Florida Sun, Georgia Rain

Norfolk Southern; Valdosta, Ga.; March 16, 2014

As we work to get caught up on a heap of recent travels, this post takes us back to March and a trip from Florida back to New Jersey. Along with brother Bruce, I flew down to Orlando to pick up a car to drive home. Our goal was short lines along the way, but with the first two days of the trip occurring on a weekend, short line activity was minimal. We wound up with a lot of Amtrak action, but did catch some freight stuff here and there. The weather in Florida was sunny, but as we moved north we were overcome by heavy rain (such as above on Norfolk Southern in Valdosta, Ga.). Here is some of the freight action we caught in between Amtrak encounters.

Saturday, March 14, found not much moving on short lines. The Florida Central has several lines in the Orlando/Ocala area, and we found this lonely CF7 not far off of Amtrak's route through Lake Wales.

Florida Central; Lake Wales, Fla.; March 14, 2014

We found another lonely Florida Central unit waiting out the weekend at Eagle Lake, not far from Winter Haven.

Florida Central; Eagle Lake, Fla.; March 14, 2014

The next day the sun was still shining and once again we were busy shooting Amtrak for the most part. However, right around the time Auto Train was to head north from Sanford, a CSX freight made an appearance. Off to the right is the new shop complex for SunRail, which had still not started commuter service to Orlando at the time of this visit.

CSX Transportation; Sanford, Fla.; March 15, 2014

A quick look at ATCS Monitor showed that Florida East Coast train No. 101 was still working its way southward from Jacksonville, so we zipped over to Titusville to intercept it.

Florida East Coast; Titusville, Fla.; March 15, 2014

From there it was back over to the Sanford area to get a night shot I've always wanted. The goal was a southbound train crossing the St. John's River at Lake Morgan. At 10:26 that night, the goal was accomplished.

CSX Transportation; St. John's River, Sanford, Fla.; March 15, 2014

We didn't get as far north as we would have liked that night, but that put us in St. Augustine around daybreak, right around the time the Florida East Coast northbound rush gets in. Being it was a Monday morning it wasn't much of a rush (intermodal trains don't load in Miami on Sunday night) but we got to the one place on the north end where FEC northbound trains are properly lit and were rewarded with one of the cool FEC heritage units on the point.

Florida East Coast; St. Augustine, Fla.; March 16, 2014

From here we headed to Baldwin, Fla.; where CSX has a diamond complex that includes interchange tracks in all four quadrants. We were rewarded with a southbound train here.

CSX Transportation; Baldwin, Fla.; March 16, 2014

Continuing along CSX westward, our next stop was at Lake City, Fla. By now our sunny skies were showing signs of going away. We caught an eastbound CSX train here.

CSX Transportation; Lake City, Fla.; March 16, 2014

From here we turned north into Georgia and stopped at the Valdosta Railway outside of its namesake town in Clyattville. As can be seen from the logo, the Valdosta Railway is under the Genesee & Wyoming Industries umbrella.

Valdosta Railway; Clyattville, Ga.; March 16, 2014

In Valdosta, the skies really opened up as we shot a Norfolk Southern freight (top of the post). We heard horns for a CSX freight in town and took shelter under an overpass as we shot it.

CSX Transportation; Valdosta, Ga.; March 16, 2014

Hoping for sun and moving trains, we packed up and headed to Albany, hoping to see something interesting on the Georgia & Florida. Alas, we got neither sun nor moving trains. In fact, the rain continued to pour down in buckets.

Georgia & Florida; Albany, Ga.; March 16, 2014

The rain finally let up as night began to settle in. We stopped at Fort Valley ("Georgia's Peach City," according to the water tower) and got a few dusk shots of the Georgia Southern in town. The railroad is a subsidiary of Pioneer Railcorp.

Georgia Southern; Fort Valley, Ga.; March 16, 2014

Our final stop would be at the Georgia Central in Macon, which operates an impressive fleet of U23B's. But that's another story for the not too distant future.

