Eastern Railroad Discussion > Current FEC traffic patterns

Next week, I will be in sunny Florida with my autistic son, enjoying what I hope to be weather slightly warmer than here in upstate NY. (Still air temperature this morning was -14 Fahrenheit). 

At some point,  we will be wandering northward along the east coast of Florida from Ft Lauderdale toward Jacksonville, hoping to see some trains en route, and maybe around JAX itself. 

Does anyone have suggestions for a good location and time to wait for traffic on the FEC?  It’s not like you can chase on this route, so if there are specific times of day at specific  locations that are likely to be fruitful, it would be great to know. 

 

Staurt, FL is an excellent place to be around 0800-0900 for the #109 train. The challenge is that unless the earlier trains are running late, that's all you'll get for the morning there other than the #920 local on days it runs. #109 is also a good catch in lots of places between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, and in those places you'll have lots of Brightline activity as well, plus the local out of Fort Lauderdale that runs up to Pompano. The farther south you set up, the more likely you might catch a late-running #121 or #335 (empty rock from Cocoa), too.

Unless you Just. Don't. Care., get those Brightline shots if you can, before the Virgin Trains USA branding takes hold.

In the afternoon, #202 is a reliable northbound, though it also leaves Hialeah later on Fr-Sa than it does earlier in the week and sometimes is annulled on Sunday. Like #109, it's well lit at Stuart at the times it usually shows up there, and Stuart is easily the scenic highlight of the entire railroad.

The farther north you go, meanwhile, the better your chances of catching #210 after sunrise (typically north of Fort Pierce/Melbourne), and then you'll have #101 coming south in the mid-afternoon (Mo-Th) or late afternoon (Fr-Su). Once you get up north of Daytona Beach you can count on seeing #226 in the morning, and if you're lucky #218 is even post-sunrise around St. Augustine (though not so much right after Daylight Time starts). St. Augustine is also good for catching the #905 local and, after 6 p.m., #107.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/19 08:20 by toledopatch.

I'll be staying overnight in St. Augustine Saturday 2/16 into Sunday 2/17.  Do the 218 and 226 both run through there on Sunday mornings?

toledopatch Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Staurt, FL is an excellent place to be around
> 0800-0900 for the #109 train. The challenge is
> that unless the earlier trains are running late,
> that's all you'll get for the morning there other
> than the #920 local on days it runs. #109 is also
> a good catch in lots of places between West Palm
> Beach and Fort Lauderdale, and in those places
> you'll have lots of Brightline activity as well,
> plus the local out of Fort Lauderdale that runs up
> to Pompano. The farther south you set up, the more
> likely you might catch a late-running #121 or #335
> (empty rock from Cocoa), too.
>
> Unless you Just. Don't. Care., get those
> Brightline shots if you can, before the Virgin
> Trains USA branding takes hold.
>
> In the afternoon, #202 is a reliable northbound,
> though it also leaves Hialeah later on Fr-Sa than
> it does earlier in the week and sometimes is
> annulled on Sunday. Like #109, it's well lit at
> Stuart at the times it usually shows up there, and
> Stuart is easily the scenic highlight of the
> entire railroad.
>
> The farther north you go, meanwhile, the better
> your chances of catching #210 after sunrise
> (typically north of Fort Pierce/Melbourne), and
> then you'll have #101 coming south in the
> mid-afternoon (Mo-Th) or late afternoon (Fr-Su).
> Once you get up north of Daytona Beach you can
> count on seeing #226 in the morning, and if you're
> lucky #218 is even post-sunrise around St.
> Augustine (though not so much right after Daylight
> Time starts). St. Augustine is also good for
> catching the #905 local and, after 6 p.m., #107.

Adding to Mr ToldeoPatch's excellent suggestions.

Highway 811 parallels the track coming out of Lake Park, all the way into Jupiter,and into Tequesta.

The northbound 202 is a reliable catch in Jupiter, at the Lox bridge around 3-4pm, and in Stuart between 3.30 - 4.30 lately. Under current operating practice, if you see a green signal for a northbound in the Hobe Sound - Port Salerno area, there's a train nearby.

There's a parking lot at Crosby's Restaurant just north of the Lox bridge which offers a fine, nicely lighted view of the train in the pm. And, plenty of fine opportunities in Hobe Sound and Port Salerno where A1A parallels the track. As A1A crosses the tracks, there is am lighting, as well.

Once you're in Stuart, the Pelican restaurant deck is a fine place to wait.  Happy hour 2-4, if I recall, and it's dog friendly. Or out on the fishing pier. Any signals on the bridge approach means a train is within 20-30 minutes. The bridge descends about 10 minutes ahead of a train.

109 southbound is usually the first daylight train, and arrives in Stuart between 8-9 this time of the year.  The 920 local follows about 15 minutes later, and works local industries from Indian Street up to A1A by the CEMEX.  920 works Stuart on Tuesday and Thursday, usually wrapping around 11 am, and works Gifford / Vero Beach on M-W-F. In both cases, it leaves Fort Pierce after the 109 comes through.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/01/19 09:43 by Lackawanna484.

What's the big deal about Virgin Trains? I've had to put up with them for the past 20 years:)

Thanks for the tips so far. I definitely do want to shoot the Brightline operation before it gets rebranded. But I will have an antsy 22year old autistic railfan with me, so I have to maximize the number of movements and minimize the amount of time spent waiting. 

Good tips all, so far. 

Farther north, is there still a plug of trains out of JAX in the early afternoon?  

Didn't the FEC used to run like 20 trains a day between Jacksonville and Miami? Is it really down to just 6-8 or so now? 

cockaboose Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Didn't the FEC used to run like 20 trains a day
> between Jacksonville and Miami? Is it really down
> to just 6-8 or so now? 

Never really thought about it, but yes. Today's trains are very long. 120 to occasionally 150 cars.

Posted from Android

cockaboose Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Didn't the FEC used to run like 20 trains a day
> between Jacksonville and Miami? Is it really down
> to just 6-8 or so now? 

These are the current FEC road trains:

•between Bowden and Hialeah
101, 107, 109, 121, 202, 210, 222, 226
*109 runs as 127 on Monday

•between Bowden and Ft. Lauderdale
117, 218

•between City Point and Hialeah
335, 336

•between Ft. Pierce and Hialeah
193, 292

Andrew

Hi there .......see my reply posted this AM
"FEC ADJ to Rds

Did the FEC lose some CSX or NS interchange traffic? Because over the past year or so it has been normal to have trains that are <6000'