What happened to America's train order signals? Here's a look at why they're gone forever. THEN WE'LL CHASE DOWN SOME FAST FREIGHT TRAINS IN THE JACKSONVILLE, FL AREA
A few points about the Train Orders shown: the extremely thin papers used for the Train Orders are called a flimsies. It dates back to the stream era. That thin paper served two functions. First, it was thin enough to make many copies of the TO in one operation. Besides the three train crewmen noted, the Agent/Operator also needed to keep a copy for his records. The steam era had no lights in the cab of most engines. Reading orders was by the light of the fire in the fire box. When recording the Train Order, the Station Agent used double sided carbon paper to make the copies. This meant that the message was recorded on both sides of the Train Order making it much easier to read in dim conditions. On the second set of orders shown, a yellow document is flipped out of the way. That is a Clearance Form 'A'. That document gives a train the authority to occupy the mainline and gives an inventory of all the attached Train Orders and Messages that the train crew needs for safe passage. They are list on the Clearance both by how many of each is attached, and the identifying number of each of the Train Orders attached. Each Train Order written is given a sequential number starting at one (1), at 12:01AM each day.
As I have watched your Distant Signal posts over the years I often thought your delivery was kind of "Radio", if you know what i mean. I was the voice of TV 36 in San Jose for a number of years, so I was on to something in your delivery. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled onto a UA-cam of your retirement from being the voice of a Tampa Florida TV station for 40 (yikes) years. WOW! Congrats on a wonderful career in broadcasting, and now we can enjoy your Harmon-ious voice on Distant Signal as well.
hank you, Danny, for the history lesson on the use of train order signals/boards in the period before the use of radio communications between dispatchers and train crew members. I enjoyed the railfanning that you did on 1 February 2025. Congratulations on your recent retirement from your day job! I saw a UA-cam video from the day that you retired from you job at the TV station. (Posted on 7 February 2025 at 1044 CST.)
The train order from Opelika, AL brought back a lot of memories. My grandparents lived in Opelika from 1949 to 1977. My grandfather was a local doctor, the 2nd African American doctor in the region. My little brother and I would come to Opelika during summer vacation to visit my grandparents so I was a boy of 5 when this order was made. Their home is still standing although the building where his office was is likely gone now. Opelika was a major rail stop in those days and it still is a dominating feature of the town center. The train depot at S. Railroad Ave where all this happened is still there and restored, sitting at diamond where riders would board and exit from either main line.
Congratulations on retirement from Fox 13 in Tampa. I actually caught train orders in my arm on the engine in Dupont Georgia on train 309 in June on 1980, orders said to take the siding at Jasper Florida to meet a N bound .👍
When I was 12 in 1980 I had a neighbor that was a trainman for NJDOT; NJ Transit's predecessor. One night he called the house and offered me a cab ride on his commuter run the next morning on the old New York & Long Branch. I got to ride the fireman's seat of a very beat-up F7 from Bay Head yard up to Newark. Going over the Manasquan River drawbridge the engineer says "oh, hey, the bridge tender's got orders for me. Just stick your arm out." So, I can say I got orders hooped up to me.
It's funny you should post this today. Just Wednesday, I passed through the town of Pinewood, SC. The old Railway Depot building sits right by the track, and I noticed a semaphore that faced the tracks. Now I now what it was for!
Double stacked cars are impressive when there's a whole line of them coming at you! As a UK resident I am also impressed by the very long train consists in the US - our longest trains are 40 wagons at most. Thanks for the videos and the details you share to help us understand the US trains and tracks! 😁
Back in the 1960's I saw a train picking up its orders on the fly. I was fascinated by it but didn't know much about it. I have heard that in some cases trains would pick up mail in that manner, but that was a little before my time. I have learned a lot about railroad operations from your videos. Keep up the good work and I will see you on the high iron for your next video.
The SCL was still picking up mail up until some point in the early 1980's. I used to watch them snatch the mail for the train, or toss a mailbag onto the platform. On occasion if there wasn't a mail pickup, they'd hook the mailbag on the gaff trackside, instead of just tossing it out on the platform. It was cool to watch them do that as the train just rolled by without slowing or stopping.
