Good morning.
My wife and I just returned from the Fort Myers, FL area where we spent a week relaxing on vacation.
During this trip we rode the Seminole & Gulf Railway dinner train on Wed. night.
The train was very clean and presentable and the conisist was cab control car (ex. LIRR FP7) number 501, three cars (two diners and a kitchen car in between) and a GP9 for power running in push pull fashion with the F cab control car on the south side of hte consist.
We began our run north at about 6:30 p.m. on the old ACL, nee SCL, nee CSX line for about twenty or so miles and then returned via the same route. The scenery was pretty bad except for some running over a long trestle over the water in some spots.
The dinner was very good and they also had a “murder mystery” acted out for the passengers and it was quite entertaining.
The ride of thecars was fairly good considering the poor condition of the track and the fact we normally did not seem to exceed about ten mph.
Shortly after leaving the Ft. Meyers station we passed the RR yards and saw another FP7 cab control car, two more GP9’s seemingly in running condition, two GP9’s being scavenged for parts (on jacks with no trucks and the prime movers being dismantled, also an ALCO road switcher (sorry, not enough time to see the model) and a couple of RDC units (Not sure if powered or not).
During the return leg of our trip a passenger who was using an oxegyn bottle had a problem with the valve on the bottle and so we “sped up” a bit until we arrived at a grade crossing where an fire department ambulance was waiting and they took this guy off (he was OK according to the crew). The rest of the return trip was uneventful and we returned at about 10:15 p.m.
The trip was fun for the non-railfans and I also enjoyed the trip for a variety of reasons. I could not find out about the heritage of the cars or the GP units on hand (anybody know?).
I would recommend the trip for anybody who happens to be in the Ft. Meyer
Thanks for posting this.
I live in the Tampa Bay area, about 2 1/2 hours away and was wondering if it would be worth the drive (and gas!) to ride this dinner train. For me, just seeing an FP7 is worth it! However, I have to be considerate of my family. Sounds like it’s not a bad deal, though I admit that 10 mph sure doesn’t illicit a lot of excitement.
Yes I understand that today it costs an obscene amount of money and economic justification just to upgrade roadbeds and track to 30mph speeds.
Ironically discussions among passenger train advocacy groups and local government officials have been ongoing for several years…stressing the need to re-develop Florida’s west coast rail infrastructure system. Question, as always, is who’s going to foot the bill? Plus, with I-75 running along the west coast, would those drivers be willing to leave their cars and hop onboard a train? I hate driving on that dangerous highway so my answer is a quick yes. But I realize many people don’t want to get out of their cars and SUVs, even if gas hits $3.00 a gallon again.
It seems amazing that just 37 years ago it was possible to ride a train at 60 mph speeds as far south as Naples, just a puddle jump from Ft. Meyers.