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A Regular Ride Day at the Florida Railroad Museum

Here we are, the weekend before Thanksgiving, and one of two regular ride weekends before the North Pole Express!  Being a regular ride weekend, things are a little more relaxed but we have to keep to a schedule, as we schedule our regular train rides for 11 AM and 2 PM on Saturday and Sunday.
We start our day at the Willow yard right around 8 AM in the morning.  Right after I get settled in I pick up my radio with my push to talk microphone and get started assisting the crew as needed.  I assist in filling the SAL 821 car with water as it is needed for the two bathrooms that are on board; I learned that in order to fill the 300 gallon water tank in the SAL 821 that the locomotive should not be in operation.  After all, getting the water from the tank to the restrooms is dependent on the train’s air pressure coming from the locomotive.
Filling the water tank is simple:  Connect the water hose first, then turn a lever to the right.  Turn on the water and the water tank fills.  When it’s all said and done, excess water will come out of the tube adjacent to the lever; the lever has to be closed and the pressure has to be right as shown in the gauge to the right of the tank.
After the SAL 821 was filled we were getting ready to fill the New Georgia 5416.  Unfortunately, by that time it was time for our crew briefing and we had to set off the open air flat car onto the lead track that led into the nearby Florida Power and Light (FP&L) Manatee Plant.  After all, the track we run on is owned by FP&L but FP&L is very generous.
After the briefing we headed south to the FP&L lead to drop off the open air flat car.  After that it was time to connect the 8330 locomotive to the other end and have a crew member ride the point (the end of a train) to Parrish.  Now that everything’s said and done, we’re on our way to Parrish!
Once we get to Parrish, trying to line up the passenger loading ramp with the vestibule takes plenty of skill and practice.  Once we were lined up with the ramp we chained the ramp to the safety gates and, in due time, we were ready to board our 11 AM passengers.
But before we load our passengers I had to make a quick clean up of the New Georgia 5416 coach.  The New Georgia along with the other cars in the consist were decked out for the Christmas holidays, especially the North Pole Express.  Unfortunately, the floor was a little messy and I could not let our passengers see a dirty car!  So, a quick sweep and clean was in order which I did enroute to Parrish.
We had a great group of passengers for our 11 AM run.  My assignment:  Assist in taking tickets, give the mandatory safety briefing, let our passengers know where all the amenities are located, and so on.  With that in mind, we were on our way to Willow.
Once we got to Willow we do what is called the engine runaround:  We have a double track siding that connects to the FP&L lead as I discussed earlier.  Just before the north switch we stop the train and disconnect the locomotive from the train.  Next, the locomotive is taken north of the switch and a crew member will go out and rotate the switch so that the locomotive will go onto the siding.  Now at the same time another crew member will rotate the switch on the other end so that the locomotive will be able to get back on the main track.
The locomotive is allowed to proceed to the other end of the train.  Once the locomotive is clear of the switch on the other end we can turn the switch back to the position that will allow for movement on the main line.  The locomotive is carefully backed into and coupled onto the train.  Once the air lines are coupled and everything’s OK we can make our move into Willow as a backing move.
The backing move into Willow can be compared to Amtrak’s backing move into Tampa Union Station.  Even though Tampa is a station stop for Amtrak’s Silver Star service (Train 91 southbound and Train 92 northbound), Tampa Union Station is what is called a stub-in facility.  As such, all Amtrak trains have to turn off the main CSX A Line onto a wye track (a triangular track used for turning railroad equipment according to Wikipedia) located east of Tampa’s Ybor City historic district called the Neve Wye.  As the Amtrak train approaches, all the locomotive engineer has to do is to slow down the train for the sharp curves ahead:  There is no need for the conductor or the engineer to have to get out of the train and manually set the switches as the switches are controlled by CSX dispatchers 200+ miles away in Jacksonville.  Once in the spur track of the Neve Wye the switches are changed to allow for reverse movement of the Amtrak train for its last couple of miles to Tampa Union Station, and the Amtrak conductor (or his or her assistant) rides the rear end of the train all the way in, guiding the train as it makes its slow move.
