia, local rail news, model railroad tips, tricks, and progress.Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.comBlogger195125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-32815564026100729362014-07-06T20:32:00.000-04:002014-07-06T20:32:09.495-04:00HSRAC - Kickstarter Campaign<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Friends;</span><br style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><br style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;" /><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">Many of us are aware and know that the current passenger rail system in the United States is not exactly living up to </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">systems that are seen throughout the world</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">. </span><br />
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The High Speed Rail America Club is a group chartered within Florida International University and aims to bring high speed rail to the United States. While admittedly such a system is difficult, costly, and takes time to execute, it is NOT impossible, and quoting university president Mark Rosenberg, we as people have the power to "Turn the Impossible to the Inevitable".</div>
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Our main goal at the moment is to produce a documentary that highlights the current state of rail travel in the United States and what can be done to improve and bring it up to High Speed standards. We would like to film our documentary on and revolving around present day passenger rail, while discussing within the film and later focusing on and cooperating with prospective systems such as All Aboard Florida, which we know that service should start soon. While it won't immediately put high speed rail on the market, at least it will inform, educate, thoroughly clarify, and ultimately convince the viewing public to promote progress to national rail travel, eventually leading to establishing HSR in the US. </div>
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But to film this documentary is more easily said than done.</div>
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The hurdles that stop us from making this happen are among the following - logistics, travel expenses, camera and post processing equipment. </div>
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This is why we have a Kickstarter campaign. We are asking those who are interested and willing to support a brighter future for US Rail Travel for a donation so that we meet our funding goal. As of now, which is three days into the campaign, already $190 USD has been raised out of a minimum $1500 base goal. We have established stretch goals so that with more support, our project can be better implemented. Our deadline is <b>August 3, 2014.</b></div>
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<b>The campaign page can be accessed here: </b><a class="" href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1682189695/the-american-train" style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1682189695/the-american-train</a></div>
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Thank you for your support</div>
Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-68549008144581575142013-09-23T01:32:00.002-04:002013-09-23T01:32:23.541-04:00September Train NotesRegularly, to my mailing list <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/southflrailfans" target="_blank">South FL Railfans</a>, I post a notes sheet full of trains that ran, power that ran around in South Florida, and news <strike>that are usually BSed or overhyped</strike>. This month actually had enough good stuff to share here and to also start the tradition of posting monthly notes. Usually I post it at the first of the next month but I found the time now and will do so:<br />
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The data is usually jotted down with little structure. This is this month's edition, part 1 since I know something just might happen that is worth reporting within the next 8 days.<br />
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SEPTEMBER TRAIN NOTES<br />
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UNIT TRAINS:</div>
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Known rock trains to run include K996-K995, K950-K951, and K978-K977. K790-K791 ran recently. No words on the Gator country or Wildwood rock though, I don't think they ran at all.</div>
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V157 came in... but at the wrong time. Lots of us were stuck AWOL in Academia.</div>
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Fort Lauderdale Rock appears to be coming back to life; 985/986s caught by Tommy4Trains and also a 988 was heard at Lauderdale last night.</div>
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SPECIALS/Unusual trains:</div>
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Geometry Train on the FEC with the NS 5609 behind FEC 720.</div>
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Tri-Rail-CSX-FEC special. Responsive to the TIGER GRANT, will mention later. Funny how I imagined something similar on my Key West Extension route: <a class="" href="http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?17876-FEC-Key-West-extension-modern-day&p=457306#post457306" style="font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">http://forums.auran.com/trainz/showthread.php?17876-FEC-Key-West-extension-modern-day&p=457306#post457306</a></div>
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P933 Service run on September 12 with #516, autorack.</div>
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P935 service run on September 21. #166, 2 cars</div>
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POWER:</div>
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CSXT 15/4565: Power came in on K995 around 9/12; ran the O721. Still in pool service here.</div>
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CSXT 5396/800: Came in unknown; caught on K977/K996 weekend of the 7th/8th; left on the 8th (Seen from distance)</div>
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CSXT 462/673: Came in on V157 9/16; still in circulation and caught on K791 9/21.</div>
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CSXT 7870/7737: Circulated on FRKX Rock Trains until 9/12; left on K978. K978 became K724, but it is unknown if they came back. Should/could have different power.</div>
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Another Dash 8 was reported by Ted Marshall to bring up a rock train 9/19.</div>