I've still got a set of "flimsies" from my hometown Missouri Pacific; a gift from my Dad's cousin Dan, who was an engineer on the MoP's Sedalia Subdivision. They're from the early 1950's, and they're special for two reasons. First of all, they were issued at Kirkwood Station, which was only four miles away from my boyhood home. The orders concerned the movements of Engine 5334, one of the MoP's huge 4-8-2 passenger haulers. The second reason the tissues are special is that when the orders were issued, the 5334 was in her last few weeks of service before retirement - serving as a helper on Kirkwood Hill. She was instructed to stay "in the hole" on a spur track in Valley Park until both sections of a hot westbound Korean War troop train had passed. Most such orders typically wound up being stuffed behind locomotive brake stands, or thrown into a steamer's firebox once they were fulfilled, but thankfully not always!! Thanks for another great video, Danny!!
funny enough, me and my girlfriend had been planning a trip to cordele GA for months now, and just this past saturday we finally got down there. Of the 5 trains we saw (in jus about 2 hours by the way!!), IO25 with the heritigae on point was one of the few, so it was really cool to know that you and those other railfans got to see it too, danny! Thank you for all the videos you've made, and for the Cordele GA video especially. Without it, I would have never even known of a place like that. Keep up the phenomenal work!
I always had a feeling that you were 'voice' talent. Recently, I saw a 'retirement video for you by a local station and learned that you've been in the broadcast business for some time. Congrats, good health, lots of happiness and safe travels. I've always enjoyed your railfanning videos. 👍👍
Just learned about your retirement, Danny. CONGRATULATIONS! Just retired myself a year ago. I bet you learned an awful lot during your time in TV. Because it certainly shows in the production values in your videos. Absolutely top-notch!! The drone shots, the narration, all are excellent! Keep up the great work!!
I saw the video about your recent retirement from a local TV station. Congratulations, Danny, and I hope you have an enjoyable retirement and more railfanning time!
I wonder if that paper is the same as what the U.S. Army called "onion skin?" In the spring og 1969, I was the Training NCO for the 433d Army Band, Ft. Irwin, CA. My first order was to create 6 months of "missing" Training Records, requiring typing on a sandwich of one top sheet and about 5 layers of carbon paper and "onion skin." No "gigs" in the I.G. Inspection! Got E-5 as a reward. 😂
Thank goodness for all these volunteers who give their time and knowledge to the preservation and operation of so many former stations (depots). That Sulphur Springs example in Largo is magnificent. I can't imagine what it would be like to feed such thin paper into a typewriter such as seen on the desk. As for the replaced diamonds at Baldwin, it seems the guys who put them there in the first place knew what they were about. These university wallahs got the theory, but run empty on experience. I enjoyed all that. The trains weren't bad either. 73 de MM5AON PS. I heard you had retired from the day job. I hope you get as much out of your free time as I've had out of mine (nearly 30 years).
Danny congrats on your retirement! BTW that general freight did have kitchen sinks. Thought i would mention that since you forgot. 😂. Have a happy retirement doing whatever your fancy takes you. Thank you for your videos.
Hello Danny. I recommend you take a trip to Southern California, Fullerton train station. The trains come to you! Over 100+ per day. It's a 3 track main line, with Amtrak, freight and commuter trains all day long. When you get saturated with trains, there is always Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm. (Trains there too!) Plus there are the beaches and mountains nearby. And lots of things to do in the LA area. You could easily spend a week there. I lived there 15 years. My son and I would spend Saturday mornings sitting on a battery box and watch the local switchers work. Fun times!
@@distantsignal if it has the word "semi" on the plate the signal is an auto that can be controlled if need be. No line means it's a controlled signal.
Another good one Danny. Seeing that train with the mid engine still begs the question for me, what keeps a train three quarters of a mile or so long from wanting to make itself straight when going around a curve? Still can't phantom that wheel flange and spikes can keep all of that power from straightening a train out on a fairly sharp curve. You mentioned Grady from practical engineering in another episode. I did mention it to him on one of his videos also. Have no idea if he read it and I didn't get a response. Perhaps you can mention it to him if you ever speak. I'm dying to know as well as things like when someone decides to make up a train, how do they do it? What goes first and what goes last? How high and how long can it be? How is weight of cars and freight entered into the equation?. How do they decide where to put the power and how much is needed to move it? Etc. Thanks for your time chasing trains around. Very entertaining. JimE TN
Danny I just loved this video. I ran for the Northwestern Pacific Railroad (subsidiary of Southern Pacific RR. It was all train order territory. We had 3 scheduled trains in the Timetable. And top speed was 49 mph. I also ran for the Southern Pacific. But I really enjoyed running trains in train order territory. My brother in law was a telegrapher. We had the Northern Div and Southern Div. I ran on the Southern Div. And really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed your video and enjoy all your videos. Thanks. Also congratulations on your retirement. 👍❤️
Hi Danny, As others have mentioned I've always heard the paper the Train Orders or 19 Orders are printed on called Onion Paper. The railroad slang for this paper was "Flimsies" for obvious reasons. When I was in the USAF stationed outside Sacramento CA, I'd often visit the Southern Pacific's Roseville Yard. I was luckily enough one day to talk to a crew waiting at a stop signal at the West End of the Yard, at a location known as Antelope. The engineer noticing my haircut ask me if I was on Active Duty and when I replied Yes, he gave me several Timetables and Flimsies in appreciation of my service. Those Flimsies and Timetables are now part of my railroad collection and treasured memories. NS has been equipping some of it's locomotives with telemetry devices for the same purpose as that boxcar. They might not capture as much information, but I guess the plus side is they also don't have to haul around a company boxcar. I agree, there is something about the symmetry of a unit hopper train, loaded TOFC train or double stack that catches my eye as well. Lastly Danny, I'd like to congratulation you on your recent retirement. I hope in a few more years to join you in the retirement status. Thank you for the great video, information and I look forward to your next video. Cheers, Rich S.
