Work on Callahan Junction CSX's turnout to Baldwin at full speed

 

I took a short cut today and crossed the CSX main line in Callahan at the Brandies Ave/ CR 108 grade crossing. CSX is busy straightening out the sharp turnout to Baldwin and they will double track the turnout as well. These improvements are because more CSX trains will be making the curve from the main line to the Baldwin-Callahan sub in order to bypass restrictions on the now State-owned tracks that run through Orlando. More pics of the major improvements to come this weekend.

 

Looking south down the Baldwin-Callahan sub at Milepost 20 which is at the junction of the main line. They have cleared a large swathe of land from here to the Crawford siding (Milepost 15.8) to make room for two tracks.  Once finished, this turnout will be able to handle more train traffic at higher speeds. 

Looking north at Milepost 20 where the Baldwin-Callahan sub joins the CSX main line.  The switch will begin further north at the Alligator Creek trestle.

 

 

 

 

A NS Southbound intermodal/piggyback combo at Crawford, Nassau County, FL

A Thanksgiving treat at the Crawford diamond. A Norfolk Southern (NS) intermodal/piggyback combo heading South toward Jacksonville. There was a NB intermodal waiting on the Norris siding just south of the US 301 viaduct but I couldnt wait for that one.

CSx southbound freight rolls through Dyal, Nassau County, Florida

SB CSX manifest passes the new "Darth Vader" signals at Dyal

Good shot of the dip in the track in between Dyal Road and Pratt Siding grade crossings.

At the bottom of the dip is the Boggy Creek trestle near where the silver spike was driven in 1881.

 

Just a quick pic of a CSX southbound manifest as it rolls through the signals at Dyal, Nassau County, Florida. Located at Milepost 619.6 on the A line between Callahan and Hilliard, this point use to be called Dyal Station. I also hear it called today by the CSX engineers as Dyal Hill, I guess because of the drop in elevation to the north as the tracks cross Boggy Creek. This is also near where in 1881 the dignitaries of the Savannah, Florida and Western RR (Henry Plant's line) drove a silver spike, which connected the final two pieces of a seamless rail line between New York and Florida.

Arizona Eastern 2170 does duty on the First Coast Railroad (FCRD) in Fernandina Beach

 Looking north toward the port of Fernandina.

 Looking south into the First Coast Railroad's Fernandina yard.

I went to a lecture in Fernandina a couple Fridays ago and caught a blue Arizona Eastern (AZER) engine pulling duty at the First Coast Railroad's Fernandina yard. AZER 2170 was pulling a manifest train from the Rock Tenn and Fernandina port that is north of the yard into the Fernandina yard.  The slow-moving southbound train disappears in the yard between graffitied box cars which once was the northern terminus of the Florida Railroad.

Work on Amelia Island Trail progressing

 The AIT will parallel the Northbound lanes of SR A1A from the Grady Bridge to Fletcher Ave.

 The bike trail through Big and Little Talbot Island State Parks just recently opened.

The New Grady Bridge (left) mirrors the old bridge over the Nassau Sound between Duval and Nassau Counties. One will provide the link between the AIT and the Talbot Island trails, vital parts of the East Coast Greenway.

 

Work on the Amelia Island Trail (AIT) is progressing from the Grady Bridge at the southernmost point of Amelia Island northward to the Fletcher Avenue intersection. When finished in 2013, the off road bike trail will look much like the Talbot Island bike trail in Northeast Duval County that will south from the Grady Bridge through Little and Big Talbot Island State Parks to Ft. George and the Mayport Ferry.  Together the two will form an important link in the East Coast Greenway, a national bike trail that when completed will link South Florida with New England. Funds for the AIT came from grants from the Florida Department of Transportation and the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization.

Alternate rail links to Jacksonvile's ports other than the exising Gross line to be studied

North Florida Transportation Planning Organization will perform a study in 2013 to determine if running a railroad through Northern Duval County to connect CSX's main line to the new Jax ports on the St. Johns River is a better alternative that the abandoned Gross Line. The Gross line was built in the mid-1920s from Gross (at the I 95-US 17 interchange just south of the GA-FL line) to Callahan. This allowed Seaboard Air Line to divert their passenger trains heading for Central and South Florida on their main line that paralleled US 17 in Georgia to bypass the congested Jacksonville Terminal. The 14-mile segment has been abandoned since 1985. As it is now, once the port is opened, trains will have to use their track that runs south along US 17 into the urban core of Jacksonville than curves west to join the main line in Grand Crossing just south of Edgewood Ave.  The speed limit along this track is very low because it crossings many grade crossings and an old swing span bridge across Trout River.  (Thankfully, FDOT has just built an overpass over this 15-mile sub and eliminated the US 1/23 grade crossing south of Edgewood Avenue.)  These other options will have to cross US 1/23 and SR 115 (Lem Turner Road), the two main highways that connect Jacksonville to Callahan, at grade. Plus, a costly overpass will have to be added on I 95 to allow this track to pass underneath. I, for one, hope they decide to use the Gross line as  the port link because the bed is already there.  Link to the story as reported in the Florida Times-union is provided below.
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-09-15/story/prospect-railroad-line-being-built-through-northside-has-residents-edge

New prefab track arrives in Callahan bound for Callahan-Baldwin Sub

Semi tractors with stretch flatbeds escorted by beacon-mounted escort cars arrived in Callahan today. Their cargo was prefab railroad track measuring about 60 feet. I am assuming they are for the new rural grade crossings that dot the first 4 miles (MM 16-MM 20) of the Calahan-Baldwin sub. Work as kicked into high gear on upgrading the 20- mile line and turnout on CSX's main line into Florida. A new darth-vader signal has been added about 1/2 mile north of Sandy Ford Road grade crossing (about MM 18) which will replace the older, south-facing signal at MM 19.9 near the turnout onto the main line.  With cooler weather coming, I will be able to better monitor the construction. The upgrade follows CSX decision to sell their track in the Orlando area to the State of Florida for their Sunrail commuter line.  Since they will not be able to send trains through Orlando during the day,  CSX will funnel more train traffic coming into Florida onto their secondary line that parallels US 301 from Callahan to Zephyrhills near Tampa, thus bypassing the A-line that runs beside US 17 from Jacksonville and Orlando.