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        One of the oldest surviving railroads in America, The Florida East Coast Railway, or FEC, is a large regional line that serves, go figure, the east coast of Florida. Its tracks run between Miami and Jacksonville, FL., where it interchanges with its main railroading partner Norfolk Southern. It also exchanges to a lesser extent with CSX in Jacksonville. For a little history of the FEC try this link. My page is about pictures of the FEC and my limited experience with the railroad.

        I had the good fortune to spend a few months along the FEC while working in West Palm Beach, FL. For about half of 2002, I worked in the WPB area. This was spread throughout the year and during my stay I was able to become somewhat familiar with the operations of the FEC.  The following are the results of my "free time" and what I found trackside. The FEC is operates a late afternoon / night schedule on this end of the state, but I was still able to find some good action in which to photograph early NB trains headed for Jacksonville.

        Click on a Thumbnail to View larger image.  * after thumbnail denotes image added at latest update given above.  All Images are copyrighted. Use for profit by permission only.  For information about current operations along the FEC visit Bob Pickering's site.  Several sites exist that provide good info, but one of the better ones is this FEC page which includes schedules, info, and links to other FEC sites by Bote Man! I've also created prepared my own, more in depth schedule, designed to show daylight locations of scheduled FEC trains!

        The chart below is intended to help fellow FECers understand their prey a little better. When asked about schedules and frequency of trains on the FEC, the response will often be that the FEC runs mostly at night and hardly ever on the weekends. While it is true that the action tends to spike during the night, it is also possible to find significant daylight movements if one has the appropriate info. There is plenty of action to be had at all times, one just needs to know where to look to find it. The chart below was developed to aid in that goal.
        Now for the Disclaimer: The chart below was developed using known scheduled departures of FEC trains. Then averages of transit times were employed to generate an approximation of arrival times at various locations along the route. Also, the railroad uses  3 districts for their running schedule. This of course, does not include train delays, but here are the actual planned running times: Bowden- NSB ( 2 hours), NSB-Ft.Pierce( 2:20), Ft. Pierce- Hialeah(2:45). By using the chart and knowing where you are, or want to be, one can reasonably predict the arrival of a certain train. Combined with tracks signals, radio transmissions, and other indicators, the likelihood of meeting trains is increased.
        Still it should be noted that while the FEC runs trains at scheduled times, there are obviously a whole host of circumstances and conditions which can alter the accuracy of the timetable below. These include, but are certainly not limited to: delayed interchange with CSX and NS, derailments or other accidents on the FEC or interchanging partners, MoW work, equipment failure, weather, and economic factors which may generate extra trains or annul / combine scheduled ones. In other words, this is just a guide, please don't send me hate e-mail when so and so train wasn't at such and such place on time. I don't have any affiliation or control over the FEC  :o)
        How to use the chart: I have attempted to use the best information possible to guide my conclusions on the times and locations for the given trains, drawing on the expertise of several FEC watchers, one very well know hogger, as well as observations of my own. Locations were determined by estimating train transit times in one hour blocks and then locating the largest city nearest that break. To determine the location of a given train, during potential daylight moves, simply locate the train number you desire, look right for the red times in the chart and scroll up to find what city the train is nearest at a given time. FYI, I assume summertime light for the chart, (approx 6:00 to 20:00) so be aware that the locations given as being in the daylight will be significantly different in the shorter days of winter, especially at locations that are bordering sunrise / sunset times. Obviously locations in between the ones given will fall inside the times listed if everything is going well. PS: ALL BETS ARE OFF ON THE WEEKENDS. Trains often leave early, late, or not at all. Good luck!

    * Northbound #220 leaves Ft. Pierce between 19:00-19:30 arriving Cocoa about  22:00 ( delays due to#105 #107,#117).  Then to Titusville auto ramp to pick up - 23:00.  Arrive New Smyrna around 00:00 (midnight) to pick up on Tues.  (222 sets out and picks up on Thurs. only.)  220 leaves NSB about  00:30 after picking up and arrives in Bowden around 2:30a (Sometimes arrive 3:00a due to other southbound train delays).
    More 220/119 info: 220/119 both run normally Monday-Thursday. On Friday, the south end crew takes 220 north, and on Saturday, that same crew takes 119 south. On Friday, 123 usually handles the traffic 119 would have, namely autos for Titusville and dead loads for Ft. Pierce. On Saturday, 218 handles 220's load, mainly dead loads from Ft. Pierce, which usually included Tropicana boxes. 222 works the Titusville ramp Saturday. On Sunday, they run a 141 with an extra board crew out of Jax on 119's schedule with 119's train. That train leaves Ft. Pierce as extra 240 north on Monday, usually with light engines. It stops and works all the points 220 normally works, namely Cocoa, Titusville, & NSB. Hence, 220 runs straight through to Jax on Mondays.  Also, 220/119 swap crews Mon-Thu, so crews return home every night.  Whew!

**#218  picks up at the Port of Palm Beach (M-F). This generally takes 45 minutes or so.

***#294 Stops at Delray Beach to switch the rock plant there.

24x will run out of Hialeah if there is an excess of auto racks that cannot fit onto the regular trains. This happens often if 208 and 222 are long and auto rack traffic is heavy. This train usually leaves in the evening between 1800-2100.

* #119 leaves at 19:15 from Bowden, gets to New Smyrna about 21:30 and sets out there, leaving around 22:00. Arrive at Titusville auto ramp around 23:00, Cocoa-around 00:00 (midnight) and arrive in Ft. Pierce around 2:00a.

** #121 stops  Ft Lauderdale and drops pigs off  Sun and Mon morning.

***#123 Sets out at Port of Palm Beach. (M-F) Generally a 45 minute stop.