I set out on a Saturday morning to find trains of any kind. But then, after 20 years, I rediscovered the Tropicana Juice train and what an interesting operation it still is.
I work for a company that does tree work for various railroads. The only trains we can't delay in order, are the UPS train and the Tropicana train. It is cool seeing the Orange Juice train rolling into the NYC area every day.
Great vids Danny. Sitting at my desk at home in up-State NY it's 16* this morning as I recover from knee replacement surgery and listen to you give out old familiar names to towns and rivers I knew growing up in FL and GA. Thanks for the ride, from another Danny in the far north.
Once again another great job Mr. D. That Seaboard Air Line phantom trackage you spoke of in the video represented a lot of long gone business and industry in Bradenton. Heading north before you got to the long gone R. R bridge there was a Scotty's lumber, Wicks lumber, Suncoast roofing supply, the Bradenton shopping guide press then you crossed US41, now you are head West. There was a FL mining & mineral cement plant, Gulf propane then it came to a dead end with the Miller Tractor Trailer manufacturer Co. Tropicana yard was way bigger than your video shows. But like I said great job again.
Lots of memories watching the Juice train leaving the RIchmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Alexandria yard in Northern Virginia heading north around Crystal City and crossing the Potomac River into Washibgton DC back in the early 1990's during lunch break from doing IT contract work at Program Executive Office- Submarines at NAVSEA Systems Command.
I used to reside in Florida many years ago. I used to travel to Winter Haven every day. I would always pass the Tropicana Orange Juice Plant early in the morning and the smell of the oranges was just GLORIOUS. It always made the trip worthwhile. That's about the only thing I miss about Florida.
As a teenager in the late 70’s, I remember seeing the juice trains on the Northeast Corridor just south of Philadelphia being pulled by GG1’s, E44’s and E33’s. There were hardly ever any graffiti tagged cars back then, at least on the juice train. Juice pulled by juice on the corridor......those were the days.
Hi Danny - Bradenton native here... Yes, you are correct, that was originally SAL tracks that crossed the river about where you were seeing the remnants of the bridge. In the late 80's the tracks and crossing gates were there and removed in the early 90's. The wye originally was the spur to Bradenton for the SAL terminal which was located just north of the Central Fire Station. A project we did found the original SAL tracks at the south end of the property behind Air and Energy - back in the day there was a diamond crossing there.
Danny, the line at the north end of the plant was the seaboard main from the valrico sub to Bradenton and Sarasota. There used to be a SBD draw bridge crossing the Manatee and went north thru Parrish. Part of that line still exists and is owned and used by the Florida Gulf Coast Railroad museum. Way back in the day, the juice went north on the Parrish line to the Valrico Sub where it cut in somewhere about the SZ 3.5. Turned south to Welcome then took the WYE at Welcome north on the Plant City Sub. Also, that same SW line is a still in use by CSX at the south end of Tropicana and goes south to Oneco where the Seminole Guld takes over ownership.
Loved the stereo radio chatter at 8:48 "Change the engine number..." on the right channel and some "...alright..." squawking on the left. Thanks for that audio easter egg!
From 1990 to 1996, I drove semi for a company out of Lake Placid, Florida. We had 10 semi's. Every morning, 8 trucks would go to Tropicana, get loaded with finished product and we delivered to Miami, Publix. Later I drove a tanker in and out of Tropicana. I lived in Lake Placid for 25 years after retiring from the U.S. Air Force in 1989. Now I am totally retired and live in Crestview, Florida, up in the Panhandle.
always good to see the Juice in operation another railroad who does this is UP with the Fruit Express except they hook containers to their train and head to Global 1 in Chicago where they interchange to NS and CSX.
I first discovered the Tropicana Juice train back around 1987 when i was working on a job that paralleled the West Trenton line just inside of NJ from Pa. I think if i remember correctly it had RF&P geeps for power on it back then. I remember thinking "wow, that whole train must be orange juice" lol. Still had orange and white mechanical reefers back then. Enjoyed the update Danny.