We’re at Willow, and one of the crew members opens the gates to allow access into the Willow yard.  Once at Willow, a crew member stationed in the open air gondola gives a talk about the history of the town from its early heydays as a company town for a logging mill.  For those passengers that remain in the other cars, I give a good history of the town of Willow and answer any questions the passengers may have.
After a good ten to fifteen minutes in Willow, it’s time to head back to Parrish!  The concession stand gets plenty of business, especially on the return trip.
Speaking of our concession stand, we have prepackaged drinks and snacks for your enjoyment.  All snacks are $1.00 and all drinks are $2.00.  Cash and credit cards are accepted.
Once we arrive in Parrish, it’s just a matter of lining up the vestibule with the ramp.  Once the ramp is in place the locomotive engineer gives the horn signal saying that it’s OK to detrain the passengers.  We thank our passengers for riding with us and we tell our passengers to come back and see us again soon.
After the last passenger has departed it’s time for lunch on board the train.  Lunch time is a great time to chat with fellow crew members and think about what we did on the train today.
By 1:30 PM it’s time to begin boarding our passengers for our 2 PM run.  Take the tickets, greet the passengers, and give the mandatory safety briefing before departure.  Make sure the passengers are seated, and we’re off to Willow!
It’s basically the same thing as the 11 AM run.  Do the runaround, back into Willow, give a brief history of Willow from its early heydays.  Once all is said and done, head back to Parrish.
Being our last run of the day, I assist in the closedown of the concession stand as we get closer to Parrish so that everything is in order.  Once our passengers have detrained I do another quick sweep of the train to make sure everything’s clean.  This means all the trash cans are emptied, restrooms cleaned and everything’s in order for the next day’s work.
Now that everything’s said and done, I ride with the rest of the crew for the trip back to our home base in Willow.  For me, I have a place that I can stay overnight which enables me to be at the train the next day at 8 AM.
Dawn breaks, and I am ready to go.  Back at the train at 8 AM and assist the crew in getting the train ready to go.  But first, we have our mandatory crew safety briefing and I get my assignments for the day; for Sunday (11/24/13) as we were short staffed on crew I got to wear several hats while being a Car Host.
After all is said and done we head south to Parrish in time to board our passengers for our 11 AM run.  However, we had the party caboose on this run because someone chartered the caboose for a birthday party.
Speaking of the party caboose, have you thought about making your child’s birthday extra special?  Or a wedding reception?  Or even a corporate function?  The possibilities are endless when you charter the party caboose for your next get together – it will be the best get together you have ever had!  It only costs $200.00 on regular ride days (pricing for party caboose use on themed ride days varies by themed ride; you may want to check the Florida Railroad Museum’s website for details and pricing and reserve early – themed rides such as the North Pole Express tend to sell out quickly).  The charter fee covers 16 admissions plus your very own Car Host for the trip!
It’s basically the same as the day before:  Give the safety briefing, welcome everyone aboard.  Then at 11 AM we get underway for our six mile trip to Willow including the train runaround and the reverse move into Willow.  At the same time, our party caboose passengers are having a great time on board.
Then it’s back to Parrish.  Bur before we go to lunch and our subsequent 2 PM run we have to detach the party caboose as we didn’t have a rental on the 2 PM run.
We get a lot of passengers on the 2 PM run, more than what we had on the 11 AM run earlier.  It’s the same thing all over again:  Mandatory safety briefing for the passengers and welcome everyone aboard.  Right at 2 PM we get underway for Willow once more.
After Willow it’s back to Parrish.  Being the last run of the weekend, I help get the concession stand organized and put away and assist in cleaning the train after our passengers have departed.  Then it’s a ride with the crew back to Willow, get my service record signed off by the conductor and I am on my way home!
The only thing I did not have to worry about was having to go to my full time job this particular week, for it was Thanksgiving week.  I decided to take a ride over to Plant City to check out the new rail viewing platform under construction which will enable everyone including area railfans to watch passing trains from a safe distance.  I got to Plant City just in time for CSX’s most famous unit train, the Tropicana Juice Train headed back on the S Line towards Tampa and Bradenton.
Then it was time to head home, and get things ready for Christmas.
 