Danny,, another great video. It was interesting that the Baldwin diamond was installed. I guess they wanted provision for that ''high ball'' express out of Jacksonville bound for Pensacola. 🤣🤣🤣
My son is a conductor out of Evansville and I025/26 are trains my son occasionally takes down the Henderson Sub between Evansville and Nashville. It's kinda cool hearing you mention symbols my son works
I really appreciate the incredible thorough facts and details you provide in your commentary. I always pay attention to the technical details I see in UA-cam railroad videos and I find the "yuck-yuck" commentary in other videos so distracting... especially when I'm struggling to figure out the physics and managerial intentions of what I'm seeing. Thank you for your hard work and attention to details! Railroads are businesses (profit driven other than Amtrak), part of American cultural, applied science, and a million other things to other people. Thank you for always providing me enough information that I end up thinking about and figuring out what I just saw.
Neat! awesome, someone sent you something from the UK. This year (2025) is full of "Railway 200" events up and down the UK to celebrate the worlds first "economic" railway. Richard Trevithick got there first with the original breakthrough ideas but the this is where it got economically viable for businesses. This channel is awesome, I got to hand it to you Americans who like this fella have to travel alot to watch trains. I mostly couldn't do it. Multiple lines are right on my doorstep. Still I learn the similarities and differences of railway procedure on this channel. TY
I remember when the SCL had mailcars on their freight trains and there was a mailbag holder that the yardmaster would hang on the trackside mailbag holder pole at the edge of the station platform, long gone now, but was still there in the early 1980's. This is now the Amtrak Passenger Depot on Sligh Blvd. and I used to watch the guy on the train reach out of the mail car and just snatch that mail bag off the pole with a long pole with a gaff as the train just rolled by, no stopping or slowing. That was always a cool thing to see. And if they had mail for the area, they'd just toss the mail bag off the train onto the platform and you'd hear it land with a thump. I remember the yardmaster or stationmaster would always warn anyone if a mail pickup or delivery was coming and keep folks out of the pickup and drop-off areas. I was still a young whippersnapper at that time, well, my late teens, but I had been hanging out at the SCL YARD/Amtrak Depot since the late 1960's-early 1970's. I don't recall the Stationmaster or Yardmaster names now, at 68 years myself now, so, that was a long time ago, but at the time I got to know both of them very well and we became friends. Since they were probably in their mid to late 50's back then, I'm almost certain they have both probably passed away by now. But it was nice knowing them, and some great times hearing their railroad stories back then. Ahhhh, for some of those old times I had back then.
I've noticed that the train signals were changing but didn't know why but probably for safety reasons another awesome footage of trains take care and thank you Danny.☕🚂🚃🚃🇺🇲
I never get tired of your videos. A lot of people are good or even great at voice over, but the exceptional ones have a genuine and good hearted personality that shines through in the little nuances that are very hard to fake. Upbeat and loving life is very noticeable when people speak. Enjoying the subject also matters, and you bring it all. Thanks Danny, for everything you do. I've had people that aren't railfans watch your videos if I post them on Facebook. Holding someone's attention about a subject they don't care much about is something special. I hope your 2025 is great for you.
Danny, can I just say this made my week. I've had several friends of mine message me saying I was mentioned in this video, all at once! Glad I could contribute to your fine channel and a great episode. -Patrick C.
Hey ! 👋 thats my Tropicana train!! My Grandmother lived off Tropicana bond- coupons Papa bought ! Also..funny, I remember- now... that thin paper.. in my Dads car..