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CSXT 3021: Came in on Q453 9/11; Ran to FEC. Came back unknown, and probably is gone by now.</div>
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NS 5609: Rotated on FEC Geometry Train. Can't believe I chose to pass it up 9/12 but I guess it wasn't meant to be.</div>
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**If I am missing anything, it will be added to part 2**</div>
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NEWS:</div>
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Logistics and freight movement are showing little change on CSX. FEC is having another sweet month though.</div>
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Observations:</div>
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O722's delivery on 9/8 was more of the same; about 35 cars on it as seen from Lauderdale airport.</div>
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I haven't been out anywhere believe it or not except for as far as Sawgrass. </div>
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O721 was only seen to haul the car for Probuild along with the CYDX empties. Also Y322 should have brought in coal ash at the top of the month, as seen on last month's Q453-30.</div>
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<b>ROCK TRAINS ARE NOW FOLLOWING A NEW ADDED PATTERN</b>. Without fail, the last three weekends produced rock jobs on the Homestead Sub on Saturday carrying the SB ID. The loads go out the next day, Sunday, in the afternoon, usually after P092 runs. However as a tradeoff, photo ops are slacking off south of Dyer since the sun is tracking towards the South. Your best bet is to be on the SXH For the southbound.</div>
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<b>Lehigh Spur now back in action for Rock Trains </b>One courtesy Tim earlier in Sept, and one on the 12th that I got. When K977/K725 comes back, one more hopefully.</div>
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<b>FEC IS NOW RUNNING INTERMODAL TO THE PORT OF MIAMI. </b>Courtesy of Jonathan Hollahan of the FEC, a yard job is added effective today (9/23) to run to the Port and back with push-pull operation.</div>
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<b>Fort Lauderdale Airport Rock</b> is back more or less as stated earlier. I will get a grasp of the schedule soon, but yesterday's night run should be a hint of it.</div>
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<b>TIGER GRANT. </b>$13.75M grant approved for rail links at Iris and Northwood, with presumed link at Pompano Beach. Also it seems like I'm starting to see more graphics and renders of the new Pompano Beach Tri-Rail Station. This will make the Miami Sub a true "SFL Four Pack" with the option of running FEC trains on it as well. Remember it's state owned so this is possible. Estimated legs to be built are on all four sides of Iris but the southwest side, as it's not needed. There was speculation this would pull CSX out of SFL but it's calmed down by FEC personnel who say only the maintenance and signal will go. It is believed with high conviction this will lure out FEC trains 202, 222, 335, 109, and 121 from the old Flagler mainline but keep 101, 210, 226, and 107 hell bent on the existing old mainline. Remember that this speculation is not limited to what comes out of POM. It will also make "Tri-Rail Coastal Link" a reality... </div>
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<b>NEW FEC PAINTS</b> Two special schemes have been announced for FEC engines 425 and 436. The liveries are kept hush but I'm guessing it could be something big, something blue. Hopefully FEC revives the long-lost <i>Speedway</i> livery, which is one of my favorites on the GEEPs. Remember that all Speedway GP40-3s were sold. We'll find out before Part 2 of the September notes.</div>
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<b>ADVERTISED ON FEC </b>New trains 111, 212 are now fixed and adopted to the service plan. These are Bowden-City Pt and back. 109 also runs frequently as well. </div>
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<b>NEW BUSINESS FOR FEC </b>Railex will now be shipping to Jacksonville.</div>
Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-89488312034290492932013-08-23T02:56:00.000-04:002013-08-23T02:56:06.165-04:00Industry RecapFor anyone following the business and logistics side of railroading, some decent news; all mixed, mashed, and in no particular order:<br />
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Train 195 is on duty on the FEC here and there. This attests to some stable rock demand. I just don't know how often it runs though, about once weekly to my recollection.<br />
Nailite Plastics on the CSX line near Golden Glades, Florida, a place where I see two to three cars, had about six on industry. Allsteel & Gypsum also had gypsum centerbeams waiting for a pickup; I don't recount seeing any coil cars though.<br />
It's nice to see that the cut of O717's cars sitting in Fort Lauderdale is consistently 10-12 cars in length. Cars from Amerigas, Boise-Cascade, Cross-Dock, and Home Depot were seen much to my memory. Maybe one Fast-Dry in there as well.<br />
Thursday's O721 (Homestead Subdivison local) had an ample amount of centerbeam flats (about four from two day's worth of trains) and plenty of hoppers, open and covered, all heading back to Hialeah. The entire train, which looked like a clean house job for the Homestead Sub, totalled about 30 cars. Expect to see the slack on tonight's (tomorrow morning's) Q452.<br />
The only bad news, SALCO on the East Rail came up empty---again. Abandoned customer? Oh well. But I saw a video of a mid-week Q452 and it had a decent cut of scrap from the Downtown Spur.Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-56665385273637584272013-08-23T02:45:00.001-04:002013-08-23T02:49:03.282-04:00Rail Sign Epic FailThis is probably the most misleading sign I've ever seen. It's at the Florida East Coast Railway grade crossing on SW 2nd Street/Himmarshee Blvd in Fort Lauderdale, FL. It's supposed to warn the millions of trespassers that cross tracks illegally and play chicken with the train in Fort Lauderdale that they're in the track area, but it's telling them not to stop? The hell? Pretty much, it goes against the purpose built crossing protection that is in front of them. Talk about an Epic Fail.<br />
