The Way It Was: Juice Train 1997
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- The Tropicana Juice Train was a famous operation for decades. Running from Bradenton, Florida to Tropicana's distribution facility in Kearney, New Jersey, the "Streak Of Orange" was a highly sought out train by railfans. I produced this "mini-documentary" on the Juice Train in 1997 and 1998. It includes a cab ride from Tampa to Baldwin, Fl. The first leg of the Juice Train's route to New Jersey. All folded into regular freight service now, the Juice Train is but a memory. But when it was running, it was always an exciting catch.
Imagine being this passionate about something in 2021 as you were in 1997. Its inspiring!
I was the engineer on the Juice Train from Jacksonville to Florence from 2005 till my retirement in 2012...I loved catching it and running it to Florence....
Nice thank you for helping supply goods and deliver freight
" Document the unique and the ordinary cause one day it'll all be gone. "
Wise words there.
I met that old juice train many times over my 35 years with the old ACL railroad, Seaboard Coast Line, Family LInes System , Seaboard System Railroad and of course when I retired it was CSXT... The juice train stopped in Florence SC where I worked . Sometimes a locomotive would have a problem the juice train was like any other train that ran over our rails it was not immune to mechanical issues...The locomotives were topped off with fuel, a crew change then away they went on up the line to Rocky Mount. They ever told us one time how many oranges it took for a train load of juice, which after many years I do not remember anymore. Thanks for the nice video, sure brings back memories for me..
You have such a good presenter/narrator voice. Lots of character to it.
IF I remember right, he used to be in radio so that's part of it.
@@corycollier - II was wondering that, he sounds like a news anchor, which is great, I've loved watching these videos because its easy listening.
@@Shinotama he is actually is a news achor of some kind, not sure where though
As I. remembered. thosed. Tropican train. going thru Wildwood when we
liveed there. Stay well. Dan!!
Made a living off that voice!
Always love to watch this video. Especially how my coworkers have grown OLD...great memories and how the locales have changed over the years.
This was an artistic and informative documentary -- well filmed, scripted, and narrated. Thank you!
“Document the unique and the ordinary because some day it could all be gone.” Wow.
Great video. Thanks for sharing.
Danny has a most enjoyable voice and delivery. Really like listening to him.
While I am not particularly a rail enthusiast, I enjoyed this immensely. In every way it is a brilliant production. Well done!
Many thanks. That's a nice compliment.
This is a very well-organized video, Danny. You do a really good job of blending narration and variety of the whole operating area; history, bridges, power, personnel, etc. I used to railfan the whole DC area when I lived in College Park, MD. K650 in orange, and then white reefers, was a regular.
This man is a national treasure. Sir your videos are incredible
That's a very nice compliment, Connor. Thanks!
If you are not a professional voice-over , you missing your calling. WOW, your voice and voice over skills are at such a professional level. Excellent video production and narration!!!!
He is a professional TV announcer. Look up WTVT, Channel 13, Tampa Florida. This is his hobby -- and we are so lucky to have him!
As a locomotive engineer for Norfolk Southern, I found this documentary amazing! Thanks for sharing it!
This is the Most Interesting, Most Detailed, Best Narrated, Railroad Video, I’ve seen. Thank You! 👍
I sure do love your videos. They all are done in first class shows. My Grandfather used to take me when I was 2 years old to get an ice cream and watch the trains go by. My Great Grandfather was a Steam train Engineer. Thank you !
Seeing older footage like this is really interesting, especially for a younger railroader like myself. The enhanced maintenance practices (allowing for proper fast freight), the frequency of the trains, the unit trains, the fact that the trains weren't irresponsibly long (back before PSR had a stranglehold on everything). It's really something...definitely somewhat of a bygone era unfortunately. Seeing the big GEs with the older style analog gauges instead of the newer digital gauges and PTC screens scabbed in everywhere was pretty neat too. Thanks for this Danny, top quality stuff as always.
@phillyslasher That's exactly it. PSR is phenomenal if you're an executive or a shareholder. Furlough the bulk of your workforce and run the ones who are left straight into the ground. Run the fewest trains possible, and make them as long as humanly possible...and then some (oh, and don't forget to run those trains with the scabbiest, dirtiest, most beaten down power you can find). Slash your maintenance and safety measures and boom, there ya go...bigger bonuses for the brass and more money for the shareholders. It's an absolute travesty of a system. I work up in Canada, and it's bad enough here. Some of the horror stories I hear from stateside (most alarmingly the idea of single man crews that certain companies are trying to ram through) are absolutely unbelievable. Rules and legislation made by people who have never ACTUALLY railroaded. They've never built a train or switched a yard at 2am in the bitter cold. They've never had to walk a 3 mile long train in the blazing summer heat in search of a hot wheel. They've never had to dig out a switch that's buried under a 4 foot snow drift using nothing but a switch broom. They have absolutely no goddamn idea what it's actually like to do this job (the vast majority of them, anyway). But man, they sure like acting like they do, all while making things exponentially more difficult and constantly reminding us about how grateful we should be to work for them. You said it best, you really can't have a good job anymore, and it's a real shame, because despite all of my ranting and bitching I legitimately love the job. It's just, as is often the case, the the powers that be... they love to make things difficult.
