An SD70 and GP40s in the morning

Another sunny morning here in southern Florida, and I of course had to take a trip to get a couple bagels up the road in Boca Raton. A quick peek at ATCS Monitor before leaving the house told me I had a northbound near Pompano, and at least one southbound somewhere between Hypoluxo and West Palm Beach. Maybe I’d get lucky this morning and get more than one train. And maybe I’d get more than the usual GP40s I’ve been getting of late. As you can tell by the title, and the teaser image, I nabbed one of the FEC’s new SD-70s.

As I was heading north on Dixie Highway, I slowed down to check out the signal north of the Boca city line, and see which train was coming first – the northbound or southbound. As the signal head came into view, it was clear which train would be first – the south facing head was showing a high green indication. So I set my sights on the curve just to the north of the signal.

I pulled into the parking lot and waited. Not long after that, the scanner came alive with the FEC dispatcher trying to talk to train 202. Once he got a hold of them, he told them that they’d be meeting a train at Hypoluxo which would be leaving West Palm in about 15 minutes. I didn’t catch which train it was, but I’d get at least two.

A few minutes later, 202 tripped the Pompano detector to the south of me, and a minute or so later, the trio of headlights came into view. So I got into position, and as I sized things up, I saw that the lead engine was one of the new SD-70s! Cool, new EMDs in sweet morning light.

The first shot I got was the train pulling into the curve

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Then the shot I wanted – the SD’s face fully lit, and the train trailing behind it in coming into the curve

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A quick turn for a going away shot, as the train whizzed past me at near track speed

At that point I crossed the road and enjoyed the passing train. As the markers approached, I got a shot of the tail end passing the water tower

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Not a bad start to the morning. Now could I catch that southbound? Well, it hadn’t been more than 15 minutes, so maybe I could get up to Hypoluxo and catch the meet. Short story was nope. As I got to Yamato Road in Boca Raton, I heard a southbound coming towards me – apparently there was another southbound in the siding waiting for 202 to clear before heading south. So I missed that one.

To drown my sorrows at missing this guy, I headed to get my and Jill’s bagels. About 10 minutes later, I got back into the car, bagels in hand, and heard a chirp on the scanner. Could that be the train that was leaving West Palm? A quick run south towards Deerfield Beach, and a check of the signal was in order. As I passed by, the north facing signals were showing a high green indication. Yep, here comes a southbound! This time I’m going for the Deerfield Canal.

As I pulled into the parking spot near the bridge, the dispatcher talked to train 123, telling them that they’d be meeting another train in Pompano. OK, at least I knew which train was southbound now.

A few minutes later I got a chirp from the southbound’s maker on the scanner, so I got into position. Not long after that, I heard 123 sounding for the crossings to the north. First shot I got was of them running along Dixie Highway, powered by a pair of GP40s

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Then a quick (very quick – the trains run fast here) change to the wide angle lens for the shot I wanted

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And a going away shot, now that the train is in Deerfield Beach

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With Jill’s bagel getting cold, and her Diet Coke getting warm, I figured I’d be better off heading back instead of waiting for the northbound to come out of Pompano when 123 cleared. Still, not a bad hour or so, despite the missed trains.

Thanks for looking!
Tom