Switching The Auto Train

oh [Music] there's not another train like it in america it's a daily passenger train but it's also a hotel and a freight train plus it has no stops on its route it serves only two cities and only one type of customer those riding the train and taking their vehicles with them this is amtrak's auto train hello again rail fans i am lucky enough to live within driving distance of amtrak's auto train terminal over in sanford florida so on a day back in early august i took the whole day to drive over there and see what i could see now i didn't get any special access for this amtrak did not know i was coming i just did what i always do did a little map and timetable research and then getting in as close as i can without trespassing and staying at a safe distance so that's how i did that now before we get going i want to give a shout out to jonah wilkes jonah is a big fan of the channel and i really appreciate that it also just so happens that jonah's dad john wilkes is working for amtrak over at auto train in sanford it was pre-dawn when i left the house very very pre-dawn the drive from tampa to sanford would take 90 minutes so i had to be on the road in plenty of time because this train would not wait in fact this train is usually kind of early you know you're getting close to orlando when you pass this what may be the coolest power pole in america passing wesh tv's orlando studios i applied for a job here in 1980 and they didn't hire me and it was a good thing too or otherwise i might not have met my wife liz i should send flowers to them when i arrived the yard was still quiet i had not missed him after checking with some facebook friends i learned he was still almost an hour away from sanford good this gave me a little time to scout locations three miles up the a line is the lake monroe drawbridge a photogenic spot that's got great morning light you may have seen photos of trains shot from that big bridge above but that wouldn't work for me today too much walking and after the train came by i needed to move fast i chose instead the old us-17 through truss bridge down below now preserved as a fishing pier they even kept the steel work as an historical exhibit pretty cool but after a few minutes of thinking it occurred to me that if i waited for the train here i might get stuck behind it while trying to get back to the yard to watch it arrive so i went back to the station yard and set up and waited this is amtrak's auto train terminal in sanford florida it handles only two trains a day but it's one of the busiest terminals on amtrak's long distance the d the systems team is just now coming into work the yard engineer is arriving by golf cart we'll see lots of these today he climbs aboard his engine the amtrak 511. in just a few minutes he's got it cranked up and running releasing the handbrake this is like a parking brake on a car then he's pulling out and into position the auto train sanford crew does this every morning it's a show they've rehearsed thousands of times one of the yard crew is a flagman there will be about two dozen train moves over this road in the next hour and a half he makes sure no one tries to get into this ten track crossing while the trains are on it there are no crossing gates here the 511 will do most of the yard work when auto train arrives this morning 511 is an old general electric dash 8 b32 bwh locomotive the h for head in power amtrak bought about 20 of these in the early 1990s for road power basically dash 8 freight engines with a head-end power generator added to supply electric to passenger cars there are only a few left and most of those are serving as yard switchers i like them and this one is especially clean how do they keep it like that the 511 is now getting into position he's backing to the north end and the switch where the passenger cars will be cut off from the auto carriers passenger terminal employees are now arriving to start their day 0837 amtrak po53 the southbound auto train is arriving at sanford florida down there he's passing the sunrail sanford station and in a moment he'll come off the main line and on to the aloma spur a csx branch that serves industries here in sanford he'll immediately come off that and into the auto train terminal yard that's when the action here will begin y'all lined in track three the d-rail is down you see you'd like to attach the ground crew now takes up position everyone here rides golf carts there is no time for walking back and forth between cars and switches it's after auto train arrives that the clock starts ticking to get passengers and their vehicles off as soon as possible all right i need about seven cars the head-in rolls down to a stop when the last passenger car clears the switch at the yard lead this is where the first cut will be made when the train comes to a full stop one of the engineers gets off he's been aboard since probably around 10 last night at the crew change point in florence south carolina so his day is over the second engineer will handle the final few moves 53 head in you can release my three-step protection first is pulling the people cars away from the auto racks this will allow the yard engine to come in between and start handling those racks the electrician comes in to detach the 480 volt power running to the cars i don't know why they do this right here because it leaves all the cars without lights or air conditioning but it's only for a few minutes so it's not really a problem for passengers now the first four coaches are cut away from the sleepers on the bottom end they're pulled down to the south end protection removed locomotive 814. takes it down eight one four copy the flagman ensures that no cars enter the crossing and the train pulls on over switch tenders are virtually on every switch here or at least in every zone the objective at auto train is to get arriving passengers and their cars off the train and on their way as soon as possible it takes a full crew to do [Music] and i this need no more they're on the cross and i'll take about seven more [Music] now the four coaches are shoved back to the other side of the platform this allows for off-boarding of passengers to both sides of that platform normal power for the auto train is two general electric p40d locomotives these units have horsepower enough for this heavy train and the generators to provide head-end or hotel power to auto-train super liner passenger coaches sleepers diner and lounge cars the moment that the lead road engine clears the switch zone the 511 yard switcher starts pulling those car carriers out and down to the south end he pulls out the whole cut about 21 cars this morning down to the very tip of the yard foreign [Music] even before he's completely out the two road engines now cut off from the passenger train are moving out to switch over to the engine shop track mechanical forces are waiting to check them and do regular maintenance switch tenders line each switch for his move just ahead of it expedience is the word at auto train onboard services crew members are packed up and headed home or to the hotel the terminal crew has the train now and is already starting work cleaning changing linens and taking off trash easy like to reattach to the yard job less than half an hour after arriving in sanford the first auto carriers are backing down to the unloading ramps