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I noticed this when getting my faraway shot of FEC Train 101 last night. I haven't watched trains here for about a year, and haven't shot this part of the street in just about as much time if not more. Needless to say, as the fleet-footed (for 30mph, anyway -- but they were making every bit of it) and long intermodal hotshot approached, two idiots played chicken. That's right, they weren't doing anything wrong; they were obeying the sign.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEingPykgsq0OJOhhM9O0Gn7lkOGgeijiw77JLROl09lF3gzwTrTMYtXKiBXCyBobpn0bkp79uqsMqY1GnL7xXbIY-k3k6tADnK7azW0RqqNFAscJ5tw4JzTR-2DPpxqiDMqYdpVsHfARyq_/s1600/RR+FAIL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEingPykgsq0OJOhhM9O0Gn7lkOGgeijiw77JLROl09lF3gzwTrTMYtXKiBXCyBobpn0bkp79uqsMqY1GnL7xXbIY-k3k6tADnK7azW0RqqNFAscJ5tw4JzTR-2DPpxqiDMqYdpVsHfARyq_/s320/RR+FAIL.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-64540198909439102712013-06-24T04:25:00.004-04:002013-06-24T04:25:57.875-04:00FEC and CSX Rail Business Is Improving AgainThe promise of unit ethanol on FEC has finally been delivered. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDMw3Sxa_4I" target="_blank">FEC Train 141</a> ran a solid 81 car unit set with about 20 of those going to Motiva in Port Everglades today and the rest headed to Hialeah. It is possible the rest are for Motiva as well or for Florida Bulk Transfer, but we'll find out. The timing of the extra was so perfect I was able to catch it before having my dinner tonight closer to home!<br />
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Aside from that, feeding on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/BBT609" target="_blank">Brylon</a>'s videos, I've noticed healthy manifest on 123 for Fort Pierce. I am glad to see that even in the death of sugar cane season so much freight is headed for Fort Pierce and West Palm. Also, Lyle caught <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zfyiTlnkbM" target="_blank">121 this morning</a> with a healthy hodgepodge of racks and dead loads.<br />
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CSX is doing well also. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFspJAUiPSc" target="_blank">Q453-21 from Friday night</a> had 101 cars. I caught a subsequent 453 the next day, being in Broward and this one had 51 cars, which is less but the carloads in for the weekend were still good. Though Q453-21 is "watered down" by bad-ordered Yelvington hoppers, the size is still a treat to see and those CYDXs have a destination too. Q452s on Friday and Saturday shot out decent carloads as well. Also with K996, K978, and K790 last week wasn't dead train-wise. Tampa is also getting ethanol well as figured by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/54382599@N07/9121643716" target="_blank">K422</a>.<br />
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Coming into the world out of high school I am happy to see the economy taking shape again... and through one of the biggest ways one can foretell the shape of it, the Railroad.Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-7387926995663617252013-06-15T13:52:00.003-04:002013-06-15T13:57:18.445-04:00The Death Bell has Rung for Tri-Rail's Old Engines<b><i>HOT OFF THE PRESS:</i></b><br />
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Brooksville build #818 is out of the shops and looks spiffy in Tri-Rail's palm tree livery, though I'll be honest I would have rather seen it have the colored stripes.<br />
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This is a BL36PH, a new Brookville locomotive of which Tri-Rail is a launch customer.<br />
It is also assumed reasonably that this will replace the initial fleet of rebuilds on the roster, 802-811.<br />
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<b>TO THE IMAGE (<i>courtesy Tyler White)</i>: </b><br />
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<a href="http://www.hostthenpost.org/uploads/fbf71cb18b11bdfa8d8c1c10b0245a2b.jpg">http://www.hostthenpost.org/uploads/fbf71cb18b11bdfa8d8c1c10b0245a2b.jpg</a>Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-80625102172045470202013-06-13T01:19:00.001-04:002013-06-13T01:19:28.686-04:00New FEC Customer at Port Everglades<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/HdheKNtwWms" width="480"></iframe><br />
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On June 12 FEC has made its first ethanol delivery for a new customer at the port, named Motiva. This area is very high security so one would only be able to view it from the air. In this video you can see it around the 3 minute mark. Two tracks with ethanol loading racks are cut in. Not quite unit train sized but still long. This reflects good news for business and a fulfilled promise, for lack of a better term, as Motiva announced the service two years ago.Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-71236901968009274172013-06-10T13:18:00.002-04:002013-06-10T13:18:56.109-04:00Deerfield Beach / O717 Corridor UpdateWhile I'm still waiting on starting the layout in HO Scale, I did pass by the real Deerfield Beach and noticed a couple of promising observations.<br />
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I was happy to see that despite seeing the loading docks at Sun-Sentinel to be empty over the past few visits, that the industry as of yesterday had at least 1 boxcar in there.<br />
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More so, the really good news relates to CSX winning the ASPX's contract to do their scrap gon loading. I think the mysterious location of where these gons get loaded has been found. The former station track/ current team track north of Hillsboro Blvd is back in service as a loadout track for the gons. Four or five of them have been sitting there yesterday.<br />
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In other industry news, no cars at Allsteel or BrickAmerica. One tank at the water plant. Also when I glanced from I-95 about 4 cars at Fast-Dry had been noticed. Also CSX O722 delivered about 35 cars of freight to Dania, many of them boxcars. My belief is they're headed for Home Depot, Boise-Cascade, and other mix and match areas.Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-6577027451260690372013-06-06T22:02:00.001-04:002013-06-06T22:02:49.790-04:00FEC Triple Play! 109, 202 and 965 | June 06 720p<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/6VkVfuJ8Cec" width="480"></iframe><br />
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Cesar, local Miami railfan and good friend, was out today in search of trains at FIU's BBC.<br />