This video brings back memories of my childhood as I grew up watching your Tropicana VHS tape multiple times along with the one you did on operations in the Bone Valley. I also grew up visiting Bradenton each summer on family vacation from Canada, which usually meant a regular railfan outing with my dad to chase the Tropicana Juice Train. It's been a few years since we last chased the Juice Train out of Bradenton, so if I go down next year it might be worth trying to do for old time's sake
For those wondering about the Seaboard Air Line trackage in Bradenton, that spur crossing MLK and 9th Avenue used to continue west into downtown Bradenton until sometime around the late 50s - early 60s when they cut the line back to just shy of their crossing of the Atlantic Coast Line on this spur. This spur also served the Florida Tile Company located near where US 301/41 passes by a couple of municipal water department tanks (there's still a hump you can feel in the road where the spur crossed). This line was built to serve Bradenton as originally the Seaboard passed through the town of Manatee, located east of Bradenton, with Manatee being amalgamated into Bradenton during World War II. The original Seaboard Bradenton station was actually made of some stone or brick and lasted until the 1950s when the area was redeveloped into its more current state of commercial land-use. The Manatee Public Library has decent ground level and aerial photos of this area and station that are available online through their photo search. The Seaboard bridge across the Manatee River was removed sometime around 1970 but the rest of the Parrish Sub continued as a through route up until the early 80s when it began to be used for car storage and was thus downgraded. If you look at the shot of the Juice Train crossing the Manatee River, you can see two stone piers from what was the original wooden swing bridge that used to span this river back in the early 1900s before it was eventually replaced
We were friends of Sanna and Anthony Rossi. It is great to see the park honoring them as this was a spot they relly liked. They had condos in the buildings in the background.
I miss the Trop Juice train as a unit reefer train because of how fast this train went. I used to chase the unit train back in 2015 from Plant City to Bushnell. That was quite a chase. Thank you for sending Streak of Orange.
I do love this part of Florida. I am also a huge fan of the Seminole Gulf and I love learning about both the Atlantic coast line and the seaboard airline railroads as well as CSX.
when i lived in Ocala Florida in the early 80's me and my bro used to run the block distance to the bridge over highway 441/27 and watch the "juice train" go by...sometimes get a ride into town LMAO!
The old bridge in the manatee river, that been tore out was the acl. It connected parrish to manatee (East Bradenton FL) the juice train never used this line because the bridge was gone by the time the juice train started running, prior to the train they used several ships to transport the juice. BTW, Ringling Brothers used the acl for there trains years ago, (steam) they used that bridge for there trains from Sarasota, you can view this in the movie greatest show on Earth by de mille
Always enjoy the history lesson part of your videos. I learn so much about the trains I see when I visit Florida, things I would never know. Thanks Danny and yes let's find out how that juice train gets to New Jersey.
Danny: Enjoyed the video, excellent job as always. Good catch of the 9002, and I figured you'd get some comments about it. The CSX 9000 series were transitional models which combined some Dash-8 and some Dash-9 spotting features. CSX 9000-9002 are basically Dash-9 bodies and "innards" on Dash -8 trucks and frames. CSX 9003-9052 are Dash-9 bodies, frames and innards on Dash-8 trucks. Further confusing the issue, they were all delivered as 4,400 hp units, but were subsequently de-rated to 4,000 hp. As for what is stenciled on the side of the cab - well, I think we've both fallen into that trap a time or two. Anyway, very cool that you caught it in the lead - one of only three units like this on the CSX roster, or anywhere for that matter.
Haha. Me too! (Burton & Sherwood) It's fun to go hang out on the Scott Street bridge and watch as they clank and bang those cars together. Is it just me, or does Danny's voice sound a lot like Mike Roe?
Yay! After a month of waiting, another video! You’re videos are great, Danny. I caught a spent nuclear fuel rod train on the CSX new river subdivision yesterday!
Great video, as always. I particularly likes the history lesson using Google Earth to follow the abandoned right-of-way. I've done the same many times. Keep 'em coming!
Hey Danny! You alluded to a question I was going to ask you. As a kid growing up in north Jersey, I was always fascinated by those Tropicana trains and how they got from Florida because I only knew (At that time) the train (Amtrak) to go as far south as Philadelphia (You see I never went beyond that as a kid) but man that was a great question. How in the world and what tracks to they ride on to get from Florida to New Jersey. I can't wait till you find the answer to that! Great video!! keep em coming!!
