Framing40s
The Best That There Is
Nothing beats a lax full-day train chasing session in south central Florida’s expansive sugar cane fields south of the Inland Sea. Amongst the fields of sugar cane stalks, powerlines, and canals, a yellow speck is spotted off in the distance; a cane train waiting to head back into the mill. Following an hour long wait and a brief check-up with some passing Hendry County sheriffs questioning my parked car off the side of Evercane Rd., #USSC405 [GP38-2] slowly proceeds west towards the end of the Ritta sugar cane loadout off of the SCFE's Fort Pierce Subdivision with loads for U.S. Sugar’s processing mill in Clewiston. This job only had 20 loaded cars for the mill, which lies out of view two miles to the west.
The locomotive in the lead was of particular interest to me that day. Even though USSC only rosters three types of locomotives for road jobs [not including their SWs and MPs that stay within yard limits], none of their locomotives were built new for them, each of them having operated for multiple railroads prior or having been extensively rebuilt at some point during its lifetime. USSC 405 is no exception to this. It would begin its life in late 1979 as a GP40-2 built for the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad as #422. Following careers on the GTW and HLCX, it would be sold to US Sugar around 2006, now with a de-turboed 16-645E but still using its original but slightly altered carbody.
It gained notoriety to me while on USSC for the two Leslie horns that are mounted on the unit: an RS3L and an exceptionally rare tabby S5T. Although other locomotives on the roster have two horns, I believe this one has the best looking and sounding one. Might’ve gotten too carried away hounding the unit all day on the jobs it went on, but those will be for another time.
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Clewiston, FL
SCFE Ritta Branch
Date: 12/10/2022 | 14:17
ID: [unknown]
Type: Loaded Cane
Direction: Westbound
Car Count: 20
1. USSC GP38-2 #405
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© Vicente Alonso 2022
The Best That There Is
Nothing beats a lax full-day train chasing session in south central Florida’s expansive sugar cane fields south of the Inland Sea. Amongst the fields of sugar cane stalks, powerlines, and canals, a yellow speck is spotted off in the distance; a cane train waiting to head back into the mill. Following an hour long wait and a brief check-up with some passing Hendry County sheriffs questioning my parked car off the side of Evercane Rd., #USSC405 [GP38-2] slowly proceeds west towards the end of the Ritta sugar cane loadout off of the SCFE's Fort Pierce Subdivision with loads for U.S. Sugar’s processing mill in Clewiston. This job only had 20 loaded cars for the mill, which lies out of view two miles to the west.
The locomotive in the lead was of particular interest to me that day. Even though USSC only rosters three types of locomotives for road jobs [not including their SWs and MPs that stay within yard limits], none of their locomotives were built new for them, each of them having operated for multiple railroads prior or having been extensively rebuilt at some point during its lifetime. USSC 405 is no exception to this. It would begin its life in late 1979 as a GP40-2 built for the Detroit, Toledo & Ironton Railroad as #422. Following careers on the GTW and HLCX, it would be sold to US Sugar around 2006, now with a de-turboed 16-645E but still using its original but slightly altered carbody.
It gained notoriety to me while on USSC for the two Leslie horns that are mounted on the unit: an RS3L and an exceptionally rare tabby S5T. Although other locomotives on the roster have two horns, I believe this one has the best looking and sounding one. Might’ve gotten too carried away hounding the unit all day on the jobs it went on, but those will be for another time.
•
Clewiston, FL
SCFE Ritta Branch
Date: 12/10/2022 | 14:17
ID: [unknown]
Type: Loaded Cane
Direction: Westbound
Car Count: 20
1. USSC GP38-2 #405
•
© Vicente Alonso 2022