FEC in Miami - Fanning

[mirrodie]

12/18 or 12/19?


I happen to be visiting relatives in Kendall for 2 days and noted tracks running nearby crossing.. 152nd

Also noted some near the airport in Miami.


Is there any place one can direct me to go see some trains in action? My son is begging me to see some trains (as he sees all the tracks) but I;ve no idea on the rail service out here.

Please advise and thank you in advance.

[mirrodie]

PS. I was doing a bit of planespotting when we thought we heard rail horns. So is there something on rails nearby? I searched the forum but did not see anyhing alluding to railfanspots in the Miami area.

Thanks.

[ChrisU]

Yup there is Tri-Rail which has a station at the airport.

[JasW]

The CSX Homestead extension also wraps tightly around the eastern and southern perimeter of the airport. Indeed, a popular "planespotting" place in the parking lot of the Aerosquadron restaurant on the south side of the airport is right next to the CSX tracks. There's not a ton of CSX action, though. Also, the FEC MIami cutoff that used to go all the way down to the main line by Dadeland (and now only goes a little past 8th Street) emerges out of the FEC Hialeah yard and turns the southwest corner of the airport before heading south just about where the CSX Homestead tracks do.

The OP must be talking about the CSX Homestead extension tracks crossing 152 St. (Coral Reef Drive) just west of both MetroZoo and the Gold Coast RR museum -- there are no tracks as far west as 152nd Avenue in Kendall. Rather than possibly wait in vain for any CSX Homestead action, it would be better to visit the GCRR museum because it's right there. Your son would get a huge kick out of the cab ride in the GP-7 they have painted in ACL colors. There are a lot of passenger cars on display, too, including an old Vista-Dome car from the California Zephyr. Plus a couple of (non-operational) FEC steam engines.

[Noel Weaver]

In my opinion a good spot for watching trains, at least passenger trains in this case, is the station platform at Fort Lauderdale. Between 5:00 PM and about 6:30 PM you will see a decent number of Tri-Rail trains in both directions plus both southbound Amtrak trains which have been running on or pretty close to schedule most days and sometimes ahead of time as well There are nice benches, soft drink machines, facilities in the station which will stay open until after both southbound Amtrak trains have departed and shade from the canopy. In addition it is easily reached from north and south by Tri-Rail trains as well. Just a relaxing spot.
FEC in Fort Lauderdale during the above hours? OH you can probably see train 222 northbound and maybe 960 which is the north local out of Fort Lauderdale and occasionally an extra rock train north too. The Riverwalk area is decent and you will get ample warning when they call for the drawbridge.
ATCS is very helpful on both lines.
Noel Weaver