The production quality of this channel is fantastic! As a lifelong rail fan, I'm glad I found this channel. As an aside, I think you should come up to Alaska for a week or two during the summer. You'd probably have a blast chasing Alaska Railroad trains up and down the Seward Highway!
I think what's so cool about your videos is that its so close to home and family for me and when I see you on the road or talking about places, I have been up and down the same roads plenty of times or my family is around that area and so on. That opening shot of the Veteran's Expressway and 275 is very familiar and nostalgic for sure.
Very cool! I love trains and moved from Michigan where I lived near RR’s. Now, living in FL, I am looking for trains to watch here. This was very helpful and enjoyable
There’s a great website called historic ariels, not everywhere is photographed but many places are. Use that and maybe you’ll be able to find a photo of that old RR
I could listen to this guy talk all day long.
me too, but for the content of his narrative, not his voice.
My guess is he use to be in radio.
I've seen the Juice train come thru the Callahan Sub. Thanks, Danny, for your great videos and history lessons.
I work for a company that does tree work for various railroads. The only trains we can't delay in order, are the UPS train and the Tropicana train. It is cool seeing the Orange Juice train rolling into the NYC area every day.
@@eegles I know that CSX gets fined by UPS thousands for every minute that the train is late.
Yeah, rail shipping is so efficient but it would suck if you didn't get things on time cause of train delays
"Low-rent activity" is a great line.
@@solucky70 Bored kids like to throw things off of bridges. Or jump off them (since its over water). They could also graffiti the side of it.
Aahahahahahahahahah.
"Low rent activity". I am stealing that one. :)
Smh when there's video games and the internet to eat up their attention nowadays.
I live right outside Philadelphia in Feasterville,the juice train comes by once a week
The 11 shortest minutes on UA-cam
I agree, completely. Danny could run these videos for an hour and I'd, still, watch and learn something new, every time.
For sure
Great vids Danny. Sitting at my desk at home in up-State NY it's 16* this morning as I recover from knee replacement surgery and listen to you give out old familiar names to towns and rivers I knew growing up in FL and GA. Thanks for the ride, from another Danny in the far north.
Many thanks, Danny... and best wishes from Tampa for a speedy recovery.
@@distantsignal Thank You.
Eugene......Yeah, was thinking the same thing.
Whenever I'm working in the area where CSX comes into Philly, I usually end up seeing this train.
I see it stopped next to 95 in Chester
09:12 42 are left on roster, with 9007, 9009, 9020, and 9029 having just recently been sold to Larry Trucking and Electric (LTEX).
A nice little bit of the old back and forth. Super informative and always entertaining. Thanks for sharing your Saturday with us, Danny. ;)
Once again another great job Mr. D. That Seaboard Air Line phantom trackage you spoke of in the video represented a lot of long gone business and industry in Bradenton. Heading north before you got to the long gone R. R bridge there was a Scotty's lumber, Wicks lumber, Suncoast roofing supply, the Bradenton shopping guide press then you crossed US41, now you are head West. There was a FL mining & mineral cement plant, Gulf propane then it came to a dead end with the Miller Tractor Trailer manufacturer Co. Tropicana yard was way bigger than your video shows. But like I said great job again.
Lots of memories watching the Juice train leaving the RIchmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Alexandria yard in Northern Virginia heading north around Crystal City and crossing the Potomac River into Washibgton DC back in the early 1990's during lunch break from doing IT contract work at Program Executive Office- Submarines at NAVSEA Systems Command.
Cool!
Love them Reefers!!
A good day... Amateur Radio in the morning and a new Distant Signal video in the afternoon!
I used to reside in Florida many years ago. I used to travel to Winter Haven every day. I would always pass the Tropicana Orange Juice Plant early in the morning and the smell of the oranges was just GLORIOUS. It always made the trip worthwhile. That's about the only thing I miss about Florida.
As a teenager in the late 70’s, I remember seeing the juice trains on the Northeast Corridor just south of Philadelphia being pulled by GG1’s, E44’s and E33’s.