!:37 Danny that Train Orders desk reminds me from a short called The Head Guy (1930) with Edgar Kennedy and Harry Langdon. That short resembles the same desk as the one you found in Florida. That is truly amazing they kept it reserved all these years! Thank you for showing it!
Danny - I missed your official retirement - So here it is- Happy retirement from announcing for Fox! Looking forward to you enjoying your retirement and hopefully, going bananas doing as much train spotting as you can! Hopefully one day I hope I can come down and geek out with you!
congratulations on your retirement! now you can make a video every week ;) I don't even like trains but I never miss a video from you because you make it interesting
Good morning Danny. Good seeing you again giving us information and showing awesome trains which I love counting the cars. ❤so much to learn about operations and delivering goods train style! Loved seeing the Tropicana cars. Loved your stops to good eats.😊 we'll watch this again on our Roku TV. Thanks and be blessed today.❤😊A great video!❤
Another great video Danny and congratulations on your retirement, hopefully you will be trackside more often and explore new railfan locations as well!
Hey Danny. Congratulations on your retirement. I hope you are able to spend a lot more time chasing trains and making great content! As long as Liz allows it....
Hey Danny. Greetings from Christchurch New Zealand. Great video as always. Im still listening to Boyd Street Radio as recommended from your visit to Pammy Sammy’s. Mark
So nice! The small, tourist/short line, where I started my railroad career, before moving on the Conrail, has a depot with the Train Order Board. We weren't hooping-up any orders, to any train, but it is a cool piece of railroad history. An excellent video, as always.
My dad did this job for a while .he started with Southern Pacific he did the teletype in the marines during Vietnam.. He did multiple jobs .lots of running in front of the train opening 3 trestles to let them through. That gave me many opportunities to ride in engines and cabooses.even in maintenance of way fleets.
Welcome back. As always, another great video. I've been enjoying CSX doing track maintenance on the Auburndale Sub, and the radio traffic has been fascinating.
A few points about the Train Orders shown: the extremely thin papers used for the Train Orders are called a flimsies. It dates back to the stream era. That thin paper served two functions. First, it was thin enough to make many copies of the TO in one operation. Besides the three train crewmen noted, the Agent/Operator also needed to keep a copy for his records. The steam era had no lights in the cab of most engines. Reading orders was by the light of the fire in the fire box. When recording the Train Order, the Station Agent used double sided carbon paper to make the copies. This meant that the message was recorded on both sides of the Train Order making it much easier to read in dim conditions. On the second set of orders shown, a yellow document is flipped out of the way. That is a Clearance Form 'A'. That document gives a train the authority to occupy the mainline and gives an inventory of all the attached Train Orders and Messages that the train crew needs for safe passage. They are list on the Clearance both by how many of each is attached, and the identifying number of each of the Train Orders attached. Each Train Order written is given a sequential number starting at one (1), at 12:01AM each day.
As I have watched your Distant Signal posts over the years I often thought your delivery was kind of "Radio", if you know what i mean. I was the voice of TV 36 in San Jose for a number of years, so I was on to something in your delivery. Imagine my surprise when I stumbled onto a UA-cam of your retirement from being the voice of a Tampa Florida TV station for 40 (yikes) years. WOW! Congrats on a wonderful career in broadcasting, and now we can enjoy your Harmon-ious voice on Distant Signal as well.
hank you, Danny, for the history lesson on the use of train order signals/boards in the period before the use of radio communications between dispatchers and train crew members. I enjoyed the railfanning that you did on 1 February 2025. Congratulations on your recent retirement from your day job! I saw a UA-cam video from the day that you retired from you job at the TV station. (Posted on 7 February 2025 at 1044 CST.)
Glad the sign arrived in good condition! Looks fab on the fence. I'll let you know if any other interesting ones become available
Many thanks Adrian!
Got the news late but happy retirement. RV'ing can be a great way to railfan. Good luck and happy camping!
Congratulations on your retirement!! Nothing better than having 6 Saturdays and 1 Sunday a week ;)
The train order from Opelika, AL brought back a lot of memories. My grandparents lived in Opelika from 1949 to 1977. My grandfather was a local doctor, the 2nd African American doctor in the region. My little brother and I would come to Opelika during summer vacation to visit my grandparents so I was a boy of 5 when this order was made. Their home is still standing although the building where his office was is likely gone now. Opelika was a major rail stop in those days and it still is a dominating feature of the town center. The train depot at S. Railroad Ave where all this happened is still there and restored, sitting at diamond where riders would board and exit from either main line.