Pay particular attention to Train 109, the third catch. This train was abolished sometime in 2011 but only was so until early this year. When they brought it back it would only haul baretables but now it's nice to see the train live up to its former persona and carry rock empties and racks. The coal was a bonus though as that only comes monthly from CSX. The point is I'm glad that the economy is getting back on its feet after all of this and 109 is the sure sign of it. But anyway enjoy this nice classic FEC package!Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-35716069481597571042013-06-04T20:39:00.001-04:002013-06-04T20:39:24.514-04:00Tri-Rail P685<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brickbuilder711/8931122098/" title="Tri-Rail P685"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8269/8931122098_583ef62870.jpg" alt="Tri-Rail P685 by brickbuilder711" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brickbuilder711/8931122098/">Tri-Rail P685</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brickbuilder711/">brickbuilder711</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>This is why Hialeah is a great place to shoot... Look at the atmosphere!</p>Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-30544081484021074822013-03-25T19:59:00.001-04:002013-03-25T19:59:36.766-04:00Lehigh Spur UpdateIn the sea of sporadic unit rock trains for Winter Haven and Taft, CSX has managed to finally set up for one at the right time on the stretch of track nearest to my house. K918 is a temporary train of aggregate to fuel the construction of CSX's intermodal facility in Winter Haven.<br />
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The train went as a power move westbound around 10:30 PM last Friday by Dolphin Mall and reemerged with 60 loaded hoppers before 1 AM by the same area. I caught it at Galloway as seen below:<br />
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I am happy to be seeing this customer kind of back on track, no pun intended. The recent boom of these trains plus a steady flow of unit runners K978 and K977 are keeping this industry active. As I write, another inflow of Florida Rock hoppers is expected by tomorrow morning at latest.<br />
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The catch I made last Friday brought back chasing memories from between 2009 and 2011, when I focused on videotaping these trains. Before that, the line was much more active though, getting rock trains almost daily and locals fairly often.<br />
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As far as the K918 goes, it is not known if there will be another order for rock for Winter Haven. I frankly thought it would only last one train ful but there were three more since, whereas the first train was loaded late February. K978 and K977 still bring hope for more runs and hopefully one day we will see the return of K974 and K973, the last of which ran June 2011.Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-40114649558604272152013-02-19T00:38:00.000-05:002013-02-19T00:38:14.268-05:00Running around Miami today...Earlier this afternoon I scouted some area industries in Miami proper and Hialeah for the usual excuses... Trainz research, keeping up with progress, model railroading, the works. Today went not as it was planned. Originally I was arranging to chase the Downtown Spur job, Y322, back to the yard around 7-something in the morning. I changed the plan to start with the usual "last chance" shot of the train at 10 AM and chase around town up until 4-5 PM. Sounded good, but didn't work out as good as it sounded.<br />
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This all Miami chase for me has become a popular item since Miami was essentially "rediscovered" as a busy terminal, for lack of a better term. It is supposedly even busier since FEC pioneers jobs 984-987 to shuttle rock for the Fort Lauderdale runway project.<br />
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This entry will point out the highlights and lowlights of my day as well as mention how the logistics are going on CSX.<br />
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<b>Part I - Hialeah</b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQYU2kZ1Dza-kOaxeuiYOhwCAaaCv8VtRHxi0Ssf245fkziYmra53iI1a23d5mj0qOcVRSIJt3dJKc3i1s-r7rudqxFRS2pmHWZudboA0znmuhcCX6PbFgHbHbHhUtjNRe8wW4WkFy6Xj/s1600/IMG_0592.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQYU2kZ1Dza-kOaxeuiYOhwCAaaCv8VtRHxi0Ssf245fkziYmra53iI1a23d5mj0qOcVRSIJt3dJKc3i1s-r7rudqxFRS2pmHWZudboA0znmuhcCX6PbFgHbHbHhUtjNRe8wW4WkFy6Xj/s320/IMG_0592.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTzq4YqppYOm09fAoe79-sVlw6aWb1jTgvEpslaQCiN0af6x2VFcxmSlg5kfzphMEZ0sg13Q9wvOX-E2a0eocj8Y9EYVSkv3OuM5_HXV8MDLDqWVgRJc_e84u-JH201gJ361bXVrIMLlS/s1600/p625.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRTzq4YqppYOm09fAoe79-sVlw6aWb1jTgvEpslaQCiN0af6x2VFcxmSlg5kfzphMEZ0sg13Q9wvOX-E2a0eocj8Y9EYVSkv3OuM5_HXV8MDLDqWVgRJc_e84u-JH201gJ361bXVrIMLlS/s320/p625.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I was looking for Train 202 on the FEC to head out to Jacksonville but it wouldn't and since I wasn't supposed to be hanging and putzing around in Hialeah, I skirted the exotic city and made headway for East Rail and the Downtown Spur. The industrial recon for the CSX side industries was on the list and I made good on checking on every customer south of Hialeah Yard. </div>
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East rail was a desolate stretch of track save for Sentry Industries. They had six tanks. After tossing and turning through the streets around East Rail, I knew P625 was due in so I headed to 46th St to catch it at my secret spot. This is a great spot, especially the north side by the signal. But CSX needs to get on trimming those weeds.</div>
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<b>Part II - Downtown Spur</b></div>
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This segment was the heart of the excursion. Originally we were supposed to dog Y322 on this line getting it where we could but the job came back when I was having REM sleep most likely. We visited an old friend at his shop for the first time in 2+ years since we were in the area and spotted around taking pics. My dad was fascinated with the Miami Canal area in particular but shots were damned tight and I said I'll leave it for another trip.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1FVJgDE9p6WegC5jwBYL71oL9BbqnHeGpgEpoJdiEv4-dZV4kAJsclUiLx7ytDX5pSCFMfwsViodxNwG-KOvgV2eeKGQ8j-maLSpeV1i3on4Sa3U9L1xmpoHjeW7v6d4hkhUDIt7f9x6/s1600/blog+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1FVJgDE9p6WegC5jwBYL71oL9BbqnHeGpgEpoJdiEv4-dZV4kAJsclUiLx7ytDX5pSCFMfwsViodxNwG-KOvgV2eeKGQ8j-maLSpeV1i3on4Sa3U9L1xmpoHjeW7v6d4hkhUDIt7f9x6/s320/blog+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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The Downtown lead is strong industriously with FP&T, Miami Iron (presumably), Sun-Gas, CBI, Family & Son, and Trujillo all full of cars. Of note was a broken gate/crossing malfunction here at N River Dr. In the meantime we lunched at a BK at 12th Av / 20th St in the medical district (and missed a chance to speak with an attractive girl waiting on her food - oh well). </div>