There were hardly ever any graffiti tagged cars back then, at least on the juice train.
Juice pulled by juice on the corridor......those were the days.
Thanks for the excellent video, very interesting.
Hi Danny - Bradenton native here... Yes, you are correct, that was originally SAL tracks that crossed the river about where you were seeing the remnants of the bridge. In the late 80's the tracks and crossing gates were there and removed in the early 90's. The wye originally was the spur to Bradenton for the SAL terminal which was located just north of the Central Fire Station. A project we did found the original SAL tracks at the south end of the property behind Air and Energy - back in the day there was a diamond crossing there.
Yes, someone sent me a USGS Map of Bradenton from the 1940's. I never knew there were so many lines running east and west...and two diamonds in town.
*Watches while drinking a glass of Tropicana orange juice
Nice avatar icon you have there.
I would like to now about the difrent cars that the train pulls and what they put in them or use them for thanks
Danny, the line at the north end of the plant was the seaboard main from the valrico sub to Bradenton and Sarasota. There used to be a SBD draw bridge crossing the Manatee and went north thru Parrish. Part of that line still exists and is owned and used by the Florida Gulf Coast Railroad museum. Way back in the day, the juice went north on the Parrish line to the Valrico Sub where it cut in somewhere about the SZ 3.5. Turned south to Welcome then took the WYE at Welcome north on the Plant City Sub. Also, that same SW line is a still in use by CSX at the south end of Tropicana and goes south to Oneco where the Seminole Guld takes over ownership.
It's been too long. Pouring a cup of coffee and enjoying this new upload!
Nice, like how CSX still has YN2 paint scheme on a couple locomotives
Loved the stereo radio chatter at 8:48 "Change the engine number..." on the right channel and some "...alright..." squawking on the left. Thanks for that audio easter egg!
Awesome look at juice train ops. Your video's are an automatic thumbs up for me, thank you Danny.
From 1990 to 1996, I drove semi for a company out of Lake Placid, Florida. We had 10 semi's. Every morning, 8 trucks would go to Tropicana, get loaded with finished product and we delivered to Miami, Publix. Later I drove a tanker in and out of Tropicana. I lived in Lake Placid for 25 years after retiring from the U.S. Air Force in 1989. Now I am totally retired and live in Crestview, Florida, up in the Panhandle.
These are my favorite rail videos, hands down.
since his beginning on i watched all his video's. also every video show change's in Florida over 20 year's.
Great upload. Love seeing the juice train in Jersey where I live. Pronounced “Carney”
Thank You another Great Video.
This is the best way to kick off this weekend! Excellent video, Danny!
Thank you!!
You are the GOLD Standard by which all other railfanning videos should be made by!
always good to see the Juice in operation another railroad who does this is UP with the Fruit Express except they hook containers to their train and head to Global 1 in Chicago where they interchange to NS and CSX.
Happy Thanksgiving distant signal.Love the AZA Line too.That was my job at one time to go down and fetch the Tropicana train back in the 80's
Fantastic shots and stock on this episode DH 👍 , especially the move over the Alafia
I alway agree mornings are some of the best times to railfan.
Always a pleasure when you post a new video...Thanks.
Bradenton is where I live. Just down the street from the juice plant. Always wanted to know how they operated. Thanks
I first discovered the Tropicana Juice train back around 1987 when i was working on a job that paralleled the West Trenton line just inside of NJ from Pa. I think if i remember correctly it had RF&P geeps for power on it back then. I remember thinking "wow, that whole train must be orange juice" lol. Still had orange and white mechanical reefers back then. Enjoyed the update Danny.
This video brings back memories of my childhood as I grew up watching your Tropicana VHS tape multiple times along with the one you did on operations in the Bone Valley. I also grew up visiting Bradenton each summer on family vacation from Canada, which usually meant a regular railfan outing with my dad to chase the Tropicana Juice Train. It's been a few years since we last chased the Juice Train out of Bradenton, so if I go down next year it might be worth trying to do for old time's sake
Always great to see you in action!
