FEC Freight Train Schedules?!?!

[Spdfile1]

I've taken the task of recording the Defect Detectors on the FEC line from North Miami to Sebastian. Thanks to Brightline I've been successful in recording the 6 southern most detectors (North Miami-MP356.9, Dania Beach-MP346.3, Pompano Beach-MP330.0, Delray Beach-MP319.1, Hypoluxo-MP309.0 & West Palm Beach-MP300.1). The purpose is to add the recordings to the following page https://wiki.radioreference.com/index.p ... _Detectors. Now I'm up to the Palm Beach Gardens Detector (MP290.1) and I have to rely on FEC freight trains as Brightline doesn't go north of WPB yet. Yesterday I sat at the PBG DD from 10am to 3pm with not one single train going over the detector. Felt very defeated but not deterred. I went on FEC's website and found a train schedule but it seems a bit difficult to interpret. This is what I gathered & please anyone that can shed light on if it's correct or not the goal is not spend another 8 hours wasted with no trains.
For southbounds I have Train #117 which runs Su,M,Tu,W,Th & Sa leaves Charlotte,NC sometime after 19:00 on the first day, arrives at Atlanta,GA sometime around 21:00, leaves Jacksonville sometime after 16:45 the second day and arrives in Ft. Lauderdale the third day around 8 in the morning.
Train #121 runs Su,M,Tu,W,Th & Sa leaving Charlotte sometime after 19:00 the first day, leaves Atlanta sometime after 21:00, leaves Jacksonville sometime after 19:15 the second day, arrives in Ft. Lauderdale the third day around noon & Miami around 12:30.
Train #107 runs everyday leaving Charlotte sometime after 19:00 on the first day, leaves Jacksonville sometime after 16:00 the second day and arrives in Miami 06:00 the third day and at 11:00 on Saturdays. Train #109 runs everyday but Friday leaving Charlotte sometime after 19:00 on the first day, leaves Jacksonville sometime after 20:30 on the second day and arrives on the third day in Ft. Pierce at 11:00 & Ft. Lauderdale @ noon.
Train #101 runs several schedules from what I gather. We have Su,M,Tu,W,Th & F leaving Atlanta sometime after 21:00 on the first day, arriving in Jacksonville the second day around 10:00, arriving in Miami the third day around 01:30. On Saturday it leaves Atlanta sometime after 18:00 the first day, arrives in Ft. Pierce the second day around 17:00 & arrives in Miami the third day around noon.
Train #127 runs Sundays only and leaves Jacksonville sometime after 19:15 the first day and arrives the next day in Ft. Pierce around 11:00, Ft. Lauderdale around noon & Miami around 15:00.
For northbounds I have Train #202 which runs everyday leaving Miami sometime after 04:00 on the first day and arriving in Cocoa Beach around 08:30.
Train #210 runs M,Tu,W,Th,F,Sa leaving Miami at around 17:00 (noon for the local) on the first day & arrives in Atlanta the third day around 05:00.
Train #218 leaves Ft. Lauderdale Su,M,Tu,W & Th sometime after noon on the first day, arrives in Cocoa Beach around 11:30 the second day, arrives in Charlotte the third day around 06:00. Also everyday it leaves Ft. Lauderdale around 20:00 the first day, arrives in Jacksonville around 11:30 the second day, arrives in Atlanta the fourth day around 05:00.
Train #222 leaves Miami everyday sometime after 15:00 & arrives in Jacksonville the second day around 08:00. It leaves Ft. Pierce M,Tu,W,Th,F sometime after 17:00 (13:00 on Saturday) on the first day & arrives in Jacksonville around 09:00 the second day.
Train #226 leaves Miami M,Tu,W,Th & F sometime after 21:00 on the first day, arrives in Jacksonville around 12:30 the second day, arrives in Charlotte the third day around 06:00. It also leaves Miami on Sa & Su sometime after 15:00 on the first day, arrives in Jacksonville around 12:30 the second day, arrives in Charlotte around 06:00 the third day.
Train #335 runs M,Tu,W,Th & F leaving Ft. Pierce sometime after 17:00 on the first day and arrives in Miami the next day around 12:30

[chrsjrcj]

I don't think those schedules on the FEC site will help much, since it's mainly for shippers and when they need to have their trucks dropped off.

Off the top of my head, I know train #101 leaves Jacksonville around 1 pm, and normally goes through here around 7 or 8 pm.
Train #202 also leaves Miami around 1 pm, and gets to WPB around 3:30 pm.
I believe there is also a train #222 which leaves Miami around 5 pm and gets to WPB around 7 pm.

Most of the freight action on the FEC is at night. I once did an overnight shift at my old job (which was adjacent to the FEC line) and counted at least one train an hour between 10 pm and 6 am.

[mmi16]

There are multiple extraneous things that affect when trains actually do run, despite when 'you think' they are scheduled.

While it is not FEC - CSX adjusts their schedules on a weekly basis so as to mesh train operations with MofW curfews that take place on various segments of the network. With NS being a connecting carrier for FEC, I suspect NS also adjusts the operation of their railroad to permit the performance of various maintenance activities on their property, with the adjustments affecting when the trains get to the FEC. In many cases train will have their schedules 'flipped' 12 hours so as to traverse a work area at non-working times.

Additionally FEC will have their own maintenance operations that will affect the passage of trains.

The days of the local section gang working their own segment of railroad and passing trains when they arrive are long, long gone.

Throw on top of altered schedules the normal run of the mill causes for delay to trains and when they will actually show can be anybody, but the Train Dispatchers, guess.