Congratulations on retirement from Fox 13 in Tampa. I actually caught train orders in my arm on the engine in Dupont Georgia on train 309 in June on 1980, orders said to take the siding at Jasper Florida to meet a N bound .👍
My grandfather was a telegrapher and later a station manager for UP. Love this history. ❤
Wake up family, he uploaded again!
Always a good day when Danny uploads. Congratulations on retirement!
Mr. Harmon, I came upon your FOX retirement broadcast on YT. If I have right, please allow me to wish you the best and many more years of railfanning.
When I was 12 in 1980 I had a neighbor that was a trainman for NJDOT; NJ Transit's predecessor. One night he called the house and offered me a cab ride on his commuter run the next morning on the old New York & Long Branch. I got to ride the fireman's seat of a very beat-up F7 from Bay Head yard up to Newark. Going over the Manasquan River drawbridge the engineer says "oh, hey, the bridge tender's got orders for me. Just stick your arm out."
So, I can say I got orders hooped up to me.
No school and Danny posted on a Friday !! Best day ever ❤
Oh my! A new distant signal video. Nice... 🎉
It's funny you should post this today. Just Wednesday, I passed through the town of Pinewood, SC. The old Railway Depot building sits right by the track, and I noticed a semaphore that faced the tracks. Now I now what it was for!
Always a great day with a new video from railfan danny
Great video! I relived childhood memory watching the trains pull into the station to receive their handed orders.
Double stacked cars are impressive when there's a whole line of them coming at you! As a UK resident I am also impressed by the very long train consists in the US - our longest trains are 40 wagons at most. Thanks for the videos and the details you share to help us understand the US trains and tracks! 😁
Sprained my ankle yesterday, what a good way to start today!
Back in the 1960's I saw a train picking up its orders on the fly. I was fascinated by it but didn't know much about it. I have heard that in some cases trains would pick up mail in that manner, but that was a little before my time. I have learned a lot about railroad operations from your videos. Keep up the good work and I will see you on the high iron for your next video.
The SCL was still picking up mail up until some point in the early 1980's.
I used to watch them snatch the mail for the train, or toss a mailbag onto the platform.
On occasion if there wasn't a mail pickup, they'd hook the mailbag on the gaff trackside, instead of just tossing it out on the platform.
It was cool to watch them do that as the train just rolled by without slowing or stopping.
I've still got a set of "flimsies" from my hometown Missouri Pacific; a gift from my Dad's cousin Dan, who was an engineer on the MoP's Sedalia Subdivision. They're from the early 1950's, and they're special for two reasons. First of all, they were issued at Kirkwood Station, which was only four miles away from my boyhood home. The orders concerned the movements of Engine 5334, one of the MoP's huge 4-8-2 passenger haulers. The second reason the tissues are special is that when the orders were issued, the 5334 was in her last few weeks of service before retirement - serving as a helper on Kirkwood Hill. She was instructed to stay "in the hole" on a spur track in Valley Park until both sections of a hot westbound Korean War troop train had passed. Most such orders typically wound up being stuffed behind locomotive brake stands, or thrown into a steamer's firebox once they were fulfilled, but thankfully not always!!
Thanks for another great video, Danny!!
excellent video Danny - especially the semaphore info at the beginning. would be great to see more SCL SAL & ACL photos
You're one of the most informative narrators of your videos.
As always an excellent video. Enjoy your retirement!
funny enough, me and my girlfriend had been planning a trip to cordele GA for months now, and just this past saturday we finally got down there. Of the 5 trains we saw (in jus about 2 hours by the way!!), IO25 with the heritigae on point was one of the few, so it was really cool to know that you and those other railfans got to see it too, danny!
Thank you for all the videos you've made, and for the Cordele GA video especially. Without it, I would have never even known of a place like that. Keep up the phenomenal work!
Good to see you puting out another video, your content is one of the reasons I love UA-cam!
Thanks, Lourdes
I always had a feeling that you were 'voice' talent. Recently, I saw a 'retirement video for you by a local station and learned that you've been in the broadcast business for some time. Congrats, good health, lots of happiness and safe travels. I've always enjoyed your railfanning videos. 👍👍
Just learned about your retirement, Danny. CONGRATULATIONS! Just retired myself a year ago.
I bet you learned an awful lot during your time in TV. Because it certainly shows in the production values in your videos. Absolutely top-notch!! The drone shots, the narration, all are excellent!
Keep up the great work!!
A new video from Distant Signal is a great way to start the weekend! Congrats on your retirement!
