Eastern Railroad Discussion > [FL] FEC's Stuart bridge

I had a few days to observe the operations of the FEC bridge this week. The protocols have changed a little since last year.

Looking at the bridge from the southeastern quadrant, near the Pelican Cafe for point of reference. Here's a sample

6.40am northbound signal turns from blank to red-red-red
6.45am light on top of raised bridge turns from green to red, and first whoop-whoop siren
6.51am second whoop-whoop, bridge still up
6.53am bridge begins to descend
6.55am bridge is now down
6.56am signal for northbound turns to green-red-red
7.20am northbound train

Based on perhaps 10 observations, here are a few changes and comments

1) There's a wide range of times between bridge down, and a train appearing. The longest was 35 minutes, the shortest was seven minutes. It used to be a consistent ten minutes or so.

2) The nb signals don't light until a sb train is almost on the bridge. The bridge warning lights etc do change color, etc.

3) This week, I heard trains between 5.30am and 6.30am. Saw a nb and a sb between 7 and 8am on Thursday, and just a sb on Friday in that slot. Saw a sb local between 8 and 9 on Thursday, and a nb through train on Friday in that hour. The sb local worked CEMEX in Stuart, fouling the main from about 8.30 until after 10.30.

Pictures to follow.

One of the two best photo locations on the FEC.
The other is St.Augustine.

Uncle Joe,Seffner.On the other coast