I'll be in Ocala, Florida around the middle of February for a week. My wife is there working for 6 weeks and I'm going to visit. As she will be working during the day, I'll have to amuse myself. Anyone have any suggestions as to where I could catch some good rail action? What railroads run around there anyway? D6
just a guess but CSX and FEC ??? I've never been to florida, but I'm plannijg on it in mid-march. ------------------ TrainBoard.com MEMBER#204 THE WEB PAGE IS NOW UPDATED!! Appalachian & Atlantic Model Railroad "QUALITY at WORK with SAFTEY in MIND"
D6, I used to travel out of state extensively, and sometimes still do. My first order of business when traveling to an unknown town (upon checking in to motel) was to look in the phone book! The phone book will generally have a map of the city in the white pages before the residential listings. Usually, they will show the RR tracks. If not, look for Railroad Street or Main Street in the index of street names. Since most towns grew up around the railroads, this is you best clue to looking for "action". You can also look up "Railroads" in the yellow pages, or names of major RR's in the white pages. You may be surprised at what you come up with.... it always helped me in the past! As far as current RR's in the Ocala area, I'd have to guess CSX and possibly FEC also. Harold P.S.: If you are a modeler too, don't forget to look up "Hobby Shops" in the Yellow Pages. Also, you might want to check other model publications or modeling (Internet) boards for information about the area. ------------------ Harold Hodnett Fan of NS, CSX, and their predecessors! Coming soon: The North Carolina Railfan Web Site http://www.trainweb.org/ncrail/
I can't tell you specific locations, but i travel through Ocala occasionally and can tell you it is served by CSX (former SAL) and FNOR or Florida Northern (ex ACL). The CSX line is the main line between Jacksonville and Tampa and sees many through freights and Amtrak. The ex ACL line is strictly a local switch operation runnig just a few miles north and south of Ocala. Ocala is closer to the Gulf than the Atlantic, so the FEC is nowhere near. It is not typical Florida - it's great thoroughbred horse country with rolling hills.
Also there is a good little model railroading shop in town as well. Its called Southern Railroad Supply, located as you head east towards Orlando(as if thats not vague enough ). Look him up give him a call, he was reasonably priced an well versed in HO. Have a good one, Justin PS- I'll also try to locate him for you, as I believe he has a website. [This message has been edited by Justin May (edited 15 January 2001).]
Here is the hard info for him: Southern Railroad Supply 352-694-1101 821 SE 36Th Ter # 14 Ocala, FL website is http://southern-rr-supply.com and has not been updated for some time, so better call first, hope this helps and have a good one, Justin (90 miles from Ocala) May [This message has been edited by Justin May (edited 15 January 2001).]