For those wondering about the Seaboard Air Line trackage in Bradenton, that spur crossing MLK and 9th Avenue used to continue west into downtown Bradenton until sometime around the late 50s - early 60s when they cut the line back to just shy of their crossing of the Atlantic Coast Line on this spur. This spur also served the Florida Tile Company located near where US 301/41 passes by a couple of municipal water department tanks (there's still a hump you can feel in the road where the spur crossed). This line was built to serve Bradenton as originally the Seaboard passed through the town of Manatee, located east of Bradenton, with Manatee being amalgamated into Bradenton during World War II. The original Seaboard Bradenton station was actually made of some stone or brick and lasted until the 1950s when the area was redeveloped into its more current state of commercial land-use. The Manatee Public Library has decent ground level and aerial photos of this area and station that are available online through their photo search. The Seaboard bridge across the Manatee River was removed sometime around 1970 but the rest of the Parrish Sub continued as a through route up until the early 80s when it began to be used for car storage and was thus downgraded. If you look at the shot of the Juice Train crossing the Manatee River, you can see two stone piers from what was the original wooden swing bridge that used to span this river back in the early 1900s before it was eventually replaced
We were friends of Sanna and Anthony Rossi. It is great to see the park honoring them as this was a spot they relly liked. They had condos in the buildings in the background.
I always enjoy your video"s, Thanks for sharing.
Nice history in this video, Mr. Harmon! Thanks for sharing!
I miss the Trop Juice train as a unit reefer train because of how fast this train went. I used to chase the unit train back in 2015 from Plant City to Bushnell. That was quite a chase. Thank you for sending Streak of Orange.
I do love this part of Florida. I am also a huge fan of the Seminole Gulf and I love learning about both the Atlantic coast line and the seaboard airline railroads as well as CSX.
Here in New Orleans the juice cars are almost always part of a csx intermodal train.
Living in Australia , it's always great to "visit" other railways around the world.
when i lived in Ocala Florida in the early 80's me and my bro used to run the block distance to the bridge over highway 441/27 and watch the "juice train" go by...sometimes get a ride into town LMAO!
Great vid!
BEST TRAIN VIDEOS on You Tube. Keep posting...
Many thanks Video Steve!
NJ is my main place! i always see those trops on CSXT Q032
Northern NJ Rail Videos they’re always on q300 it seems
CSX2665 yup
Northern NJ Rail Videos it doesn’t make sense especially when I see them laying over in rocky mount yard
CSX2665 yeah
Northern NJ Rail Videos it’s nothing more but a giant train set in mommy’s basement for the board...
Love the sunrise and the water with train great videography and keep the history lessons coming. Fantastic video
Danny, that was a real nice sequence across the Alafia River Draw Bridge.
There is no doubt about it that I always learn something every video, today was O823, and the old railroad
The old bridge in the manatee river, that been tore out was the acl. It connected parrish to manatee (East Bradenton FL) the juice train never used this line because the bridge was gone by the time the juice train started running, prior to the train they used several ships to transport the juice. BTW, Ringling Brothers used the acl for there trains years ago, (steam) they used that bridge for there trains from Sarasota, you can view this in the movie greatest show on Earth by de mille
Got my first glass of egg nog and a great DH/DS video my morning is complete, thank you.
Mmmmmmm!!!! Egg Nog. I might just buy myself some of that today.
"Low rent activity".........priceless! Looking forward to the next video Danny. Be safe out there.
so enjoy this series! Best railfaning videos.
Nice work, Danny. I enjoy the investigative work.
Always enjoy the history lesson part of your videos. I learn so much about the trains I see when I visit Florida, things I would never know. Thanks Danny and yes let's find out how that juice train gets to New Jersey.
Yes as always another great video
Always learn something new. thanks Danny!
Danny that was so interesting. I really enjoyed the video. Thanks for all you do. 👍👍👍❤️
Your videos have made me a Tropicana Fruit train fan!
Good morning Danny!!! Today is gonna be a good day, starting off with a great video!
On a trip to New Jersey, I saw the juice train!
