Can anyone tell me what’s happening on the CSX branch line that runs east/northeast out of Bradenton, FL? This is the line that runs out to the huge power plant (once coal fired, now gas fired) and the line also used by the Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum.
A few weeks ago, you couldn’t see the rails for all the weeds and I thought the line might have been abandoned. Now, the ROW has been mowed, the weeds sprayed and the rails look like they’re being used again. Anyone from this neck of Florida know what’s going on? There can’t be any significant traffic on this line, since it was severed about 20 miles east of[?] Bradenton several years back.
If they did pull it up, it would strand the Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum. The rail looks nice and shiny, but I’ve yet to see any train on this line.
I doubt that either of you are close. That plant presently that is gas fired is most likely a good candidate for coal conversion. The price of natural gas is becomming very expensive therefore coal is usually a very acceptable alternative. Here is what you look for: First see if you can get someone form the utility to speak with about what their plans are for fuel, next look to the areas that are in close proximity to the plant and see if their old coal handling equipment is being updated or replaced and finally if there are stacks look to see if precipretator or scrubber equipment is being installed. If any of these is occuring, your train watching is probably going to get a lot better. I hope it does for you. - PL
I wish you were right, but I doubt it. It just was converted from coal to natural gas in 2001. A local told me yesterday he thought that some “old equipment from the plant” was about shipped out on flatcars. But why would CSX work to spruce up the line just for one movement?
At any rate, it’s exciting to see a once “hard to find in the weeds” line looking so good.
Tharmeni: Take it from an old electric utility man, formerly of Southern Company. When fuels get to expensive even though they have just changed the fuel sourse to gas, the (electric utilities) will change it out back to coal with proper environmental controls. Remember that they are a legal monopoly and money is rarely a problem. -------------------But don’t kid yourself the utilities will strive to find any way they can to keep down the costs of fuel, especially if there is competition from a fuel such as natural gas that is used for home heating, industrial customers, schools, and hospitals. — Frankly, they should have stayed with coal and just put up he 150 or so million to put in the precipitators or scrubbers and the line you are looking at would have never gone to seed. For what its worth, PL
This is going to potentially happen to a plant in IL… It was originally planned as a coal plant, but finally built as gas. But they kept a long lead going to the plant. That lead was actually still used even though the plant was gas, because they stored strings of unneeded coal hoppers there during slow seasons. Now there’s talk of them rebuilding it to coal, and there would be coal trains delivered on that track. Or, it may simply be that they decided to get in and do some work on the track before it got out of control.
Many years ago I used to live in Bradenton and am trying to picture the line you describe. The only railroad I remember running E/NE out of Bradenton would have been the former SAL Tampa to Venice line which crossed the Manatee River at Bradenton and ran through Palmetto, Ellenton and Parish enroute to Tampa. With the advent of the SCL the former Seaboard bridge across the Manatee River which parallelled the ACL’s bridge was eliminated. The ex-Seaboard line to Tampa could have still existed north of Palmetto. I thought this had been abandoned but is it possibly the route you refer to.? I know of no other railroads in this area. Good news if it is being reactivated.
The nice thing to happen would be for the utility to build a couple of more heavy coal generating units at the site, Then a slight touch of trainwatchers paradise would occur. Just think of all the steel and machinery that would come that way by rail. Not to mention the increase in coal shipments
Hey, Mark:
The line I am citing is a different one, it splits off the “Juice train” CSX line at a point just north of Palmetto. I am told it once went up to Wauchula and then on North, but was cut several years ago just north of the Power plant I cited. If you are aware of the rail museum in Parrish, that’s the line I am discussing.
Piouslion - There has been no annoucement re. fuel supply at the plant and the line has really been spruced up. Still a bit of a puzzle to me. Although I’ve NEVER seen a train on this line (and I cross it four times a day), the rails are nice and shiny all of a sudden.
Tharmeni: Watch the signs, most utility deliveries in my time were made at night for power plant materials. The reason is that often it is just a drop off and pick up operation that is used with big laydown yards. From the descriptions you are giving it sounds that this may be the case. If you know an inspector at the plant or the buildings and grounds supervisor or mrg these are usually the guys that even though they don’t know specifics can give you a good idea about whats going on. The civilians that live outside the plant usually do not know about these things quite a quickly at it might seem. - PL