I saw the video about your recent retirement from a local TV station. Congratulations, Danny, and I hope you have an enjoyable retirement and more railfanning time!
Handing up the "flimseys" as the old-timers say around here. Enjoy retirement Danny
I wonder if that paper is the same as what the U.S. Army called "onion skin?" In the spring og 1969, I was the Training NCO for the 433d Army Band, Ft. Irwin, CA. My first order was to create 6 months of "missing" Training Records, requiring typing on a sandwich of one top sheet and about 5 layers of carbon paper and "onion skin." No "gigs" in the I.G. Inspection! Got E-5 as a reward. 😂
Thank goodness for all these volunteers who give their time and knowledge to the preservation and operation of so many former stations (depots). That Sulphur Springs example in Largo is magnificent. I can't imagine what it would be like to feed such thin paper into a typewriter such as seen on the desk. As for the replaced diamonds at Baldwin, it seems the guys who put them there in the first place knew what they were about. These university wallahs got the theory, but run empty on experience. I enjoyed all that. The trains weren't bad either. 73 de MM5AON
PS. I heard you had retired from the day job. I hope you get as much out of your free time as I've had out of mine (nearly 30 years).
Thank you for the history lesson and for showing me trains I would not normally see. I see more UP and BNSF trains in St. Louis than anything else.
Danny congrats on your retirement! BTW that general freight did have kitchen sinks. Thought i would mention that since you forgot. 😂. Have a happy retirement doing whatever your fancy takes you. Thank you for your videos.
Always enjoy Danny Harmon videos. Very informative.
Always a good day when Distant Signal posts.
Hello Danny. I recommend you take a trip to Southern California, Fullerton train station. The trains come to you! Over 100+ per day. It's a 3 track main line, with Amtrak, freight and commuter trains all day long. When you get saturated with trains, there is always Disneyland and Knotts Berry Farm. (Trains there too!) Plus there are the beaches and mountains nearby. And lots of things to do in the LA area. You could easily spend a week there. I lived there 15 years. My son and I would spend Saturday mornings sitting on a battery box and watch the local switchers work. Fun times!
Danny, your videos are the only ones that I give a "Thumbs Up" before I watch them.
Thanks much for the train order bit. That’s the kind of stuff my dad did in stations in McIntyre and Metter Georgia back in the forties.
The black horizontal bar on the signal plate from Darlington UK denotes an automatic signal. Great video Danny.
Very interesting piece of info. I never would have guessed that one.
@@distantsignal if it has the word "semi" on the plate the signal is an auto that can be controlled if need be. No line means it's a controlled signal.
Thanks for sharing your adventures! Hope you share your "interviews with railfans" outtakes one day. 😎
I love your videos a lot ❤️ thanks for the narrations. God bless you and your family.
Another good one Danny.
Seeing that train with the mid engine still begs the question for me, what keeps a train three quarters of a mile or so long from wanting to make itself straight when going around a curve? Still can't phantom that wheel flange and spikes can keep all of that power from straightening a train out on a fairly sharp curve.
You mentioned Grady from practical engineering in another episode. I did mention it to him on one of his videos also. Have no idea if he read it and I didn't get a response. Perhaps you can mention it to him if you ever speak. I'm dying to know as well as things like when someone decides to make up a train, how do they do it? What goes first and what goes last? How high and how long can it be? How is weight of cars and freight entered into the equation?. How do they decide where to put the power and how much is needed to move it? Etc.
Thanks for your time chasing trains around. Very entertaining. JimE TN
Danny I just loved this video. I ran for the Northwestern Pacific Railroad (subsidiary of Southern Pacific RR. It was all train order territory. We had 3 scheduled trains in the Timetable. And top speed was 49 mph. I also ran for the Southern Pacific. But I really enjoyed running trains in train order territory. My brother in law was a telegrapher. We had the Northern Div and Southern Div. I ran on the Southern Div. And really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed your video and enjoy all your videos. Thanks. Also congratulations on your retirement. 👍❤️
Awesome video!! Keep them coming out!
Thank you DANNY for taking us all on a fun Friday morning railfan trip in Florida ❤❤❤😂🎉😢😮😅😅😅😊😊😊😊😊
Just came across you retirement video from TV station. Congratulations.