Danny: Enjoyed the video, excellent job as always. Good catch of the 9002, and I figured you'd get some comments about it. The CSX 9000 series were transitional models which combined some Dash-8 and some Dash-9 spotting features. CSX 9000-9002 are basically Dash-9 bodies and "innards" on Dash -8 trucks and frames. CSX 9003-9052 are Dash-9 bodies, frames and innards on Dash-8 trucks. Further confusing the issue, they were all delivered as 4,400 hp units, but were subsequently de-rated to 4,000 hp. As for what is stenciled on the side of the cab - well, I think we've both fallen into that trap a time or two. Anyway, very cool that you caught it in the lead - one of only three units like this on the CSX roster, or anywhere for that matter.
Ughhh!!! Thank you, Mike!!!! I knew I should have asked you before putting any locomotive info in. Ha! Lesson learned.
Absolutely amazing video keep up the good work Danny
Another great video, with an interesting history lesson to boot! Thanks for an enjoyable start to the day 👍
Awesome video nice learning tool about how the juice train runs in Florida🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂🚂
In Missoula, Montana next to their rail yard as I type. Can confirm that they're _incredibly_ busy after the sun goes down.
Haha. Me too! (Burton & Sherwood) It's fun to go hang out on the Scott Street bridge and watch as they clank and bang those cars together. Is it just me, or does Danny's voice sound a lot like Mike Roe?
Yay! After a month of waiting, another video! You’re videos are great, Danny.
I caught a spent nuclear fuel rod train on the CSX new river subdivision yesterday!
Terrific catch! Amazing chase!
Good morning Danny, as always I really enjoy your rail fan videos. Thanks for sharing your passion.
Another goodie, Danny.
Love it!
Used to see the Juice train blow through Richmond Virginia when i used to spend alot of time there.
As always, another interesting and informative video from mr Harlan...
Great video, as always. I particularly likes the history lesson using Google Earth to follow the abandoned right-of-way. I've done the same many times.
Keep 'em coming!
Wow seems cool! Last time I saw a train with refrigerated boxcars was on Q162 eastbound stack train! Nice work! Makes me happy to see you upload!
Thanks professor, that was a most excellent lesson. Good to know you still have the 'juice" to get 'er done!
GOOD JOB again, Danny!
Once again another pleasantly enjoyable video!
Hey Danny! You alluded to a question I was going to ask you. As a kid growing up in north Jersey, I was always fascinated by those Tropicana trains and how they got from Florida because I only knew (At that time) the train (Amtrak) to go as far south as Philadelphia (You see I never went beyond that as a kid) but man that was a great question. How in the world and what tracks to they ride on to get from Florida to New Jersey. I can't wait till you find the answer to that! Great video!! keep em coming!!
The production quality of this channel is fantastic! As a lifelong rail fan, I'm glad I found this channel.
As an aside, I think you should come up to Alaska for a week or two during the summer. You'd probably have a blast chasing Alaska Railroad trains up and down the Seward Highway!
Thanks very much. Yes I would absolutely love that.
Enjoyed this one as I enjoy all of them.
👍👍👍👍👍👍
Wonderful as always!
another great start to saturday with a super video. thanks much, enjoy the history as much as the rails. thx
You can see the Tropicana plant from the NJ Turnpike. Neat to see where the trains start out.
Danny, thanks for another great video and the hard work and effort to provide these little gems.
Love your video's Danny, keep them coming..!! Hugh fan!!
I think what's so cool about your videos is that its so close to home and family for me and when I see you on the road or talking about places, I have been up and down the same roads plenty of times or my family is around that area and so on. That opening shot of the Veteran's Expressway and 275 is very familiar and nostalgic for sure.
Very cool! I love trains and moved from Michigan where I lived near RR’s. Now, living in FL, I am looking for trains to watch here. This was very helpful and enjoyable
👍Thank you very interesting on the juice train.
Danny, Once again thank you!
There’s a great website called historic ariels, not everywhere is photographed but many places are. Use that and maybe you’ll be able to find a photo of that old RR
Finally a video u r a great narrator
Possibly the best for this type of video currently IMO.
Thanks for the nice catch, history lesson and all you do.
From one TV guy to another. Thanks again!
Thank you for the informative videos. I thought "precision railroading" killed off the juice train.
Your videos are always entertaining and informative. Thanks for taking us on another chase.