S- Line traffic between Orange Heights & Hawthorne

[Seaboard1968]

I live close to the S-Line between Baldwin, FL and Ocala, Fl and I've seen a lot of traffic recently. Two weeks ago, on a Sunday, I went cruising along Highway 301 and in about 1 hours time I saw 4 freights including a southbound Tropicana Juicetrain. I assumed juice train was all empties as it was southbound. Then yesterday I chased three freights in about
1 hours time. Both days it was between 1130 and 1300 when this action ocurred. So can anyone tell me what kind of action i can expect to see, on this line, on a weekday or weekend? What are good times for railfanning? Are there better spots than just driving back-and-forth between Orange Heights and Hawthorne (my present method.) I would be grateful for any thoughts or suggestions. Thanks!

[Ocala Mike]

Can't help you, but I experienced a driving oddity last night while enroute from Palatka to Ocala. I was driving S/B on US 301 around 11:00 pm or so just south of Hawthorne when I was suddenly blinded by an oncoming high-beam headlight where no CAR should have been, to my RIGHT. I instinctively blinked my headlights to signal him before I realized that it was a N/B CSX freight that had temporarily blinded me. The engineer let out one insulting blast from his diesel horn as if to mock me on my stupidity for not realizing that the "S" line and 301 run right next to each other for a ways along this stretch.

[twropr]

I live close to the S-Line between Baldwin, FL and Ocala, Fl and I've seen a lot of traffic recently. Two weeks ago, on a Sunday, I went cruising along Highway 301 and in about 1 hours time I saw 4 freights including a southbound Tropicana Juicetrain. I assumed juice train was all empties as it was southbound. Then yesterday I chased three freights in about
1 hours time. Both days it was between 1130 and 1300 when this action ocurred. So can anyone tell me what kind of action i can expect to see, on this line, on a weekday or weekend? What are good times for railfanning? Are there better spots than just driving back-and-forth between Orange Heights and Hawthorne (my present method.) I would be grateful for any thoughts or suggestions. Thanks!

I've gotten some nice late afternoon shots of a southbound from Call St, Starke. I stand on the brick embankment on the west side of the tracks and shoot with a telephoto. Best if the SB is on TK 2 (left-handed running). I haven't been out on the line recently enough to know the good times for volume, but can say that in the late afternoon/early evening it is hit of miss.

Andy

[Noel Weaver]

As of 9:35 AM, Tuesday, July 13th, the situation in this area according to ATCS is as follows:
Southbound near Starke
Southbound meeting a northbound at Orange Heights
Northbound out of Ocala
Northbound out of Wildwood.

One of the last two could be a local or represent track work although I would think it represents a train in each case.
ATCS would help you in this territory as it would in any part of Florida where there is a reasonable amount of train traffic.
Noel Weaver

[Seaboard1968]

Pardon my ignorance, but what is ATCS?

[Ocala Mike]

ATCS = Advanced Train Control System (Ass'n. of American Railroads).

By the way, Seaboard, traffic on the "S" line is supposed to increase significantly in a couple of years as CSX begins to divert more and more freight traffic from the "A" line in connection with the SunRail deal.


Ocala Mike