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Von Kessinger’s Express

I am going to start off the In The Shadow of the Railroad Museum Blog with this first installment being one of the Florida Railroad Museum’s themed train rides.  This themed train ride is called the Von Kessinger’s Express, which is a World War II re-enactment set in 1944 as the allies were closing in on Germany hard and fast.

The place:  Somewhere in France, where the allies are closing in one by one.  You are a French citizen and are boarded on the Von Kessinger’s Express in order to evade capture, under the watchful eyes of the feared special police.  Once you are on board, your train heads east towards Germany in the hope of evading capture by the allies!

My duty is actually a car host for the two weekend days of the Von Kessinger’s Express, which was held on Saturday, 16 November 2013 and Sunday, 17 November 2013.  Instead of reporting to our usual location in the Florida Railroad Museum’s maintenance complex in Willow, I along with the several other crew members report to the train station in Parrish.  When I arrived in Parrish, the station was transformed into a true to life World War II German military installation, complete with security checkpoint.

Sometime after us crew members get in we board the train for the mandatory crew meeting where we receive our crew assignments.  I managed to get assigned to the open air flat car where seating is two rows horizontally down the middle as opposed to individual coach seats.

Meanwhile, our passengers were preparing to board the train.  The order of the day was that our ticketed passengers were given souvenir passports to be stamped by the German guards.  After all, travel in Germany during World War II was very restrictive – you had to have permission to travel if you wanted to.  This is why we live in the greatest country on Earth where you don’t need permission to travel and we Americans today cherish that liberty.

After passport stamping the passengers were lined up, two single file lines, ready to board.  Those German officers were constantly reprimanding anyone who dared to cut or hold up the line for any reason.

Boarding time came.  As I was assigned to the open air flat car, I got yet another responsibility:  Greeting passengers as they came on board.  Don’t pull tickets, it was decided, it would take extra time to board:  Just check to make sure each passenger had their ticket and their stamped passport.

Right after we boarded our Saturday morning passengers, the last ones on board were General Von Kessinger and his lovely wife (played by actors, of course).  Once all were on board, passengers were given the standard safety briefing over the public address speakers plus the German officers telling the passengers that they were not to speak with General Von Kessinger unless spoken to among other things.

Departure time!  We pull out of the station somewhere in France (actually, a decorated Parrish train station decked out in German World War II paraphernalia) and roll down the line.  Once on the way, the German officers on board were demanding papers one by one.

When we got to our halfway point on Dickey Road our train has stopped.  We just got report that an American landed in German held territory and the German officers disembarked to find out what was going on.  Sure enough, the American was found and apprehended by the Germans.  After a few minutes of World War II action the Germans reboarded the train along with the apprehended American and we continued north.

On the way north the interrogation of the American by the German officers began.  While the interrogation was taking place the German officers were interviewing several other passengers on board which would lead to a surprise once we got to Willow.

Once in Willow the passengers that were picked by the German officers plus the apprehended American were ordered off the train and onto the field.  The passengers were told to line up while a group of German soldiers was lining up as a firing squad.  Oh no!

Just as the Germans were getting ready to open fire, suddenly – out of nowhere – the allies consisting of American, French and British officers – move in and save the captured American and the passengers from the firing squad!  After the brief skirmish, the captured American and passengers were permitted to re-board the train.

Once everyone was on board, an announcement was made:  The allied forces have liberated the train!  Vive le France!  Vive le Americain!  At last, the allied forces took the train!  By that time, it was time to head back south.

Everyone on board was celebrating the American and French troops that liberated the train from certain doom.  The only ones that were not celebrating were the German officers who were captured by the allies.

In fact, all of the passengers were having a great time on board!  But it was time for all the passengers to detrain when we arrived back in Parrish.  Once back in Parrish, the order of business was to detrain the allied troops and the captured German officers first, then our regular passengers.  I thanked them for coming out and invited them to return soon!

After we cleared the train of all the passengers, it was time for a quick clean up and lunch on board the train with the crew.  I snacked on some potato chips and a drink from the concession stand (after all, the museum takes great care of us crew members with free concession stand items!).  We sit in the New Georgia car (the 5416) and have our lunch.

After all, it’s the calm before the storm.

It was time to board our Saturday afternoon passengers!  For the Saturday afternoon run, I was assigned to double duty both running the concession stand and being car host in the New Georgia car.  At least the New Georgia was nicely air conditioned, as the humidity of the Florida air was making its presence.

Departure time once again!  We had a good sized number of passengers on the Saturday afternoon run.  The majority of the passengers on board were seated in the SAL 821 car as well as the open air flat car; that’s where you can see plenty of the action as it unfolds.  Unfortunately, on the trip north the New Georgia was empty.

But things changed so quickly in the New Georgia right after the train was liberated and we were headed south.  Practically everyone was headed into the New Georgia to take advantage of the concession stand; I was busy with customers one by one!  Running the concession stand is very simple:  The passenger picks out what they want, press a few buttons, and collect the money.  Simple as that.

Once we arrived back in Parrish it was time for me to close down the concession stand in the New Georgia as this was our last run of the day.  Everything had to be put away and items had to be returned to the ticket office at the train station.  But there was more for our crew after the passengers left!

We were treated to a catered dinner from Sonny’s Pit Barbeque as a reward for all of our hard work.  I had me a roast beef – it was so good with the mild barbeque sauce!  That was sure a great dinner – it saved me from going out to dinner that night.

Then it was back home to rest for the next day’s activities.  Luckily I had a place close by so that I didn’t have to travel a considerable distance. 