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<b>Part III - Hialeah (Again)</b></div>
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The most fail-ridden part of the trip was the look around Hialeah. Something was coming off of track-3 at Dania and I thought it best to check out the north side of the yard and bag it. Wrong. We waited there and my dad handled business matters but saw only track. We did manage to check out Hialeah Yard from the bridge. It's nice to see most of the yard tracks filled with cars, a good sign.<br />
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Train 986 was narrowly missed (by a darn hair) and so was a Tri-Rail that left when we used the restroom at Amtrak Miami. O721 in the meantime was getting its train together.<br />
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<b>Part IV - Chasing O721</b></div>
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I met up with Cesar (tonymagona334) at Aero Squadron to pick up the O721 I saw at the yard. This was our first time chasing together and our second time meeting in person. This midsize train passed us and we were able to chase it down to SW 12 ST. Nothing special on O721... overcast skies, 2 cars for Orr, and a lot of CYDX cars. We would run to La Carreta for snacks, camaraderie, and saying goodbye for the day and with the promise that we will chase again, in the future.</div>
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Our videos compiled together (I let him do it all) can be found here in this package:</div>
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<br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/j8PyJcGPRGw?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<br />Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-77025859670050589112013-01-30T23:35:00.001-05:002013-01-30T23:35:40.671-05:00[HD] FEC "ECH" Monster Train 101 with CLOSE Call - 01.02.2013<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PNEt28A7RjU" width="480"></iframe><br />
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In this video, my friend and longtime FEC engineer Dave Shelley led the 12,000' monster all business on the first day of startup after the new year for the historic mainline. I've caught Dave several times -- why am I blogging this one in particular?<br />
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The added touch, that is. Yeah, it was only yesterday that I caught in the editing process that some genius, or should I say well-qualified Darwin candidate, decided to play chicken with one of the most premier trains on the FEC. He did so where it appeared by the direction and stature of the lights that he/she was 10 seconds from being swiped by the front plows of RA 105.<br />
May this video serve as a lesson not to trespass, cross illegally, or cross tracks when a train is quite well in the picture. You're not doing yourself a favor by trying to get on the other side, and are instead putting your safety and well being at risk.<br />
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Had the person mistimed by only eight to ten seconds, he/she would have been history.<br />
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Nonetheless, gotta love Dave's musical notes on the K5LLA (even though I could barely hear the freaking thing); the famed "Blue Light Salute", and his new magic trick - the dimming of the headlights. The latter was unexpected and just... cute I guess.<br />
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Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-7406425089136192582013-01-28T01:29:00.001-05:002013-06-15T13:59:16.383-04:00CSX SD70MACs sold to Paducah and Louisville<i>EDIT: WAS MISINFORMED ON SOME NUMBERS</i><br />
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I am "saddened" to report that 16 CSX SD70MACs have been written off the roster and are now the property of the Paducah and Louisville Railway, "PAL".<br />
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2 power moves of 8 units each ran from Corbin, KY to the area that they will be interchanged. They will be repainted into the PAL graphics.<br />
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This is awful in my eyes. They are phasing out some pretty strong EMD pullers.<br />
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The Class I cites declining coal shipments as why these are being sold. I guess these are the first to go since the EMDs have been admittedly a bit flawed especially the pre-pro SD70ACes. If I were CSX I would have sold some AC4400CWs though.<br />
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This dreadful move brings the 70MAC roster down from 220 units to 204 units.<br />
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I will never forget my catches of these locomotives.<br />
<br />Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-17284628610524955812013-01-25T00:37:00.003-05:002013-01-25T00:37:34.766-05:00Throwback ThursdayCSX Y220 from 5/26/08 on the Lehigh Spur with a gevo/dash 8. Cars for FRK, West Rail?, and Cemex.<br />
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<br />Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-19186642514356973842013-01-21T12:22:00.001-05:002013-01-21T12:48:24.514-05:00Changes to Miami Terminal LocalsWith the new year CSX appears to have taken to changing the profiles of their locals. If a source can confirm this that would be appreciated.<br />
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Y220 now has to work East Rail most of its days. This does not sound like good news since it appears CSX has abolished the midday and photo and video friendly (or unfriendly given the hassles) Y121. Y220 works all the terminal industries and those customers as well. I would not be surprised to see some of the workload in Hialeah shuffled to another yard job, but Y220 still is the main job. I will have to confirm if Y121 is abolished but given ATCS tracking, the switches have not been seen to point to East Rail in the midday hours. <i>Now as an update, to contradict that, there is an occupancy on East Rail as of 12:45 PM. Hmm</i>.<br />
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Y322 still runs as usual but has not been going to the Lehigh too often. It's still in its profile but probably on some sort of as needed basis.<br />
