Nostalgia & History > The old FEC.

Its 1966 which finds yours truly in sunny Florida as a northbound Jacksonville bound freight sails through, shortly a southbound “Peddler” passes. This was taken at a time when the FEC was in the process of eliminating cabooses, and five man crews. So now we are stuck with “FRED”!

Ed K. OH WELL PRODUCTIONS
www.dieselairhorns.com

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Ed:

Great stuff as usual.

What did the fan on the caboose do?

Regards, Jim Evans

FiveChime Wrote:
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> Ed:
>
> Great stuff as usual.
>
> What did the fan on the caboose do?
>
> Regards, Jim Evans

That powered a generator for lights.
Ed K.

That brings back memories! I grew up in Delray Beach, and on trips to the Winn Dixie (which was next to the FEC tracks) I was always on the lookout for trains. Pre-strike, I remember the FEC units in the passenger scheme, hauling ACL and IC equipment. I also remember the freights with F units.

By 1966 the passenger trains were all gone. FEC left the double track south of West Palm Beach, possibly because of the volume of local freight business. But by 1976, they decided to rebuild it as single-track CTC (just like the rest of the railroad), and I remember the concrete tie train working its way through town, laying out ties on the cleared grade of what had been the southbound main, while everything ran on the former northbound. Once the new track was built, the former northbound main was removed.

Sometime around 1970 the passenger depot downtown was moved out west to the intersection of Congress and Atlantic Aves, where it still stands as the office for a farm supply store. Nothing there now but the Sun Bank's parking lot.

There used to be a sort of "railroad corridor" through Delray, with two mains, a couple of industry tracks (one on either side), and of course the station. There was for a while a circus-loading piggyback ramp south of the station.

Today, everything is gone. The only local customer in Delray is an aggregate plant south of downtown. Ocean City Lumber, which used to get cars, is now a shopping mall, and the spur track is long gone. The station, of course, has been moved. THere is nothing through downtown Delreay but a single main track, divorced from all the activity around it.

Great video,
I used to work for the FEC from 1982 thru 1986 and was the trainman on the Villa Rica Job for about 2 years which went on duty at Yamato Rd. The Job went on duty at 4:00 A.M. Monday thru Friday. At the time I lived in Miami near Miller Rd.(s.w. 56th st.) and the Palmetto Expressway. The drive was about 80 miles each way but at the time it beat being on the Extra board.
Do you have any more Videos of the FEC?

Thanks in advance.
Robert.