Amelia Island Trail to open May 11

The Amelia Island Trail (AIT) will officially open on Saturday, May 11, at 8:30 AM at the north trail head at Peters Point. The 6.2 mile long paved pathway parallels SR A1A from the southern tip of Amelia Island to Peters Point.  Phil Scanlan, Mike Pikula, and others have been working for years with FDOT and other groups to see the bike trail to fruition. $3.2 million in funds to cover the cost of construction were provided by the North Florida Transportation Planning Office. The AIT will link with the newly open trail on Big and Little Talbot Islands to the south and tie into Eagan's Creek Greenway and pathways to American Beach and Fort Clinch. Various neighborhood schools and the local YNCA will also have links to this primary artery. The AIT is also an important segment in the larger East Coast Greenway that when completed will run 3,000 miles from Canada to Key West.  Mike and Phil and others have formed the nonprofit Friends of the Amelia Island Trail to help maintain and raise awareness to this new addition to biking in Nassau County.

The primary source for this info is from the Fernandina Beach News Leader.
http://www.fbnewsleader.com/articles/2013/03/21/around_town/00attrailtoopen.txt

For more info on the AIT go to
http://www.ameliaislandtrail.org/. 

New overhead signals added to callahan junction

Looking northbound at the CSX's main line at Callahan Junction. the Callahan-Baldwin is in the background. The existing signal is giving a green light to a north bound amtrak that came barrelling by from Jacksonville a few minutes after this picture is taken.

Soon the overhead signals will be activated to guard this major junction in CSX's system.

 

 

Looking south down the Callahan- Baldwin Sub (MM 20) at  a northbound manifest train waiting patiently for a northbound amtrak to clear the juntion.  Soon an overhead signal will replace the antiquated one standing in front of it.  The grade increases around where the locomotive is sitting from about 22 feet in Callahan to 60 feet at the Sandy Ford Road grade crossing (mm18) to about 80 at the Crawford diamond (m m15.9)

 

 

As part of the major upgrade to the Callahan- Baldwin sub, CSX is adding overhead signals to go along with the double tracking of the turnout to Baldwin. The CR 108 River Road grade crossing is in its 3rd week of being closed so CSX can add a second track on the Callahan-Baldwin sub.  The addition will allow more freight trains coming into Florida to take the S-line which parallels US 301 to Orlando, Tampa, and Miami.  CSX has sold its track on its A-line from Sanford to Kissimmee to the State of Florida so the Sun-rail commuter line can be built.

CSX continues improvements of Callahan-Baldwin sub turnout at Callahan Junction

Looking south at the Baldwin-Callahan sub from the CR 108 grade crossing in Callahan

 

CSX will keep the CR 108-River Road grade crossing closed for at least a 3rd week as they continue to double track the turnout off the main line into Florida in Callahan. They have added a second track which seems to be a construction track for their track laying equipment.  Looks like they are added an over head track signal for north bound trains on the main line entering this junction.  I will try to take pics of that as they progress.

CSX widens Callahan-Baldwin sub for double track

 

 

CSX is busy clearing land for a second track from Milepost 20 (at the junction with the main line in Callahan) to Milepost 15.6 (just southwest of the Norfolk Southern diamond) Crawford. If you look close enough you can see the new southbound signal in the distance.There wasn't one there before.  This project is because more CSX trains entering Florida will have to take the Callahan-Baldwin sub in order to bypass Orlando. The State of Florida has purchased CSX's tracks through the town that Mickey build so they can run the Sun Rail commuter transit line from Sanford to Kissimmee.

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.