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O721 now appears to run Monday-Friday with the Rock Trains running as their K symbol on the weekend. The K-trains on record now show a trend favoring sporadic runs. December 22 and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brickbuilder711/8323760477/in/photostream" target="_blank">29</a> K996 ran; the 22 was on O721's schedule more or less, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qy_HWv1URtI" target="_blank">the 29th was on their ooooold schedule</a>. January 6 saw the K996 again but in the morning, and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brickbuilder711/8379683180/in/photostream" target="_blank">January 13</a> saw K978 on the Lehigh Spur. K996 ran again this time on the 19th at night. O721 switches their customers Monday through Friday, evidenced on December 21, via Joe (BusProwler) on the 28th, and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brickbuilder711/8393883822/in/photostream" target="_blank">January 18th</a>. Given the Homestead almost firmly sees 6 moves a week, this is a good upturn from five and this spells good news for the Homestead Sub.<br />
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More will be found out about these changes as time goes on.Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-54676066077571929332013-01-14T02:33:00.001-05:002013-01-14T02:36:36.454-05:00Surprise! K978-13 Fresh off the Lehigh SpurSurprise Surprise!<br />
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Only my fourth unique train catch in South Florida in 2013 (behind FEC 101, CSX Q453, FEC RBBX Circus Train), a K978 with the 5228, 3014 "GEVO Juice", and 66 Florida Rock hoppers straight out of the Lehigh Spur evokes some good and positive feelings.<br />
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The train is a sign of hope for the economy and hopefully one of things to come. A Sunday afternoon run, it reminisces the classic O719 which used to run mornings down the Homestead Sub. It actually took the Lehigh though. Here is some background info on FRK in the Lehigh.<br />
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Florida Rock on the Lehigh, a quarry at the intersection of NW 25 ST and 127 AV in unincorporated Miami-Dade county has in the past mined train loads of rock. I caught them pretty religiously between 2009 and 2011 on video until the "summer slump" of 2011 where not a train load even bothered to run following June 8's K974. All of the hoppers got sent to Krome Quarry, where the Yelvington trains usually go, and the Taft distributor ordered their aggregate there. I believe the next time they shipped out a train was April 2012 where Tim alerted me, but all I could get was limerock dust as I narrowly missed it.<br />
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October 10th came and two AC4400s, 461, 462, came fleeting light on the Lehigh at NW 107 Av as seen from La Carreta. What was just so nice was that that same day, Brooksville Cemex got its first coal train in two years, N036. Some quotes on the FRKX hoppers that day did say that they were placed at Lehigh October 10th, leading me to believe that was why the power came back light. I believe it was either the 12th or 19th that the rock train left, and when it came back, the cars went to Sterling. Here's something interesting though: As FRKX 195 was seen <a href="http://brickbuilder711.rrpicturearchives.net/pictures/75766/DSCN5344.jpg" target="_blank">heading that way on the 28th</a>, somehow it went north on a K978 and came to the Lehigh as it was seen <a href="http://brickbuilder711.rrpicturearchives.net/pictures/75770/IMG_8462.jpg" target="_blank">yesterday on the K978</a>.<br />
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Why did they change their routing? The quarry was sued for some environmental issue and placed on moratorium for a while. It began mining last spring but only a handful of rock trains actually ran.<br />
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Here is a flagship video of O721 on the Lehigh Spur with a Florida Rock train in Oct 2010.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/7WuJ-CbfZEk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Here, towards the end of the package is a video of O721 on the Homestead Sub with the Florida Rock train in 2012 coming from Krome. 11:48 mark.<br />
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://1.gvt0.com/vi/LOxGR_LWmsk/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/LOxGR_LWmsk&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/LOxGR_LWmsk&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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And here, in broad daylight (rarity), a spiel of photos of the train on January 13, on the Miami Sub. This is the first time since 2007 where I could shoot one of these northbound loaded drags in daylight south of the Miami terminal. I was eating brunch or even barely awake when this thing ran the Lehigh so I caught up to it when it waited on authority to dog P670 into the high iron.<br />
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Let's hope that there will be MANY MANY more of these rock trains. Yes, some people may not like to be sitting around waiting at a grade crossing for these to clear, but they are an indicator of how the economy is doing. </div>
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<b>ROCK ON!</b></div>
<br />Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-81026059735887160272013-01-12T14:25:00.000-05:002013-01-12T14:25:25.570-05:00Mystery on the Downtown SpurLooks like a former rail customer has been spotted... Perhaps former as in 25-30 years.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNKrolycj51u89VunqeioE-d-NkofNPXXfB2sKP_cu2SHlYGwFAj9TRdFtEeVBu0x3iQAHIUY6r9f_clugf_G7ygZijPIoYIX35lwe9JOFKXEQ46CR6evgdF0T01W4shJuHQNOSTHZIqI0/s1600/Mystery+DT+Spur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="184" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNKrolycj51u89VunqeioE-d-NkofNPXXfB2sKP_cu2SHlYGwFAj9TRdFtEeVBu0x3iQAHIUY6r9f_clugf_G7ygZijPIoYIX35lwe9JOFKXEQ46CR6evgdF0T01W4shJuHQNOSTHZIqI0/s320/Mystery+DT+Spur.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The Waste Paper-bounded spur may not look like it, but that track once went across 22 ST and 17 AV into a small industrial area. See the purple markings on the image.<br />
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Another one has been discovered with an older image. East of 22 AV, a track once went south to a neighboring customer.<br />
