Passenger Trains > A few Brightline trains in Fort Lauderdale today…

The wife and I are staying in Fort Lauderdale, FL for the first time.  Four full days here before flying back to Southern California.  Hard to believe the 81/71 December temperatures here (with no need for even a sweater).  Tomorrow we're riding Brightline to Miami for a day trip, but managed to get a few videos of trains in the mid-afternoon while walking along the Riverwalk today.  First two at the drawbridge over the New River, third is crossing Broward Blvd. just south of the station.

1) First is the 2:20pm Northbound arriving from Miami.

2) Shortly after, the 2:25 Southbound crossed, running about 10 minutes late.  The bridge stayed down for both trains, with an electronic sign alerting boats to the delay, reading 'bridge closed for 2 trains'.

3) Lastly, the 3:20pm northbound arrival, with a blue set of cars.

Thanks for looking,

Rich



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/03/22 17:01 by PasadenaSub.

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Thanks for these
Beautiful weather and beautiful trains

Hopefully you can post some pictures from your Miami trip tomorrow

Brightline should be going to Orlando in 4 short months!

Posted from iPhone

Neat videos - thanks. Interesting views of the Brightline trains crossing that bridge. I knew the area was highly urbanized, but I had no idea that it was that dense. I'm impressed, and due for a visit - it's been a while. And when kit happens, I will look forward to a Brightline trip.

MC

Believe  I  stood  at  this  spot  6  years  ago  and  doubted   THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN.  Wrong!!

cutboy1958 Wrote:
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> Believe  I  stood  at  this  spot  6  years
>  ago  and  doubted   THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN.
>  Wrong!!

And now Brightline/Fortress will start doing commuter rail service I believe starting in 2024? 

Great to see your trip to Florida is going well.  In your first video, I was impressed by not only the imagery, but the sound and as the train crossed what looks like a drawbridge.

cutboy1958 Wrote:
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> Believe  I  stood  at  this  spot  6  years
>  ago  and  doubted   THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN.
>  Wrong!!

i think a lot of us said that.  It's a real tribute to entrepreneurship, commitment and deep pockets.  

Gordon

Thanks for the kind words.  For those that have a minute to spare, here's a video of the Florida East Coast/Brightline New River drawbridge slowly going down about 10 minutes before trains arrive.  A MofW crew was working on the tracks at the south end bridge approach, and cleared up each hour at train time.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/04/22 05:03 by PasadenaSub.

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Those Siemens Charger Diesels are surprisingly quiet.

Here's a few from our trip to Miami today (12/4).  First our train arriving into Fort Lauderdale, inside of our Premium class car, and another train on the platform in downtown Miami.

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Jishnu Wrote:
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> Those Siemens Charger Diesels are surprisingly
> quiet.

I don't know if this is related, but they run on a mixture of diesel and recycled bio fuel. There's a label by the cab door.

Posted from Android

Hi Rich,

Thanks for the video of the bridge going down.  Saw that small boat zoom underneath as the bridge started it's downward movement.  I suppose it's the same human behavior we sometimes see at grade crossings when certain motorists continue across the tracks as the crossing gates are coming down.  Very impressed with how clean the interior of the train is.  I kind of like the 2 and 1 seating layout.  Looks to be a nice arrangement for solo travelers and it looks like everyone has plenty of room.

If Brightline ever competes head-to-head against Amtrak in a marketplace (city-pair route), I could see the latter really getting a lesson in how competition works.

Gary

WP921 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hi Rich,
>
> Thanks for the video of the bridge going down. 
> Saw that small boat zoom underneath as the bridge
> started it's downward movement.  I suppose it's
> the same human behavior we sometimes see at grade
> crossings when certain motorists continue across
> the tracks as the crossing gates are coming
> down.  Very impressed with how clean the interior
> of the train is.  I kind of like the 2 and 1
> seating layout.  Looks to be a nice arrangement
> for solo travelers and it looks like everyone has
> plenty of room.
>
> If Brightline ever competes head-to-head against
> Amtrak in a marketplace (city-pair route), I could
> see the latter really getting a lesson in how
> competition works.
>
> Gary

I don't think Amtrak could seriously compete with Brightline and how their marketing looks. I think the only thing that MIGHT come close is the Acela level service but I haven't ridden that to compare to my experience on Brightline. Next year when I ride the Acela and Silver service, I'll let ya know.

Brian

So a couple of questions after seeing and hearing about the Brightline passenger cars.....

1) Is Brightline having the same issues with their Sieman's passenger cars as the consortium of States and Amtrak (for lack of better wording)? 

2) If no, what are the primary reasons?

It seems like Brightline hasn't had the same problems with their Sieman's passenger cars as Amtrak/States have had with the Venture cars. True or false? There are differences in the car specifications, but my understanding is that it wasn't too radical. Brightline also had premium class cars manufactured and regular coach cars manufactured, just like Amtrak/States. Moreover, the Brightline cars seem to be getting better reviews from passengers, while the Amtrak/States Venture cars have had passengers write some really negative comments about the seats, etc. 

Can anyone shed light on the difference with the Brightline and Venture cars, bearing in mind, it's the same manufacturer? 

Likewise, there's not been any major reports - that I know of - regarding Brightline's locomotives. Yet Amtrak (and consortium of States etc,) have had issues with their Sieman's Chargers (let alone the Sieman's ALC42s). But focusing on the Chargers that are more comparable to Brightline, can anyone bear explanation on the operable differences or why there seems to be less issues with Brightline's Chargers?

BrightLine locomotives are maintained locally at West Palm Beach under the supervision of Siemens managers. In comparison to Amtrak Chargers, the five year old units are lightly used, with two locomotives powering four cars over an 80 mile one way trip on flat terrain. The principal maintenance workshop will eventually be moved to Orlando when the end points are connected.  The cars are delightful, with plenty of space in their business and first class equivalents. They looked close to brand new a few weeks ago.

The higher speed signals and crossings testing in Martin and St Lucie counties has used the Orange and Green train sets. I believe the testing farther north used the Red 2.0 and the Blue sets at 110 mph. I'm not aware of road failures. Perhaps others closer to the line have more information.