Georgia Central; Macon, Ga.; March 16, 2014

Florida Pot Pourri

Florida Northern; Ocala, Fla.; December 16, 2013

With a polar vortex gripping a lot of the U.S. right now, let's warm up a bit with a trip down to Florida. Over the past few weeks we've shown parts of this trip with posts on an evening in Jesup, Ga., street running in Augusta, Ga.,  chasing the Pickens Railway in South Carolina, and a set of night photos from the trip. To recap, my brother and I were delivering a car to Florida and spent some time railfanning along the way. Now we're in Florida, and we'll see some of the interesting sites the state has to offer. We'll start with the Florida Northern in Ocala on December 16, where GP9 No. 60 from sister railroad Florida Central was returning from delivering cars to an industry on the west side of tow. Spanish moss makes for a nice frame as the train returns to its yard (above).

Back at the yard, the crew continued on another branch to pull cars from a scrap dealer. The train made for a nice shot as it entered the yard on the return trip.

Florida Northern; Ocala, Fla.; December 16, 2013

There was a time when the Florida Central was known for its CF7 fleet. The CF7s were built by the Santa Fe on frames of old F-units; once the Santa Fe was finished with them, they became the de facto short line locomotive of the 1980s as they scattered on the second-hand market. Florida Central's No. 63 still sits in the Ocala yard. with traces of moss and vines showing that it hasn't run in a long, long time.

Florida Northern; Ocala, Fla.; December 16, 2013

Florida Northern also has a line that heads south, crossing CSX on a diamond at the Ocala passenger station before doing a few blocks of street running. Alas, the railroad did not run this direction on the day we were there, but CSX polished the diamonds with several trains, including this southbound led by C40-9W No. 9023.

CSX Transportation; Ocala, Fla.; December 16, 2013

Next up we find a CSX northbound on the south side of Ocala, with AC44CW No. 561 in the lead. Trailing the power is a string of white refrigerator cars carrying Tropicana orange juice to New Jersey. The orange juice is not concentrate -- it's pure as-squeezed orange juice in cartons ready for the store shelves of the northeast.

CSX Transportation; Ocala, Fla.; December 16, 2013

Finishing off our first day in Florida, we scoot a bit east so we're now north of Orlando. A northbound Amtrak train races past a signal at Eldridge on the former Seaboard Air Line. The defect detector nearby, which broadcasts over the railroad radio, indicted the train had no defects and was moving at 79 m.p.h. The signal is of a design that was unique to the SAL; like many other unique signal systems across various railroads, it will ultimately be replaced by generic signals as Positive Train Control is implemented.

Amtrak; Eldridge, Fla.; December 16, 2013

The next day we headed down to the South Central Florida Express, a railroad owned by U.S. Sugar Corp. to serve the cane fields around Clewiston, south of Lake Okeechobee. You might recall we visited this same railroad in February 2013, but a steam line rupture at the mill in Clewiston had all operations shut down. This time the mill was running and cane was being cut. We caught a train of loaded cane cars west of Clewiston as it headed towards the mill. The smoke on the horizon is where cane residue is being burned; you can always find the fields being worked -- and the trains serving the fields -- by looking for smoke.

South Central Florida Express; Clewiston. Fla; December 17, 2013

There are dozens of loaders along the railroad, with trucks bringing in cane from the field to be loaded into rail cars. On any given day, different loaders can be in service. GP11 No. 303 lead a string of empty cars southeast of Clewiston past an inactive loader. The cars are adapted from a variety of original cars, mostly boxcars with roofs removed.

South Central Florida Express; Clewiston, Fla.; December 17, 2013

Sugar cane is highly perishable and needs to be processed within hours of cutting. If an empty train goes out, a loaded train will soon be coming in. Such was the case with No. 303 -- we caught it a little bit later in the afternoon going past another loader as it came back with cane loads.

South Central Florida Express; Clewiston. Fla.; December 17, 2013

With a flight home the next day, our railfanning would be concentrated within striking distance of the Orlando airport. We set up on a parking deck near the old Orlando station on Church Street where we were surprised to catch a SunRail test train running. SunRail is the new commuter service for Orlando scheduled to open later in 2014.