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This my friends is the Miami Rail Scene of the 1980s. Really nostalgic. Imagine the long shifts the jobs would have to endure in areas like this!<br />
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In other interesting info, the line was double tracked up until the mid 1980s after Miami proper stopped serving Amtrak. I still wonder why in the world did they have to move to Hialeah? I really wish Amtrak would creep into Downtown Miami. But when the MIC opens and Amtrak moves south, this will be the first time an Amtrak has regularly pounded Iris Interlocking, passed the bustling Hialeah Market, and bypass Hialeah Yard since the 80s. A history making event that will be for sure.Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-29600057397694867652013-01-08T00:18:00.001-05:002013-01-08T00:18:54.778-05:00FEC 143<div style="margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding: 0; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.6em;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brickbuilder711/8355581623/" title="FEC 143"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8098/8355581623_08dc46a16e.jpg" alt="FEC 143 by brickbuilder711" /></a><br/><span style="margin: 0;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brickbuilder711/8355581623/">FEC 143</a>, a photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brickbuilder711/">brickbuilder711</a> on Flickr.</span></div><p>Magnum opus for me of this train. It was a fun chase that had me meeting up with almost every local railfan and even a few guests. Videos to follow so I'll let those tell the story.</p>Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-66752551721520168702013-01-01T18:16:00.003-05:002013-01-01T18:16:57.236-05:002012: A Year in LogisticsThroughout the year, within the scope of my life I have been able to focus on trains quite a bit. I'm not sure if it's more than I should but at least for me to have maintained decent grades, I guess it will do.<br />
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This blog post will reflect on the "Winners" and "losers" of the SFL area in terms of industry...<br />
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First, the losers... Yes, we gotta get that over with.<br />
The Lehigh Spur has not been taking in nearly as much as it did back in the day. When I started filming in the spur, activity occured 3-4 times a week, just as much as the Homestead Sub. This was 2009. 2011 presented the biggest flop when FRKX stopped producing rock trains and since then, there have been only two rock trains to date coming from the Lehigh Spur's plant. Coal ash/flyash/whatever goes in the First Union hoppers or "Green Gons" of the past has been down since 2009 but has not shown much picking up. It may appear given the current schedule that the Lehigh is all but abandoned, but the thing is now Y322 works the spur in weekday mornings. Carloads have topped 2-3 per week of the construction material on average. There was one Q453 (Dec 2) that brought optimism given it had about 9 loads, and the 29th had one load.<br />
The coal on the other hand has been in good shape and unit trains have been maintaining a mostly monthly pattern. V149, 48, 47, and 45 have run in total January, February, April, June, July, August, October, November, and December. 9 coal trains have run this year which is pretty good compared with years past as I think the annual records were about 8. But what could deceive things is the December coal train came at the very end of the month so perhaps there could be one less expected train in January.<br />
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The Downtown Spur has been so-so this whole year but has been in better shape come the end of the year. Any cuts that look like it on Q452 trains seen throughout have been fairly short especially in the summer. However, the number of cars have really shot up at the end of the year with up and coming railfan Timothy Duggan bagging a Y322 with 13 cars. I have also noticed back to back Q453s with high scrap gondolas for Miami Iron in the "Last Railfanning Weekend of 2012" (Video coming soon). Things appeared as though Trujillo, Family & Sons, Sun Gas, CBI, Miami Iron, FPT (which had 2 gons on Q453-28 December), et al are receiving, in the end.<br />
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The Homestead Sub south of Sterling has spelled desolation, desolation, desolation. AFEC appears not to be taking in much if any at all, even though they had cars in January. Part of this could be noticed by O721 having 6-axle power most of the time, whereas the 75lb section of track is 4-axle only. Properties that once housed Stock and a boxcar customer in proper still carry For Lease signs, current to last Saturday the 29th.<br />
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The Winners:<br />
Homestead Sub between the GPC Spur and Hialeah has been strong industrially. Almost every time I catch O721, it would have something additional to its mix for Conrad Yelvington. Covered "Tubs" (gravity discharge covered hoppers) have shown up much more frequently, and so did Probuild's centerbeams. At times they would receive two maybe three beams of gypsum. Cars for Orr have also started showing up on Sundays as they would most others and shipments could top 10 cars (July 31). I have also at times seen cars for Seal-Tite Plastics.<br />
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East Rail held out strong especially around SALCO. The demand for freight apparently prompted CSX to add job Y121 beginning June 2. However, I believe that job is either rare or no longer. Cars are still delivered almost daily on job Y220. Tompkins has also been very strong, especially whereas in June I saw a whole line of boxcars spotted at an industry.<br />
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The biggest winner is the Pompano corridor. O717 has always had its work cut out for it, rain or shine, and 2012 was no exception. Especially towards the end of the year, there would be ample freight waiting for it in Dania's "Middle Track" and "Back track". The cut of cars has been recently noticed to go to the curve in front of the airport's runway whereas it hasn't for much of the year. I have noticed at year's end plenty of cars for Cross Dock, Boise-Cascade, Home Depot, and Amerigas. Amerigas is one really active customer, sometimes prompting the train to work weekends to set out cars for it.<br />
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Rock has slowly shifted upwards, especially at years' end. There has been a time peaking in the Summer where both FEC and CSX rock shipped well, but at some point CSX rock went mute for some undisclosed reason (end of July). K996 has been the most prominent rock train, probably for the 618-I-4 connector construction.<br />