Hi Danny, As others have mentioned I've always heard the paper the Train Orders or 19 Orders are printed on called Onion Paper. The railroad slang for this paper was "Flimsies" for obvious reasons. When I was in the USAF stationed outside Sacramento CA, I'd often visit the Southern Pacific's Roseville Yard. I was luckily enough one day to talk to a crew waiting at a stop signal at the West End of the Yard, at a location known as Antelope. The engineer noticing my haircut ask me if I was on Active Duty and when I replied Yes, he gave me several Timetables and Flimsies in appreciation of my service. Those Flimsies and Timetables are now part of my railroad collection and treasured memories. NS has been equipping some of it's locomotives with telemetry devices for the same purpose as that boxcar. They might not capture as much information, but I guess the plus side is they also don't have to haul around a company boxcar. I agree, there is something about the symmetry of a unit hopper train, loaded TOFC train or double stack that catches my eye as well. Lastly Danny, I'd like to congratulation you on your recent retirement. I hope in a few more years to join you in the retirement status. Thank you for the great video, information and I look forward to your next video. Cheers, Rich S.
Thanks for the Florida railroading. I grew up next to the tracks in a little Florida town.
Really nice video. I’m watching it sitting at Vitas junction watching nothing but air.
Danny,, another great video. It was interesting that the Baldwin diamond was installed. I guess they wanted provision for that ''high ball'' express out of Jacksonville bound for Pensacola. 🤣🤣🤣
Excellent video as always, Danny! Informational, a bit educational, and always enjoyable.
My son is a conductor out of Evansville and I025/26 are trains my son occasionally takes down the Henderson Sub between Evansville and Nashville. It's kinda cool hearing you mention symbols my son works
Good morning 🌞 and Happy Friday.
Very nice 🙋 Thanks Danny.stay safe .
I really appreciate the incredible thorough facts and details you provide in your commentary. I always pay attention to the technical details I see in UA-cam railroad videos and I find the "yuck-yuck" commentary in other videos so distracting... especially when I'm struggling to figure out the physics and managerial intentions of what I'm seeing. Thank you for your hard work and attention to details! Railroads are businesses (profit driven other than Amtrak), part of American cultural, applied science, and a million other things to other people. Thank you for always providing me enough information that I end up thinking about and figuring out what I just saw.
I really appreciate the kind words!
I caught your retirement from Channel 13 - good deal and best wishes! I know you are busy with many things and that will keep you in great health :)
Neat! awesome, someone sent you something from the UK. This year (2025) is full of "Railway 200" events up and down the UK to celebrate the worlds first "economic" railway. Richard Trevithick got there first with the original breakthrough ideas but the this is where it got economically viable for businesses.
This channel is awesome, I got to hand it to you Americans who like this fella have to travel alot to watch trains. I mostly couldn't do it. Multiple lines are right on my doorstep. Still I learn the similarities and differences of railway procedure on this channel. TY
I remember when the SCL had mailcars on their freight trains and there was a mailbag holder that the yardmaster would hang on the trackside mailbag holder pole at the edge of the station platform, long gone now, but was still there in the early 1980's. This is now the Amtrak Passenger Depot on Sligh Blvd. and I used to watch the guy on the train reach out of the mail car and just snatch that mail bag off the pole with a long pole with a gaff as the train just rolled by, no stopping or slowing. That was always a cool thing to see. And if they had mail for the area, they'd just toss the mail bag off the train onto the platform and you'd hear it land with a thump.
I remember the yardmaster or stationmaster would always warn anyone if a mail pickup or delivery was coming and keep folks out of the pickup and drop-off areas.
I was still a young whippersnapper at that time, well, my late teens, but I had been hanging out at the SCL YARD/Amtrak Depot since the late 1960's-early 1970's.
I don't recall the Stationmaster or Yardmaster names now, at 68 years myself now, so, that was a long time ago, but at the time I got to know both of them very well and we became friends.
Since they were probably in their mid to late 50's back then, I'm almost certain they have both probably passed away by now.
But it was nice knowing them, and some great times hearing their railroad stories back then. Ahhhh, for some of those old times I had back then.
Great story. I really enjoyed your post. The good old days are gone
A rare sighting of yourself in a video, at Baldwin.! I thoroughly enjoy your videos and information!
Man a new video from danny right as i get called to work a train to Detroit!? What a great way to start the day!
I've noticed that the train signals were changing but didn't know why but probably for safety reasons another awesome footage of trains
take care and thank you Danny.☕🚂🚃🚃🇺🇲
I never get tired of your videos. A lot of people are good or even great at voice over, but the exceptional ones have a genuine and good hearted personality that shines through in the little nuances that are very hard to fake. Upbeat and loving life is very noticeable when people speak. Enjoying the subject also matters, and you bring it all.
Thanks Danny, for everything you do. I've had people that aren't railfans watch your videos if I post them on Facebook. Holding someone's attention about a subject they don't care much about is something special. I hope your 2025 is great for you.