seven cars a car inspector is crouched down low checking the running gear that's wheels axles and brakes for anything that might need attending to at the shop five cars auto drivers those of the people in the red shirts are ready and waiting to drive every vehicle off the train as soon as they can the uc or utility conductor calls for the backup 10 feet carefully counting down each foot five until the car gently comes to rest against the dock at the end of the track four folks's automobiles are riding those carriers three you can't handle them like gondolas full of scrap metal one more and good good spot after just a minute the first five cars are cut off and the rest are pulled out past the first switch a switch tender the guy who's also the crossing flagman lines amtrak 53 for the next track over here on the uc uc to the 5 11 clear all tracks come on back eight to a safety stop [Applause] and more cars are backed down to be unloaded this will happen two more times until all of the cars are spotted at the ramps as the third cut is still being spotted the first of the passenger vehicles are now departing on the street around 47 minutes after arriving in florida by train not bad a carmen opens doors on each of the auto carriers including one on the back end of each cut this is to increase ventilation through the cars lots of gasoline engines running inside there working at the other end is the unloading team people in the red shirts three movable ramps on rails are rolled to line up with the carriers drivers walk into the carriers and drive the cars out one by one they go right to the pickup area at the front of the passenger terminal autos are loaded on the train facing backwards this is to accommodate the setup at each terminal travelers keep coming out to start their florida vacations or end their vacations in the northeast by now the early birds are showing up a bunch of bikers rolling in when check-in time opens this gets you a preferred seating time on the dining cars it's the gamut coming off po 53 this morning a candy apple red ferrari and what i think was a corvette definitely red over at the shop the road power is throttled up and running looks like a notch eight mechanical people give these a going over as soon as they're taken off the train they might not be turning for today's northbound run but they'll definitely go tomorrow amtrak's auto train terminal at sanford is situated on the former atlantic coastline former csx now cfrc that's the central florida rail corridor it's all still the a-line it has engine shops and car repair shops a passenger coach yard and a freight yard for the carriers the 511 cuts off from the final cut of auto racks but his work is not over as he's pulling to the switch the automobiles keep coming off one passenger even brought a trailer with him on this train ride i didn't know you could do that mike getting four ready for the wash thank you sir getting ready to watch as soon as it's cleared of passengers luggage and trash the head-end cut of coaches is pulled down to the very south end of the yard five or six hundred feet south of the yard is a train washer amtrak washes the auto train passenger cars after every trip it's just like a car wash just a lot bigger when the four coaches get all the way through he puts it in reverse and shoves them back through the wash and up to the yard getting another scrub going north all right get on the stop through the wash whenever you get set okay to back up clear for 20. now we know why that 511 locomotive stays a darn clean since there are two cuts of passenger cars on every trip this engine comes through this washer four times a day at least this could be the most washed locomotive in america after putting the cars away the 511 crew ties the engine down that's conductor john wilkes setting the handbrake after that i went to scout off some locations for my next trip over here i parked at a dead end at the north end of the yard and a signal named sanford tucked up under the 1792 overpass this was a nice spot i knew from 2015 when i was here last but since then the cfrc has put up a fence and this curious sign well i wasn't depressed until i saw this fence between me and the tracks i doubt if the folks at 2-1-1 would be of any help to my mood after this though so i drifted northward another two and a half miles back to the lake monroe drawbridge lots of pleasure boats out here now the old acl bridge was down and locked so something was coming the old draw span is so low folks with these small boats tipped out up to it until they were sure they could clear underneath 153 south clear lake monroe one to maine to two overall in a minute amtrak 97 the southbound silver meteor was here he's coming out of new york and bound for miami after his stops at winter park orlando and kissimmee he'll take a left turn at auburndale and head down to west palm and miami and almost as soon as he cleared the span the bridge tender blew his horn and raised it back up it was 94 degrees on this august day humidity was in the 60s and that was enough for me i'll come back and finish this when it cools off a little like around thanksgiving speaking of thanksgiving it was getting time for lunch on my way west on i-4 i swung into plant city fred's market a real southern cooking place with a gigantic lunch buffet i got mine to go and headed over to the plant city train watcher platform to eat lunch was just like mom used to make mashed potatoes and gravy lima beans with black eyed peas on the bottom and three pieces of fried chicken delicious at about 12 bucks my thanks to christian johnson for his technical advice about amtrak's auto train yard and some of the inner workings there invaluable to the production of this video so thank you christian also jonah please thank your dad john wilkes for giving me pointers on where to get the best shots at the auto train yard and how to stay out of the way i hope you've enjoyed this visit to amtrak's auto train if you have please hit the like button if you like the video subscribe to the channel if you haven't already done that and write your comments in the comments section below if you have any on that please email me if you have any questions or anything like that email me at railfandanny gmail.com and before we go i want to bring up just one more thing it's about safety while rail fanning railroads are dangerous places just inherently so please don't stand too close to the tracks i've seen some people doing this lately and i just want to say it is dangerous and it is unnecessary i used to do it when i was younger i used to stand way too close to the tracks and since then i have learned about the dangers that exist on passing trains stuff can come off of them and hit you debris on the tracks can come up and hit you believe me it's not worth it so do yourself and anyone who cares about you a favor and stay back from the tracks 25 feet from the nearest rail is a good rule of thumb do this every time and you should be safe so please do it if nobody else just do it for me so until we meet again next time somewhere out there on that high iron this is danny harmon out

Channel: Distant Signal

Views: 138,287

Rating: 4.977633 out of 5

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Id: fYlWBWlS4t0

Length: 19min 27sec (1167 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 09 2021