Eastern Railroad Discussion > Jacksonville FL Railfan Advice

I will be on a very short biz trip to Jacksonville next month with a possible hour or two of light when I land and then the whole morning the next day. Then I have my meeting and fly straight home.

Can anyone give me the two or three must do railfan spots? I love shortlines too, but with such limited time, thing I should just stay right in the Jacksonville area.

Thank you in advance.

Charles Freericks



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/14 21:06 by erielackawanna.

With your morning, it's hard not to recommend heading down to St Augustine and catching the two Florida East Coast northbound shooters that usually show up there right after sunrise. I'm not sure they both run on Sunday night so I'm hoping (for your sake) your meeting is on a Tuesday or later in the week if this sounds appealing. Once those two run, head back up into town or over to CSX and see what else you can find.

Thanks, David - I could hypothetically do that... is St. Augustine the closest they get to Jacksonville?

erielackawanna Wrote:
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> Thanks, David - I could hypothetically do that...
> is St. Augustine the closest they get to
> Jacksonville?


It's the closest spot with exceptional scenery -- a well-photographed bridge over the San Sebastian River and some marshland north of that. You should be able to chase the second train back up to Bowden Yard, which is right off US-1 south of town, presuming it slows down on approach to the yard. Well, you could chase the first, but then you might not get back down to St.A in time to catch the second one there.

Thank you again.... Not what I was thinking, but that sounds great. I think I might do it.

What time would I need to be in St. Augustine?

erielackawanna Wrote:
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> Thank you again.... Not what I was thinking, but
> that sounds great. I think I might do it.
>
> What time would I need to be in St. Augustine?


I'd say you want to be there by 0700, but I'd really recommend just being there at sunrise -- this time of year you might get lucky and catch a late-running train from earlier in the FEC schedule besides the two reliable ones.

I second the FEC in St. Augustine notion. However, if you want sheer volume, go north to Callahan. Not the most photogenic location in the state of Florida, but you can't beat it in rail traffic. Callahan is the southend counterpart to Folkston on the funnel. Amtrak Auto Train should go through Callahan right at the crack of dawn.

Andrew

Baldwin diamond CSX (7am to1030 am) or Crawford diamond,(same times) NS and CSX

Ed Stewart
Jacksonville, FL

I would also recommend St Augustine for the FEC. I'd also try to arrive at dawn, as this time of year with the early sunrise, chances of getting another train in addition to 224 and 226 is pretty good.

If you have some time to kill but don't have time to go to one of the outlying areas, check out the FEC Ry lift bridge right downtown. Good shots can be had, particularly in the afternoon (an adjacent highway bridge can cause shadow issues for morning shots. You will see transfers running with CSX and FEC power, and NS trains headed for the FEC yard south of town with NS road power. I'd figure on about an average of a move per hour or so, and the bridge dropping into position will give you warning of an approaching train.
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,1954753,1954798#msg-1954798



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/28/14 05:32 by PittsburghMike.

This is all great info. Thanks.

I don't care that much about heavy tonnage in non-scenic locations, so I think St. Augustine in the early AM and that transfer bridge (in the hope I get something) in the bit of afternoon I may have sounds like it.

Will report back.

If your time or travel is limited, a decent location just outside of downtown Jacksonville is Sunbeam Road crossing. It intersects with a street which parallels the tracks with a nice clear open view. Its down near where the I-295 beltway meets back with I-95, easily accessed off of US1.

Michael

emd_mrs1 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> If your time or travel is limited, a decent
> location just outside of downtown Jacksonville is
> Sunbeam Road crossing. It intersects with a
> street which parallels the tracks with a nice
> clear open view. Its down near where the I-295
> beltway meets back with I-95, easily accessed off
> of US1.

It's also just south of the south end of FEC's Bowden Yard, where double track goes down to single main to the south.

You did not say where in Jax was your meeting.The airport is NE about 12 miles.
I have not been over there in a while,but almost due east from the AP is the St. Marys railroad
and close by is the First Coast at Yulee.Check Yahoo or Google and/or map quest.


Uncle Joe,Seffner,fl.

Dang - trip was cancelled... will keep all this great info in case it pops back up on the radar.