V12 Ecstasy

With Amtrak P09822 out of the picture, RTA Dispatch would get around to giving a signal indication to CSX L78722 at CP TOMPKINS, having been waiting at the north end of Hialeah Yard for the better part of an hour for a window between trains. TriRail’s rush hour hustle was just about winding down, but it still meant that the daylight Pompano Switch had no time to waste getting out onto the mainline.

 

Upon hitting the mainline, engineer A. Lesmeth puts an aging #CSX4310 [GP39-2] to work, powering through Opa-Locka northbound at 08:57 with the Moorish Revival-styled TriRail station dominating the backdrop behind the venerable EMD’s exhaust. The distinct, raspy roar of a V12-645E3 prime mover at full throttle permeates through an already heavily noise-polluted Miami suburb; a sound that was once commonplace, now a rarity to witness.

 

11 cars make up the local’s consist: three 60’ hi-cube boxcars and eight liquified petroleum gas tank cars, all loaded for their respective customers. L78722’s first customer to serve is all the up way up at Pompano Beach, meaning a relatively hasty but easy run up the corridor for the crew.

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Opa-Locka, FL

SFRTA Mainline

 

Date: 09/22/2023 | 08:57

 

ID: CSX L78722

Type: Local

Direction: Northbound

Car Count: 11

 

1. CSX GP39-2 #4310

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© Vicente Alonso 2023

Done