Sunday morning came.  I was able to get up a little later because we only had one train run for Von Kessinger’s Express.  As soon as I got to Parrish (where the train was parked for the night) I along with my fellow crew members got on board, starting off with the mandatory conductor’s briefing.  I got assigned to the open air flat car and greeted the passengers as they boarded.  Just before departure, our final passenger was General Von Kessinger and his wife, played by actors.

Sunday’s Von Kessinger run was the same as Saturday’s run:  Give the safety briefing, try to keep the passengers entertained, and all the other odds and ends as a Car Host.  Once we got to Dickey Road we picked up the American that “landed” in enemy territory only to be taken by the German officers and questioned.  Then it was on to Willow where at the right moment the Allies come in and liberate the train including the American we picked up earlier.

Shortly thereafter we were on our way back to Parrish.  Von Kessinger’s Express was one of the best times I had over the weekend in November.  And I am looking forward to the museum’s next greatest event:  The North Pole Express!

Now if you’re wondering when the Florida Railroad Museum holds Von Kessinger’s Express, it usually takes place the weekend after Veterans Day in November.  You might want to check the Florida Railroad Museum website for the exact dates; while you’re there you can purchase tickets for this event when they become available.
 


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Welcome to In the Shadow of the Railroad Museum!

Hello, and welcome to another great blog written by Edward Ringwald (that’s me).  I got to admit, I have been a railroad enthusiast since my childhood years, going back to the days when Amtrak used to run to St. Petersburg.

Back in those days if you lived here in St. Petersburg you could take a nice day trip on Amtrak to Clearwater or even Tampa and return the same day.  In fact, right after I got out of school for the day my grandmother would take me to the Amtrak station in St. Petersburg to let me see the Silver Star start making its 1,200+ mile northward trek to New York City as Train 82.

But Amtrak service into St. Petersburg would not last for long.  Amtrak decided to discontinue service to St. Petersburg in February 1984, replacing it with bus service to Tampa Union Station which continues to this day.  After all, buses are subject to the same traffic delays out there on any of the major bridges connecting St. Petersburg with Tampa including Interstate 275’s Howard Frankland Bridge, which was at the time a single four lane span prone to accidents.

Today, the options are very limited for a resident of the Tampa Bay region as far as a day trip on the rails is concerned.  While Miami-Ft. Lauderdale has a great rail based mass transit system thanks to Tri-Rail, and Orlando is just about to get its rail based mass transit system thanks to SunRail in May 2014, the Tampa Bay region basically has a lack of rail based mass transit.  In fact, rail travel in the Tampa Bay region is more excursion based rather than commuter based; the Tampa Bay region resident is practically limited to three choices as far as same day rail travel is concerned: 

1.  Round trip on Amtrak’s Silver Star (which is today’s Train 91 southbound and Train 92 northbound) to Winter Haven and back.  It is possible to go to Sebring and back in the same day and I’ve done it several times, but a trip of this nature has to depend on the timeliness of the southbound Train 91 in order to avoid having to spend extra money on a hotel room in the Sebring area.

2.  A trip on the TECO Streetcar Line linking Ybor City with downtown Tampa including the Tampa Bay Times Forum.

3.  A weekend excursion trip on a train run by the Florida Railroad Museum in Parrish, a northern Manatee County community located on US 301 five miles east of the southern terminus of Interstate 275 at Interstate 75.  It’s a six mile train ride from Parrish to the community of Willow located on the Hillsborough-Manatee county line and the trip is not only fun but educational too!

Now let me talk to you a little bit about the Florida Railroad Museum, if I could get your attention for just a moment.  (Just like I would say when I give my safety briefing to the passengers in my assigned car).

The Florida Railroad Museum was founded in 1982 with the goal of preserving Florida’s bygone railroading history as the Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum.  The museum began with donations of railroad passenger cars from the golden age of railroading and in 1987 ran a series of excursion trains on the former Atlantic Coast Line track from Tarpon Springs southward to Clearwater in conjunction with CSX Transportation (which was formed from the merger of several railroads including Atlantic Coast Line’s successor, Seaboard Coast Line) as CSX was getting ready to abandon the section of track from Tarpon Springs south to Clearwater.

The museum moved into its present day grounds in Manatee County in the 1990’s after negotiating a lease of the trackage from Florida Power & Light, which wanted to maintain rail access to its Manatee Power Plant after CSX abandoned the section of track from Willow to Ellenton Junction.  The terms and conditions of the lease was very simple:  All the Florida Railroad Museum had to do was to maintain the track.