SunRail; Orlando, Fla.; December 18, 2013

The Church Street Station was used by Amtrak, but the passenger carrier has relocated to a new station about a mile south. However, Church Street Station is seeing a rebirth as a passenger station; the platform canopies are all new in anticipation of the SunRail service. Not far behind the test train was a southbound Amtrak train, easing its way through the entertainment district that has grown up around Church Street.

Amtrak; Orlando, Fla.; December 18, 2013

Once Amtrak was through, it was time to leave downtown and head for the airport. On the way, there was time for a quick stop at the Florida Central's small yard at Silver Star, where GP9RM No. 7032 was sitting. This locomotive started life working for Canadian National and was later transferred to work for the Agence metropolitaine de transport, a Montreal commuter railroad; the locomotive still wears its AMT colors. After this stop, it was off to the airport to catch a flight, bringing an end to the southbound trip to the Sunshine State. A complete photographic gallery of the trip can be found here.

Florida Central; Silver Star (Orlando), Fla.; December 18, 2013

Southern Nights

Aiken Railroad; Aiken, S.C.; December 13, 2013

We've spent some of the last few weeks exploring parts of a driving trip to Florida I took with my brother Bruce. This time we'll look at some night activity from along the way. In previous posts we've already looked at night photography in Jesup, Ga., done daytime and night photography on the street running in Augusta, Ga., and spent a day chasing the Pickens Railway in South Carolina.

CSX; Dixiana (Cayce), S.C.; December 13, 2013

As related in the Pickens post, once we were finished there on December 13, 2013, we headed over to the scrap steel mill at Cayce, S.C. After finishing there, we went out seeking a night photo opportunity. That chance came when we found a CSX train working an automobile sorting center south of town. The train was inaccessible, but we could see it working to our south. We set up just north of the sorting center, where we found a railroad signal that was distinctly Seaboard Air Line -- a predecessor of CSX. Many railroads of the mid-20th century had their own distinctive styles of signals that varied from one road to another; today many of these unique sentinels are being replaced by standardized signals as railroads install Positive Train Control along their lines. Thus, a chance to shoot a train past a signal of the past was a good opportunity. After a long wait, the train finally pulled far enough north that we were able to get CSX C40-8 No. 7586 passing the signal.

CSX Transportation; Dixiana (Cayce), S.C.; December 13, 2013

During the day we had stopped at the Greenville & Western in Belton, S.C., where we found they had borrowed a GP30 from sister road the Aiken Railroad. An employee in Belton said it was one of two GP30s owned by the Aiken, and the other was in the railroad's namesake town. We had left Cayce and were heading for Augusta, Ga., when we saw a sign on the interstate saying that Aiken was off the next exit. How hard could it be to find a GP30 in town? Google satellite images of the town showed an obvious spot where motive power might be kept, so we headed there and -- voila! -- there was the GP30, along with LTEX SW1500 No. 1543, a leased locomotive from Larry's Truck & Electric. We broke out the lights and duly captured both locomotives (below and top photo of this post).

Aiken Railroad; Aiken, S.C., December 13, 2013

The following two nights we've already discussed in previous posts (in the Georgia towns of Augusta and Jesup). Finally we made it to Florida on December 16! After a day of shooting in the Ocala area, we knew a train was coming down the former Seaboard Air Line and would pass the Amtrak station at DeLand. Just after sunset, we were able to get the southbound train with CSX AC4400CW No. 410 leading.

CSX Transportation; DeLand, Fla.; December 16, 2013

Our last full day in Florida was spent on the South Central Florida Express, the last sugar cane railroad in the United States, operated by U.S. Sugar in Clewiston, Fla. Our next (and last) post on this trip will be next week where we'll look at some Florida railroading, but in keeping with our night photo theme we'll finish with the last shot we got of SCFE on December 17. After a day of shooting we knew a switcher was coming back into Clewiston and it would get in just after sunset. We set up along a bridge over the canal (the adjacent road bridge was gated at the far end, giving us a convenient place to park and set up our flashes). Like clockwork, the local appeared just after the sun set but before darkness settled in, letting us get a twilight shot as the orange sky reflected off the canal. The strobes provided just the right amount of fill flash to make the train "pop." It was a unique shot to finish off our night photography for the trip.