@phillyslasher Ha! Oh buddy, I feel you, big time. Before the railroad I worked in the oilfield, drilling rigs more specifically. It's the exact same story with the old boys, "Yeah, well back in my day!!!" on and on and on. Back in the days of "real" riggin'...ya know, back when they'd sit on a single 2500 meter well for months and months...meanwhile there we were, us young, dumb ungrateful young guys, smashing out 6000 meter wells in 15 days start to finish. It's an unbelievably unfair comparison, and it's the exact same with the railroads. The attendance policies are absolutely horrendous. I know where I am, they've gone so far as to no longer accept a doctor's note as a valid reason for an absence. Fun fact? That's in DIRECT violation of the Canadian labour code...but it doesn't seem to matter. It's amazing (and scary, really) what they can get away with. And again, the whole constantly having management and dispatchers (RTC as we call them) breathing down your neck, wondering why you haven't got the entire yard switched out already or why your set off is taking so long, etc? Yeah man...it's something I know all too well. Speaking of management, let's not forget everybody's favorite thing to hear come over the radio "Hey, so how long are you guys good till?"...the sure fire sign of an impending shit storm on the horizon haha.
@phillyslasher Hahaha yeah, I was gonna say the same thing actually...sounds like were out of the exact same spot. Sorry to burst your bubble though...yeah, she's pretty much the exact same bullshit up here, just no active PTC (yet) and it's, on average, a hell of a lot colder (let me tell ya, riding the point on a 5 mile shove when it's -50°? Reaaaaaaaaly not that much fun). Other than that? Same ol' class 1 boogie...always an adventure eh? I gotta say though, it was cool to talk with someone from a US terminal. I know I should have better things to do than talk about work, but I like hearing about how things operate in different spots like that...and getting to hear just how similar we all are. Work safe brother.
I'm a product of the 90s myself. Grew up around large scale model trains throughout that decade, while seeing the occasional commuter, intercity, tourist, or freight train. But I really didn't get gung-ho into the big mainline stuff until the 00s. Even in the last 5 years a lot has fallen. Maybe I'm just being too negative but things definitely got choked by the "poison P's" of PTC and PSR. Even "back then" freight trains were that much more efficient per tonnage of freight moved than by highways, and yet even PSR hasn't dominated the trucking industry like it wanted. Heck, cost squeezing has only been worse for railroading and serving freight customers. You can throw "customers first" out the window. But at least profits are up so it looks good to shareholders? I'm a very recent railroad employee, albeit not a "ground-level" railroader. And as an aside, I also like analog gauges.
Well, I think ya'll summed up my 20something year career.
"Back in my day......" lol,
It sure was more fun.
Now that I have my house paid off, about dont give a damn if I get run off for awhile. Just short of miserable some days.
The last train I worked as a conductor for CSX was the Juice Train north out of Florence, SC to Rocky Mount, NC in November of 2008. Clear signals the whole trip. I miss working for the RR every day. Good times! Great video and thanks for catching these memories on film.
I work out of what's left of hamlet NC. PSR put the halt to the hump and we are flat switching now. Hired out dec of 05 we might of crossed paths. If that last trip was your retirement trip I hope your enjoying it.
@@FiremanSVFD-cf1jn I actually hired out August of 05 in Mobile, Al. When hurricane Katrina hit they sent me and my class to Rocky Mount to keep us working. I transferred there permanently in January of 06. Caught meningitis in November of 08. Had it and was sick as dog on that last trip north out of Florence but I had to take the call cause I didn’t want to be stuck down there in the hotel or the hospital. So I guess you could say I’m retired/off on medial. Lost my hearing as a side effect of the meningitis/antibiotics. They don’t want a deaf conductor. 🙁 I left right before the safety vest rule and PTC. I guess I’m lucky in that sense.
@@sammylw7694 wow hate that all that happened. It is so different now it's ridiculous. We still have Q470 out of hamlet but it meets Q471 out of rocky mt at Milan yard in fayettville and the crews swap trains there. That is another one of Harrison's deals to cut out the hotel stays. We had guys leave hamlet for rocky mt and florence. That helped to keep some of us working for a while but I still got furloughed.