Today the Florida Railroad Museum offers regular train rides on Saturdays and Sundays as well as themed train rides scheduled at various times throughout the year.  Speaking of themed train rides, the museum offers plenty of them for all ages at various times throughout the year including:

The Hole-in-the-Head Gang Train Robbery

The Murder Mystery Dinner Train

A Day Out With Thomas (which is a popular favorite among children and is based on the Thomas and Friends TV series featuring Thomas the Tank Engine and Sir Topham Hatt). 

The Peter Cottontail Express, held around Easter

The Pumpkin Patch Express, held usually the weekend before Halloween

Von Kessinger’s Express, a World War II reenactment usually held around Veteran’s Day

The North Pole Express, held on three weekends in December on Thursday through Sunday nights before the Christmas holiday (this is also a popular favorite for the holiday season; it is so popular that tickets sell out rather quickly once tickets go on sale) 

Your experience begins the moment you step on board the train.  After finding where you want to sit and the train leaves the train station in Parrish, you are taking a ride that takes you back to the days when taking the train was indeed the way to go.  The rails that the museum’s train operates were laid in 1903 and the train takes you on a six mile journey through the woodlands of the Florida that once was, before the era of interstate highways such as Interstate 275 and air travel such as Tampa International Airport and Southwest Airlines. 

Once your train arrives in the community of Willow, you get to see the switching operations from one of the open air passenger cars and you get to see the yard in Willow.  In fact, the yard at Willow has a lot of history to it:  Willow started out as a company town for a logging mill operation in the early 1920’s; by 1929 the Great Depression hit which resulted in the shutdown of the logging mill’s operations.  An attempt to revive the logging mill was attempted in the 1930’s was to no avail.


The line that the Florida Railroad Museum runs on was laid in 1903 by a subsidiary of the Seaboard Air Line (SAL) Railroad, which was fully acquired in later years.  The line used to be the home of many of SAL’s great passenger trains including Tampa to Venice service.  In 1967 SAL and its competitor, Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) merged to form Seaboard Coast Line (SCL).  Upon the formation of SCL thanks to the merger, duplicate rail lines were being abandoned at an albeit fast rate; SCL at the time favored the ACL route paralleling US 41 (which is today’s CSX AZA Line, the home of the Tropicana Juice Train).  Passenger service on the line from Tampa to Venice was discontinued in 1971 when Amtrak came into operation.

Unfortunately, the former SAL line was slowly being abandoned from the Hillsborough County community of Durant (east of Valrico) southward towards the bridge spanning the Little Manatee River.  But Miami-based Florida Power & Light (FP&L) needed to maintain its rail access to its Manatee Power Plant, and FP&L purchased 12 miles of the rail line from Willow south to Ellenton, including Parrish.

Once the line was purchased by FP&L, who was going to maintain it?  After all, FP&L is in the power business providing reliable electric service to millions of Floridians from Bradenton and Sarasota south to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami.  But not in the railroad business.  Enter the Florida Railroad Museum and its willingness to maintain the six mile stretch of line from Parrish to Willow and – voila – the rest is history.

Today all that is left of the CSX ownership of the rail line – which is the SW Line in CSX-speak – is a short spur from the AZA Line in Palmetto south of 10th Street to Ellenton.

I have a great page on the Florida Railroad Museum including a slideshow gallery of pictures for your viewing enjoyment.  You can find that page on my website of all things Edward Ringwald at EdwardRingwald.com!

Admission for the regular ride days for adults (as of December 2013) is only $14.00, while children 3 to 11 years of age can ride for only $10.00.  Children under 3 get to ride for free.  Remember, themed train rides are priced differently and it depends on the specific themed train ride; therefore, a check of the Florida Railroad Museum’s website is highly recommended.

Don’t you know that the Florida Railroad Museum has cabooses available for charter?  A caboose charter is perfect for your child’s birthday party, wedding reception, family get-togethers – the possibilities are endless!  Again, the Florida Railroad Museum’s website has all the details on how you can charter the caboose for your next best party or event.

With all the introductory stuff about what this blog is all about in mind, I am going to close out this first entry with a video that I made of trains passing through Tampa’s Ybor City that is on my YouTube channel for your viewing pleasure.  This video showcases Amtrak’s northbound Silver Star (Train 92) as it makes the backing move into Tampa Union Station and the departure for the continuation of its northbound journey, as well as a CSX train hauling freight to South Tampa.  This video has been viewed over 80,000 times since I posted it and it’s the most popular video on my YouTube channel!  So sit back, relax, and enjoy the video:


And by the way, stay tuned for more entries here from In the Shadow of the Railroad Museum!