Danny, can I just say this made my week. I've had several friends of mine message me saying I was mentioned in this video, all at once!
Glad I could contribute to your fine channel and a great episode.
-Patrick C.
The goat of rail fanning returns again well done.Danny boy enjoy a retirement , another epic video
Hey ! 👋 thats my Tropicana train!! My Grandmother lived off Tropicana bond- coupons Papa bought ! Also..funny, I remember- now... that thin paper.. in my Dads car..
Great to be there in Callahan! I was the one in the camo hat. We saw great trains! Great video Danny and great to meet you!
It was a pleasure meeting you too! I really enjoyed the day
Great to see another Danny Harmon production !
!:37 Danny that Train Orders desk reminds me from a short called The Head Guy (1930) with Edgar Kennedy and Harry Langdon. That short resembles the same desk as the one you found in Florida. That is truly amazing they kept it reserved all these years! Thank you for showing it!
Thank you from the UK for another great video and congratulations on your retirement 👍👍👍
Yet another reason why I watch UA-cam 👍😊😎 !! Thanks Danny , Enjoy your retirement and have fun 😊 !!
Congrats on retiring from fox 13 Danny! You deserve it!
Danny - I missed your official retirement - So here it is- Happy retirement from announcing for Fox! Looking forward to you enjoying your retirement and hopefully, going bananas doing as much train spotting as you can! Hopefully one day I hope I can come down and geek out with you!
congratulations on your retirement! now you can make a video every week ;) I don't even like trains but I never miss a video from you because you make it interesting
Congratulations on your retirement Danny!
Another great video Danny! I hope you are enjoying retirement! At some point I should get you a painting as a retirement gift
This was a hat trick video -- Great trains, a luncheon review and diamonds in a pond. Pure Dr. Harmon expertise.
Good morning Danny. Good seeing you again giving us information and showing awesome trains which I love counting the cars. ❤so much to learn about operations and delivering goods train style! Loved seeing the Tropicana cars. Loved your stops to good eats.😊 we'll watch this again on our Roku TV. Thanks and be blessed today.❤😊A great video!❤
Good Morning, Beulah and Happy Friday! Thanks for your kind words. Hope you all are doing well up there.
Another great video Danny and congratulations on your retirement, hopefully you will be trackside more often and explore new railfan locations as well!
Hey Danny. Congratulations on your retirement. I hope you are able to spend a lot more time chasing trains and making great content! As long as Liz allows it....
Great catches, Danny! Thanks for sharing the historical train orders.
Thank you for this history lesson. It's a great video 😊 !
Another great video. I especially enjoy the drone footage! What a unique vantage point. Thank you for all the work you put into your videos.
Hey Danny.
Greetings from Christchurch New Zealand.
Great video as always.
Im still listening to Boyd Street Radio as recommended from your visit to Pammy Sammy’s.
Mark
6:25 I032 continues from Baltimore and goes all the way to South Kearny Yard in New Jersey via the CSAO Lehigh Line
Great video as usual!
Not for the time being.
I live in union county NJ
I had a feeling that trains from Florida would pass through here
I'm always impressed by the quality of your videos Danny. Good work.
I’m from Opelika and growing up in a RR town definitely influenced my love for these amazing machines!
Awesome video! Now that you’re retired I’m guessing we’re gonna see a lot more awesome videos🎉
So nice! The small, tourist/short line, where I started my railroad career, before moving on the Conrail, has a depot with the Train Order Board. We weren't hooping-up any orders, to any train, but it is a cool piece of railroad history. An excellent video, as always.
Love that you get out to Baldwin. I live 3 miles south of Whitehouse!
My dad did this job for a while .he started with Southern Pacific he did the teletype in the marines during Vietnam.. He did multiple jobs .lots of running in front of the train opening 3 trestles to let them through. That gave me many opportunities to ride in engines and cabooses.even in maintenance of way fleets.
Welcome back. As always, another great video. I've been enjoying CSX doing track maintenance on the Auburndale Sub, and the radio traffic has been fascinating.
It's agreat day when distant signal uploads a new video😊
Danny! Work a deal with VRF to be their "voice." BTW, your editing is very smooth. Thank you for posting.
Really good catch of that Heritage unit.
Keep up the fine work Danny!
Excellent train video Danny
It’s gonna be a good Friday when Danny uploads!
Great stuff Danny, I enjoyed that! Have a great weekend! (Dave).
I'm a I am a railfan myself and I love the hobby of watching for trains and I love your videos