South Central Florida Express; Clewiston, Fla.; December 17, 2013

Florida East Coast - Day And Night

This is part three of a mini-series on Florida from a trip in February 2013. In the first part we visited the Orange Blossom Cannonball steam operation and in the second we visited the last sugar cane railroad in the U.S. and the South Central Florida Express.

Florida East Coast; New Smyrna Beach, Va.; February 8, 2013

There is no railroad quite like the Florida East Coast. As its name implies, it follows the Atlantic coastline from Jacksonville to Miami. The railroad is a challenging one to photograph, as it is largely a nighttime railroad. Trains leave both ends of the line just after dark and arrive at the other end right around dawn. There are a couple of predictable daytime trains, including Train 101 from Jacksonville in the early afternoon and Train 202 from Miami. Our first train we caught on the FEC on this trip was 101 as it headed through New Smyrna Beach (above).

One good thing about the FEC is the whole railroad can be monitored using ATCS Monitor, which allows you to see a dispatcher-style display of where trains are at any given time. You can tell when you have an hour or more to do something else between trains, and you know when you need to be near the tracks. A location like Stuart is perfect, as there are ample restaurants and other distractions to occupy your time between trains. But come train time there are also ample photo angles around the big bridge over the St. Lucie River. The FEC is painting some locomotives into an early "heritage" scheme to add variety.

Florida East Coast; Stuart, Fla.; February 12, 2013

With the FEC being a nighttime railroad, the best way to keep the fun going is to keep shooting after dark. This was the first time I had brought my Alien Bees flash units to the sunshine state, and they came in handy. We set up on the dock in Stuart to shoot a local train heading north.

Florida East Coast; Stuart, Fla.; February 12, 2013

Using ATCS Monitor, we knew there was plenty of time between trains to enjoy dinner and a beverage at the restaurant adjacent to the bridge, and finished in plenty of time to get reset for a southbound road freight later in the evening.

Florida East Coast; Stuart, Fla.; February 12, 2013

All good things must end, and our time in Florida came to a close a day later. We headed north, and using ATCS Monitor we were able to intercept Train 101 as it headed out through Cocoa Beach. The engineer is a well-known train enthusiast, and he stepped out to wave to us as the train sped south. With the red, white and blue locomotive and American flags flying and painted on the tank, it was a patriotic scene!

Florida East Coast; Cocoa Beach, Fla.; February 13, 2013

We'll conclude the Florida mini-series next time with a look at Amtrak and some odds and ends.

Ain't No Cane

South Central Florida Express;
Port Mayaca, Fla.

In the last entry we started a mini-series on Florida with photos taken last February. In addition to the Orange Blossom Cannonball (which was covered in the last installment), my other primary Florida goal was to shoot the South Central Florida Express, a subsidiary of U.S. Sugar Corp. and the last true sugar cane railroad in the United States. An attempt to shoot it a few years ago in March got us to the railroad just a couple of days after the cane season ended. This time we were there in February.

South Central Florida Express hauls sugar-related products to the outside world from the mill in Clewiston on two different lines. Heading northwest is the connection with CSX Transportation in Sebring, about 70 miles away. Heading mostly east is a connection with the Florida East Coast at Fort Pierce, maybe a distance of 50 miles. Both lines feature nice bridges. However, after two visits I have not been able to get a decent shot of the swing bridge at Moore Haven on the line to Sebring (it seems to be a cloud magnet). The wonderful old lift bridge on the line to Fort Pierce, however, at Port Mayaca proved to be an easier target, and we got a train heading towards Clewiston at the bridge on February 11 (right).

The line to Fort Pierce also has a nice deck concrete bridge at Port St. Lucie, about 13 miles out of Fort Pierce. We were able to catch trains here twice in good light, such as this one on February 13. Only one locomotive was needed for the short train however; usually two locomotives lead a much longer train. We'll see why this train was short in just a minute.

South Central Florida Express; Port St. Lucie, Fla.; February 13, 2013

With an early February visit, we'd be guaranteed to find trains working the mill and hauling cane back from the fields. There were also frequent trains scheduled to come in from the former mill site at Belle Glade. However, on the first morning of our visit the mill at Clewiston had a major steam line rupture. This would shut the mill down for four days (much longer than our visit); since cane is highly perishable, no cane would be cut in the fields. And no cane meant no cane trains. We were fortunate to see the last train come in from Belle Glade right after the rupture; this train was already on the road when the rupture occurred and most of the cane it had would ultimately go to waste.