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In the end, this was a great year for railfanning and business is slowly improving, even though the signs are subtle. Let's hope 2013 will be even better!<br />
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<br />Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-66502360835486439602012-12-22T14:33:00.001-05:002012-12-22T16:08:50.423-05:00CSX Meets Tri-Rail At The Diamond...<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-7FjIGiIft0" width="480"></iframe><br />
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Up-and-coming South Florida Railfan <a href="http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGQxut8T2Bx6X2AwDXO9ifA?feature=watch" target="_blank">Timothy Duggan</a> bagged a really good catch. It came with good timing, and GREAT business news for the Downtown Spur.<br />
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<b>Train Y322-18</b> 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.<br />
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2 High Gondolas (Miami Iron)<br />
3 low gondolas (FP&T)<br />
2 LPG Tankers (Sun Gas)<br />
4 Boxcars (Either Trujillo, Miami Waste Paper, or some surprise customer)<br />
1 Tanker (Oil) (Family & Son)<br />
and 1 Boxcar (Family & Son)<br />
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<i>The 2011 catch: (13 cars) </i><br />
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<i>The 6/2012 catch: (4 cars)</i><br />
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<b>Train P619-19 </b>Tri-Rail's SB 9:00 train from West Palm Beach had an all Hyundai-Rotem consist.Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-7442334160938878752012-12-15T11:58:00.001-05:002012-12-15T12:05:09.769-05:00Santeria on the Lehigh Spur & O721-11Miami 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.<br />
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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.<br />
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For more information: <a href="http://www.lancemindheim.com/lore.htm">http://www.lancemindheim.com/lore.htm</a><br />
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Note: O721 had 1 for ProBuild, 1 for Seal-Tite, 1 for Cemex (loaded) and about 15-20 CYDX empties.<br />
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<br />Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-13868753493661104012012-11-12T11:07:00.001-05:002012-11-12T11:08:10.793-05:00Thanksgiving Holiday Train AnnullmentsAs Thanksgiving is a pretty big holiday, local railroads operate on a much slower note during the holiday, Black Friday, and into the weekend ahead.<br />
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(copied from FECRailway)<br />
<b>FEC: </b><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><i>Wed. Nov. 21,2012 - 335</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><i>Thurs. Nov. 22,2012 - 123-224, 193-292, 336, All locals except 963 & 965</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><i>Frid. Nov. 23, 2012 - 101, 109-210, 202,All locals except 963,965,970,937</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><i>Sat. Nov. 24, 2012 - 109-210, 202</i></span></span><br />
<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></i>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>CSX:</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><i>All trains that would operate on <b>Thanksgiving day</b> proper that are not of priority.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><i>Expected: ALL SFL area locals, which are O721, O722, O717, O718, Y322, Y121, et al</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><i>Q453 and Q452 MAY run. New Years saw them running.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><i>All K Trains are usually annulled. If a V-series coal train for Miami is coming, it may run.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><i><br /></i></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Amtrak:</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">No interruptions</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><b>Tri-Rail</b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, helvetica, clean, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;"><i>Weekend Schedule. P600-P649 do not run, instead P660-P675. Thanksgiving day only.</i></span></span>Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-4148431838572634192012-11-06T15:13:00.001-05:002012-11-06T15:15:43.793-05:00Record Length CSX O721 & New CameraI have gone on a trip to Central Florida on the 27th and will be reporting on that soon.<br />
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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.<br />
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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).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">O721, led by SD60I 8738 and GEVO 5378. The last time this power would go on the HS before going north.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nice little wave from the engineer.</td></tr>
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So all I can say now is the winter season is back. And it is with a fresh start:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqoLfpbyKRO7ttfwWUDjQQJMvqDQMPkAExG292O4CAwCUAsCVta8MrMP051gKlUan3tpr0av6Mia7U6UR53HjFXbVpzom-i7li6toCEOJeuz7aIxekOxV4AQy-DLaWbhhoDj0xmOuhlYwC/s1600/La+Carreta+test.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqoLfpbyKRO7ttfwWUDjQQJMvqDQMPkAExG292O4CAwCUAsCVta8MrMP051gKlUan3tpr0av6Mia7U6UR53HjFXbVpzom-i7li6toCEOJeuz7aIxekOxV4AQy-DLaWbhhoDj0xmOuhlYwC/s320/La+Carreta+test.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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.<br />
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Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6841924920429536486.post-26597457242671138672012-10-21T16:27:00.001-04:002012-10-21T16:28:11.823-04:00CSX K951 w/ ES44AH & SD40-3<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/O7_9dQ5Prs8?fs=1" width="480"></iframe><br />
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Check this one out. Daylit catch and our second SD40-3 in SFL... ever.<br />
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Of note, today is a good day to be a SFL Railfan. Perfect weather and also O717 is running.Tolga E.http://www.blogger.com/profile/16240827052586930682noreply@blogger.com1