Patrick's Central Florida Train Watching Guide

Citrus County


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GREEN Lines represent the CSX "A-Line"
BLUE Lines represent the CSX "S-Line"
RED Lines represent Pinsley Railroads (FNOR, FCEN, FMID)
PURPLE Lines represent general CSX railroads

RAILROADS IN THE AREA:

Pinsly Railroads:

- Florida Power Facility northward through Dunnellon:

     Pinsly has recently acquired and now operates the only remaining railroad in Citrus county, serving the Florida Power facility just north of Crystal River, FL. The large majority of the trains on this line are coal trains; however, I have spotted a few local trains once on an extreme occassion. Though the line is operated as part of Pinsly's Florida Northern Railroad, the larger coal trains are still pulled by the CSX locomotives, due to the power needed to pull the train. Local trains are usually the Standard Pinsly red locomotive. This is where the line ends; however it can be followed northward into Marion County.



FREQUENCIES USED IN AREA:

     This section of track is usually very quiet as far as radio traffic, any transmissions can be heard on the following frequencies:
- 452.9375 Mhz - Redman Front
- 457.9375 Mhz - Redman End
- 160.5900 Mhz - Voice Communications, being this track still operates with the CSX locomotives, the voice is typically on this frequency.

     It is always possible other frequencies could be used, I recommend having all frequencies from my Railroad Frequencies page for best possible chances of catching that train.


     It is very difficult to actually time a train to chase it here unless you are a local. The best way is to have a good scanner, monitor the channels and listen for some activity. Often you can drive up HWY 19 / 98 at the FL power crossing to see if a train is exiting the plant, if so you may have a train to follow; however, though it may appear to be leaving it can sometimes take hours to leave the facility. One trick i have learned is that usually when a train leaves the facility heading north it will often pass an oncoming (return) train in Dunnellon.

     If you do locate a train and want to chase it, it can be very difficult unless you are VERY familiar with the area roads. Generally trains are fairly slow when in close proximity to the Power facility. If you have a map, the best crossings are at US HWY 19 / 98, N. Citrus Ave.(just north of Emerald Oaks Rd), W. Dunklin St., N. G Martinelli St (in N Citrus Springs), on up to N. J Williams St , and E. Pennsylvania Ave. in Dunnellon. If you are good at reading a map and navigation through lots of back roads you can actually catch the train at every one of those crossings. There are other crossings in the area; however many are located on small dirt roads that are hard to drive on and usually are a waste of time.

     A WARNING! DO NOT FOLLOW A TRAIN INTO THE FLORIDA POWER FACILITY! IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO NOT PASS THE FIRST SPUR CROSSING ON W. POWERLINE RD (just after N. Tallahassee Rd.). Although there are no signs saying you can not enter, The Powerplant Security is not very friendly to visitors, especially those whose stop on the side of the road to watch a train, so steer clear of there (trust me I know). Though it may be disappointing to a train watcher, it is good to know the security is tight, to reduce the threat of terrorism.