U.S. Sugar Corp.; Clewiston, Fla.; February 11, 2013

With no processed sugar heading out of the mill, the interchange trains to CSX and FEC would be running short -- thus, the short train we saw at Port St. Lucie. The tracks near the mill in Clewiston, by the way are operated as U.S. Sugar Corp., while the tracks heading to the interchanges are operated by subsidiary South Central Florida Express. USSC owns all the locomotives.

With not much running except the interchange trains, we chased them around. The train we shot at Port Mayaca paused to do some work between Lake Harbor and South Bay. We set up for night photos at the Miami Canal bridge, but as dusk approached the train stopped working. It just sat there with its lights on. Not ones to give up easily, we kept an eye on the train and about two hours later a crew van pulled up; shortly thereafter the train began shuffling back and forth once more. Finally, after a far too long wait, the train came west to finish its run to Clewiston.

South Central Florida Express; Lake Harbor, Fla.; February 11, 2013

So what does this mean? Hopefully, third time will be a charm. We'll be back to Clewiston at some point this winter to finally see the last cane trains in the U.S. working the fields.

Next: Florida East Coast

Orange Blossom Cannonball

Mockup of proposed
Railfan & Railroad cover

Let's spend a few posts visiting Florida. I was down in the Sunshine State for a few days in February, and one of the highlights was visiting the Orange Blossom Cannonball, the passenger train operated by the Tavares, Eustis & Gulf over trackage owned by Florida Central.

A group of us arrived on February 9, and we were greeted by Neil Bagaus who showed us around. The new depot in Tavares was nearing completion. We had let the railroad know in advance we were coming (I will be writing a feature on it for Railfan & Railroad this fall) and they arranged for the locomotive to be properly oriented for most of the day.

Power for the railroad is a neat wood-burning 2-6-0 built by Baldwin in 1907 for the Lufkin Land & Lumber Company. It went through a variety of owners, but is probably best known for its work on the Reader Railroad in Arkansas. In recent years it has been the star of several movies including 3:10 To Yuma and the remake of True Grit.

Our day of chasing started out by waiting at the cool timber trestle in Tavares. Okay, it used to be a cool timber trestle; the bridge was replaced about a month before our arrival by a new concrete span that gives more clearance for tour boats and party barges on the canal. Still, the nifty Mogul made a nice sight crossing the bridge.

Tavares, Eustis & Gulf; Tavares, Fla.; February 9, 2013

The train makes three trips a day, with short trips to Ellsworth Junction and longer trips to Lake Gem. One thing the railroad does well is entertain people, and during the Lake Gem stop passengers were encouraged to get off the train during the run-around move and watch the switching. A blow-down was also done, with steam spewing from the locomotive to the delight of passengers. When the locomotive ran out of wood between trips, the run to the wood pile was turned into a photo opportunity for riders. It was well done. We shot the train as it made its approach to Lake Gem on the second trip of the day.

Tavares, Eustis & Gulf; Lake Gem, Fla.; February 9, 2013

As part of the work for the magazine article, we requested some night photography and the railroad was more than willing to cooperate. There is some street running in Tavares (actually on a median between travel lanes) and we found some nice Spanish moss to frame No. 2.

Tavares, Eustis & Gulf; Tavares, Fla.; February 9, 2013

Another night scene involved blocking a traffic circle near the Tavares depot. Neil called the local police, who pretty much said "go ahead and block it." It resulted in a very nice photo.

Tavares, Eustis & Gulf; Tavares, Fla.; February 9, 2013

All in all, it was a wonderful day. The railroad was extremely cooperative, and No. 2 is one neat locomotive. As this is being written, No. 2 has one more weekend of work to do this spring before heading back to Arkansas for its federally-mandated 15-year rebuild. It will be back in Florida when the tourist season kicks in again in September. When you make your plans for a winter vacation, be sure to visit this excellent railroad!