Eastern Railroad Discussion > 2014 Orlando area CSX freight operations

With Sunrail about to start service on the A Line in the Orlando, FL area, how are CSX trains accesing Taft yard south of downtown? With the rebuilding of the line from Sanford on down to Orlando, do CSX trains to/from the north now have to access Taft from the south/west via Lakeland? Or are they still using the A line until Sunrail actually starts service?

Also, what symbols currently originate and terminate in Orlando?

I'll be in O-town the last weekend of January, and was wondering if it was worth spending time trackside between Taft and Kissimmee. When I was there 2 years ago, I caught 2 freights and 2 Amtraks in a couple of hours there.

Thanks for any info,

Rich

Freights still use the A-line into Orlando, however most of them run at night. The only dependable freight through downtown during daylight hours is northbound intermodal Q170, due out of Taft around 14:00.

A few Orlando freights have already been routed via the S-line. These are often daylight trains.

All Amtrak trains run through downtown Orlando during daylight. SunRail has also been running test trains lately.

With all said, most freights roll through town between 21:00 and 02:00.

Here are the current freight trains in Orlando:

Q170 (Taft - Jacksonville intermodal) Approx 14:00 departure. Runs north on the A-line.

Q177 (Jacksonville - Taft intermodal) Evening arrival, sometimes in daylight. Runs the S-line and enters Taft from the south. Uses R177 symbol.

Q178 (Taft- Jacksonville intermodal) approx 22:00 departure. Runs north on the A-line.

Q187 (Jacksonville - Taft intermodal) approx 23:00 arrival. Runs south on the A-line.

Q235 (Louisville - Taft - Winston autoracks) arrival varies, but often in daylight. Runs the S-line and enters Taft from the south. Q235 drops loaded racks at Taft and then departs south on the S-line with the empties. Q235 then ultimately terminates at Winston Yard in Lakeland.

Q455 (Waycross - Taft manifest) approx 01:00 arrival. Runs south on the A-line.

Q456 (Taft - Waycross manifest) approx 21:00 departure. Runs north on the A-line.

Z915 (Florida Central manifest turn from downtown to Taft). Runs between midnight and 02:00.

Orlando also sees frequent rock trains. Most of them run the A-line into Orlando, but there are less frequent rock trains from Miami that arrive from the south on the S-line.
There are also occasional coal trains for the Stanton power station that run the A-line. Rock and coal trains can show up at anytime.

Andrew

Edit: Updated some of the approx. arrival/departure times according to today's trains.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/05/14 20:14 by florida581.

Thanks for the info, Andrew.

Rich

I was down in Florida the week of July 4th this past year (I live in Ohio) - and while I didn't get to see much railroads, I did take a few shots from Toll Road 528 over Taft Yard, and was surprised to see the activity, on both sides.

I never had a chance to get a closer look, but here's one of my shots.. (it's facing North)

Denny - Lakewood, OH



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/06/14 06:55 by RAILWATCH.

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How about the locals that operate out of Taft?

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sscannella Wrote:
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> How about the locals that operate out of Taft?

I'm not sure of their call times, but here are the Orlando area locals:

A766 (Sanford - Deland Local) Also runs as A764.

A775 (Taft - Orlando Local). Sometimes goes to Longwood.

A776 (Taft Local)

A777 (Taft Yard Switcher)

A779 (Taft Yard Switcher)

A784 (Taft Yard Switcher)

A798 (Taft Local)

Andrew

Would there be a better chance of seeing daytime freight operations around Lakeland, with trains heading to/from Miami in the mix? I'll have some free time on the Monday of my trip, and will be staying in Kissimmmee, only about 30 minutes from Lakeland.

Rich

Going to Lakeland would definitely boost your chances of seeing daytime freight action, but still, don't expect a non-stop parade of trains.

Auburndale may be worth a few minutes of your time. It is where the line to Miami diverges south from the A-line. Not a lot of daytime traffic, but it has a fair share of rail served industry.

Andrew

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