Eastern Railroad Discussion > Tampa Bay Florida Trip?

To use a companion ticket I should be taking my dad to Florida so we can visit his brother is who is not doing so well. I will be flying into Tampa and will have a rental car for at least part of the time. We will arrive in the afternoon Thursday 27th February and leaving mid morning Monday March 3rd. My dad is encouraging me to find some other stuff to do during this time. In three days that is not a lot of time but to prioritize I guess I would be most interested in the Sugar cane trains as they may be running at that time and are certainly indicative of Florida. This one is almost three hours away from Tampa so it is a maybe at this point. I would definitely like to know for sure that they were running at that time.

Sugar Cane Trains
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3012281,3012281#msg-3012281

Here is another Florida train that I would like find if anyone knows it's operation?
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3255643,3255643#msg-3255643

Tampa Bay Area Questions, and answers. it looks like if the Sugar Cane trains aren't happening there is a lot going on around Tampa and Orlando
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3282873,3282916#msg-3282916
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3224594,3225344#msg-3225344
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3006516,3006516#msg-3006516
Results
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3017515,3017515#msg-3017515

In relation to the above it would be interesting to know if any of these double tracking projects are nearby.
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3273849,3274003#msg-3274003

Florida East Coast may also be an alternative but is also a couple hours away from Tampa.
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,2998455,2998455#msg-2998455
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3262139,3264034#msg-3264034

Florida Track Maps to help answer any questions.
http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3038044,3038044#msg-3038044

I guess for new questions, other than the Sugar Cane trains when is the Sunrail http://www.sunrail.com/ supposed to start? Also if anyone has any good hotel recommendations for the Tampa area that would help. I do plan to ride the Teco Trolley in Tampa. It will give me a chance to see what our streetcar in Cincinnati will be like. (Luckily I already had a stomach virus before typing that...)

I already did part of the research since Florida comes up frequently here and has some equally good answers. I don't know how the long weekend will go down so any suggestions or answers may not even get used but I thank you all in advance for help in planning. The last time I was in Florida was in 1986, we bought US manufactured towels by the pound before getting on I-10 to go toward Texas.

Jim

I recommend the Bone Valley area. I haven't been there yet, but a lot of CSX EMD power in the form of SD70Ms and SD40-2s. Also a lot of activity. Plant City near Tampa just opened a train viewing tower. Orlando has the Sun Rail project spinning up, might catch a test train or two. Also Orlando has the Florida Central shortline as well as the TE&G tourist operations behind a 2-6-0.

Posted from Android

TJ Mahan
Green Cove Springs, FL

Check these out for a different view of the Bone Valley area.

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3013318,3013318#msg-3013318

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3014026,3014026#msg-3014026

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3014770,3014770#msg-3014770

http://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?2,3016316,3016316#msg-3016316

With little time available the area area between Yeoman yard (78th) and Rockport yard in Tampa and the Bone Valley area at Mulberry will be your best bet for guaranteed traffic.

RAD



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/04/14 04:20 by erie833.

If you're bound to see the Sugar trains, this will be an all-day adventure for you from Tampa. About 2.5 hours down there. I think they are still running now, though I'm told December is the peak time for the sugar runs.

If you select FEC, this too, will take up your whole day from Tampa. I think Cocoa is closest, time wise from Tampa using I-4 and State Road 528. I did it in December in about 1:50. I strongly suggest using your weekday versus Sat or Sun. for an FEC trip. They get really sparse over there on weekends.

As TJ said above, The Bone Valley is a good excursion from Tampa. It's about a 45 minute drive to Mulberry, which is where every Bone Valley outing should start. If you bounce between Mulberry and Bradley Jct, 7 miles to the south, you'll catch virtually everything in the BV. Reductions in production and facilities in the last 10 years have funneled everything through these two points.

Danny Harmon
Tampa

Not only is the FEC at Cocoa a long way from Tampa, it's also in the middle of the railroad, the part that has the least daylight traffic. I made the mistake of going over there on a Saturday for my first-ever attempt at the FEC and I saw all of three trains in daylight -- one of them, luckily, a late-running stone train, or it would have been only two, and the second train was a mid-day northbound (i.e. bad light angle). Even on a weekday, it's hard to pick a place worse than Cocoa to try to railfan FEC. For the time and tolls it takes to get there, you might as well stay on I-4 up to Daytona and then head for Bunnell (closer) or St Augustine (better scenery). And yes, go on a weekday.

Here's some Bone Valley info that I just wrote up for a friend:

Bob:
Keep in mind that all Bone Valley trackage is North-South, even if it's physically East-West. Heading toward Tampa is north, heading away from Tampa is south (until you get to Valrico, then it changes).

And don't bother with your girly-boy ATCS computer machine. It's all dark, track warrant territory out there except for a 6 mile stretch of the Valrico Sub at Mulberry. That may be 900MHz. I'm not sure. You won't need it anyway because trains have to get radio authority to enter that signal block.

Keep your radio on Channels 66 (161.100), 84 (161.370) and 08 (160.230). I always set 08 as my priority channel when I'm in the Bone Valley. All movements will start with a conversation with the JH dispatcher.

Milepost prefixes are important to know. You'll hear three main routes: SV, SVC and the AY. Those are the Valrico, Brewster and Bone Valley Subs. Find these locations on your map: Edison, Welcome, Bradley, Ridgewood, New Wales, South Mulberry, South End IMC, The BV Main. Also Mulberry yard and South Mulberry are two totally different places. Once you know these locations and, can tell if trains are coming to or leaving from them, you'll be on your way to a successful Bone Valley outing.

Danny Harmon

Tampa