PROTOTYPE
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2013
- 2015
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Wildwood,
located in Sumter County, Florida, used to be the
dividing yard for the Seaboard Airline Railroad (and
its successor, the Seaboard Coastline) where
southbound passenger trains were divided up into East
(Miami) and West (Tampa, Fort Myers and Naples)
sections and northbound trains from both coasts were
joined together. Today it's all about freight, and
the busy yard which runs parallel to Main Street is
run by CSX which operates frequent trains day and
night through Wildwood on this busy stretch of the
so-called "S Line". It proved a major
source of inspiration for my Z Scale model
railroading.
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Wildwood
is a great place to be
trackside, with trains
passing through regularly
both day and night. The
town is situated less
than an hour's drive from
Orlando towards the
Northern end of Florida's
Turnpike; US 301
northwards takes you into
town and right alongside
the yard, where a small
parking lot is
conveniently located.
Just
remember to stay within
bounds - trains are
frequent and usually
pretty fast, too.
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CSX
GP30 (Road Slug) #2270
25
July 2015
There is
little activity at the North end
of Wildwood yard as a few cars
and CSX road slug (GP30) #2270
are tied
down for the weekend, sitting it
out on a muggy Saturday afternoon
only minutes before a massive and
lengthy downpour of summer rain.
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NOVEMBER 2014
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CSX
GP39-2 (Road Slug) #2341
14
November 2014
Looking
towards the North end of Wildwood
Yard, CSX GP39-2 (Road Slug)
#2341 is already
tied down for the weekend
together with two additional
locomotives alongside a row of
loaded CSX ballast hoppers
wearing the distinctive MOW
pumpkin paint scheme.
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CSX
AC44CW #552
14
November 2014
At 5pm that
same Friday afternoon,
CSX AC44CW #552 and
AC60CW #678 are running
full speed through
Wildwood at the head of a
southbound consist of
empty stone hoppers.
Looking closely at the
full size image reveals
the engineer making a
friendly gesture towards
the trackside railfan.
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CSX
AC4400CW #146
15
November 2014
By
Saturday afternoon the
next day, AC44CW #552
had joined the
tied down road slug
together with an
unidentified loco and CSX
AC4400CW #146 up front.
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CSX
C40-8W #7858
15
November 2014
It's
5.25pm as a
trio of CSX locomotives
(C40-8W #7858, C40-8W
#7343 and GP40-2 #6018)
appear at the South end
of Wildwood Yard, heading
a northbound manifest
(i.e. a freight train
with a mixture of car
types and cargoes).
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CSX
C40-8W #7858
15
November 2014
Only
a few seconds later, CSX
C40-8W #7858, C40-8W
#7343 and GP40-2 #6018
are rushing through
Wildwood Yard.
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CSX
GP40-2 #6018
15
November 2014
CSX
C40-8W #7858, C40-8W
#7343 and GP40-2 #6018
are heading North with
their manifest under a
friendly sky.
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MAY 2014
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CSX
SD70MAC #4792
13
May 2014
It's exactly
6.30pm as CSX
SD70MAC #4792 heads
a southbound manifest (i.e. a
freight train with a mixture of
car types and cargoes) through
Wildwood.
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CSX
AC60CW #644
14
May 2014
Late
morning yard switching in
order to line up
northbound empties.
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CSX
AC60CW #644
15
May 2014
Late
morning yard switching in
order to line up
northbound empties.
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CSX
GP39-2 (Road Slug) #2383
- CSX GP40-2 #6983
15
May 2014
Late
morning yard switching in
order to line up
northbound empties.
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CSX
GP39-2 (Road Slug) #2383
15
May 2014
Late
morning yard switching in
order to line up
northbound empties.
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CSX
Dash 8-40CW #7812 - CSX
SD70M #4684 -
CSX
GP40-2 #6360
15
May 2014
Dusk
is settling in as a
southbound manifest waits
in the hole to let a
hotshot southbound
intermodal pass.
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CSX
Dash 8-40CW #7812
15
May 2014
Dusk
is settling in as a
southbound manifest waits
in the hole to let a
hotshot southbound
intermodal pass.
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CSX
Freight Evening Scene
15
May 2014
(if
file doesn't play in
Firefox try
here)
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JULY 2013
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There wasn't much happening that
weekend when CSX SD-50 #8575 was laying
over at Wildwood FL on Saturday, 13 July 2013.
But even on such occasions there is usually an
interesting selection of freight stock to be seen in the
yard.
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COPYRIGHT NOTICE
All images on this page are (c) Adrian Wymann
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