Nostalgia & History > Night shots early Amtrak, Auburndale, FL

Early Amtrak in Auburndale, FL with the combining of the Miami & Tampa sections. The B&O 1453 was taken at Tampa Union Station wit the NP dome 379. The 3rd view is the B&O 1453 at TUS with the NP 379 dome car visible. All shot on 02/23/1972. We shot the B&O at TUS then we beat it to Auburndale to see the combining of the 2 trains. It would be impossible to that now due to traffic in area. Auburndale is possibly 42 rail miles East of Tampa.

Stanley Jackowski
Valrico, FL

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Here's a shot of NP 379 dome at Auburndale, FL a few weeks earlier, 01/28/1972, then in the previous post.

Stanley Jackowski
Valrico, FL

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Neat photos. Thanks for sharing them.

That would have been the Floridian, I think, both because of the dome car and because I think the Floridian departed Miami and St. Pete/Tampa late in the evening for its 2-nights-out run to Chicago.

The days of the one-night-out City of Miami/South Wind were gone with Amtrak. Hard to believe, but you couldn't replicate the City of Miami's fast running today. Long stretches of the IC south of Fulton, TN, and the Central of Georgia (Southern) southeast of Birmingham are abandoned now.

> Long stretches of the IC south of
> Fulton, TN, and the Central of Georgia (Southern)
> southeast of Birmingham are abandoned now.

As far as I know, the ex-CofG between Macon and Americus is still intact, welded rail and all, but no train has operated over it in years. Technically it's not abandoned but service has been officially discontinued. Something in the back of my mind says there's a significant problem with a bridge. There never was much on-line industry on that segment.

However, about half of the ex-ACL between Albany and Waycross was pulled up 30 years ago.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/14 10:35 by ctillnc.

SCL RR conductors, brakemen on the early Amtrak train, were based out of Tampa, FL and worked between Tampa and Jacksonville, FL. Sanford, FL based passenger enginemen worked between Sanford and Tampa.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/18/14 18:31 by RodneyZona.