Six more FEC GEVOs are pulled across the bridge, past milepost 0.0 of the FEC. They are 3rd through 8th to arrive at Bowden.

It’s not often that I execute sudden “spur-of-the-moment” outings without very good reason; we’ve all got lives to live, or sometimes the motivation to shoot trains has gone dormant. The times that such outings are executed reap good outcomes. The morning of October 2nd, 2022 was no exception to this. Haven been woken up by a barrage of text messages by then-local buff James Anthony who was tipped off about FEC Job 23 making a midday run to the Port of Miami with a very sizable train, I bit the bullet and drove out to downtown Miami to intercept the yard job at the Dodge Island drawbridge. Meeting up with James at the Bayside Mall, we camped out outside of mall in the car waiting for the train to approach.

Once the crew began hitting crossing activation dial tones, we booked it up the Port Boulevard bridge to set up right as PM1-02 slipped its way through the skyscrapers in the heart of Miami. Job 23, now identifying as PM1-02, passes by the Freedom Tower, over Biscayne Blvd and Port Blvd, as well as the former American Airlines Arena, notching up for the slight grade leading up to the drawbridge. At roughy 5,100 ft in length, nearly double the size of a typically “large” port train (about 2,500 ft), two locomotives were required, those being #FEC418 [GP40-2] and #FEC501 [GP38-2]. All 26 cars were to be spotted at the empty Dodge Island intermodal yard, which if I recall correctly, was cleared out for Hurricane Ian. A good friend working as the conductor for Job 23 poses for the two buffs shooting his train, with the ever-growing skyline looming in the back in the city some of us call home.

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Miami, FL

FEC Port Lead [Dodge Island Bridge]

Date: 10/02/2022 | 12:02

ID: FEC PM1-02 [Job 23]

Type: Yard Job

Direction: Southbound

Car Count: 26

1. FEC GP40-2 #418

2. FEC GP38-2 #501

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© Vicente Alonso 2022

Florida East Coast 501 departs Riviera Beach with a container train made up of mainly Tropical Shipping containers. Tropical Shipping is headquartered at the Port of Palm Beach in Riviera Beach.

Leica M8

28mm/F2.0 ASPH

125/F16

Fort Lauderdale FL

Most people would be catching some rays or enjoying a cocktail when visiting Palm Beach and not stood by a railroad track, but it takes all sorts! Florida East Coast GP38-2 #501 assembles an imminent Northbound Intermodal departure for Jacksonville, the railroad's home city.

Leica M8

28mm/F2.0 ASPH

125/F16