@@FiremanSVFD-cf1jn thanks man. Had I stayed on it wouldn’t have been long before I would have gotten furloughed. I was already sweating it. That continuous held a way was paying the Rocky Mount engineers pretty good. Not sure if the Hamlet guys had that in their contract or not. I know I’d always plan on being in the hotel for a day and a half before getting called back. They had started just dead heading guys home instead of letting them collect held away. Are you back working now or still furloughed?
@@sammylw7694 yeah I'm back working. I went to conductor and engineer school with Stanley Dew from rocky mt. After engineer training I ran and was on the bubble for a little over a year. Then they did all the cutting I just could hold a turn or two on the road. Been working the yard alot lately, lol waiting on a call right now for a 3rd shift yard job.
This was my first time watching one of your videos, and I cannot overstate how impressed with the level of production, footage quality, and information that was packed into this video. You also have the perfect narrator voice. Keep up the awesome work!
Terrific catches! I wish that CSX still have those Halloween painted engines around today. Also, I wish that the Tropicana Juice train is still around today.
I used to go out on CSX switchers and locals with my dad as a teenager. He taught me how and let me run the locomotive sometimes. You could get away with going on the train back then.
I remember at age 12, SCL engine sat outside the local newspaper I delivered for and got full tour of the locomotive.
My grandfather was a retired chessie system railroader they probably allowed you to bring ur child so you could teach them it was also easy for ur kid to get on because of there dad also not sure why my uncle didn't take advantage
I said "There's no way I'm sitting through a 46 minute video." 46 minutes later....
Ha! Thanks!
@@distantsignal you, @Jaw Tooth and Virtual Railfan are the best.
Same, I didn't think I would watch it all. I did.
Its sure beats the presidential bloodletting!!!
@@andrewpayne6295 you said that perfectly!!!!
You are the Joe Buck of railfan videos! I'm still working my way through your entire catalogue and just wanted to say how much I liked this throwback video to the old Juice Train. Thanks, Danny!
From 2004-2006 I worked in an office that overlooked the Potomac Yards rail junction, just south of Washington DC. Several times a week I could look out and see the Tropicana Juice train running north, full of juice, or running south, returning for a refill. Thanks for sharing the details of your ride.
10 out of 10. Improved only by drone shots, had they been invented.
Back in the day, it would’ve been a helicopter shot. $$$
One person disliked the video must prefer Minute Maid...
Bill Danbury 🤣🤣🤣🤣
they like apple juice
Haters going to hate. Wish I could give it a thumbs up every time I watch it.
@@gregleuze6657 likewise. Danny's videos are always top notch.
😆😆
So many images from growing up. So many names and places. I remember my Grandfather having a few stressful days over the Juice Express. He was with ACL, SCL, and then a Roadmaster for CSX. We love your dedication to preserving the images of the industry.
I live in Lakeland and always loved seeing the orange train. I grew up in a neighborhood roughly 50 feet from the main line that runs through Lakeland and back then, the train yard was right over by Memorial Blvd. Those were the days. Thanks for posting this video
Gotta love the throwbacks. Thanks Mr. Danny
Thanks Danny, I really enjoyed it,,,,, my name is Ray Bracken and my grandfather used to take me to the train yard in High Springs, Fl. which was a freight yard and it was my favorite thing to watch some of the switcher engines that I love so much toss and hump cars around back-and-forth In the 1960s.... I was born and raised in Sanford Florida and I've always been a huge fan and had model trains growing up.... Back then we had O gauge model trains( They were big and heavy and were the best).... Anyway I much enjoyed your trip on the juice train And have enjoyed your other videos,,, that really brings back memories and nostalgia of a time long forgotten😊
Thanks very much Raymond. Yes, When I started railfanning CSX in Tampa quite a few railroaders would mention they worked in High Springs. Apparently it was a medium-size Atlantic Coast Line yard where perishable trains got ice. Nothing left of old High Springs Yard now.
That was so good Dan. Who would know there was that much slack in a train? Terry Goolsby the engineer was very knowledgeable and shared freely. I have so much respect for what engineers do and their command and respect for the powerful engines they control. Thanks Again
Newer rail fan here and native Floridian. Loved the history lesson! You have a great voice and tone for narrating!
I love these throwback videos! 1980s-1990s CSX/Chessie System are some of my favorite railfanning videos.
This is the best train video I have ever seen!!! Great editing and incredible information about the train, the history of the railroads stations etc etc.. Fantastic!!!!!!! What Danny does takes hours and hours and hours of filming, editing, and scripting and recording.... An incredible treat!!!!!!!!!!!!! He has to interview people, get access to information... unbelievable!!! Danny you get my award for greatest train video!!! I hope you can do another video like this one .... knowing what is going on behind the scenes when you see trains .... I love it!!!
Distant Signal, your vast railroad knowledge, your happiness to be faithful with this channel, your collection of videos, everything, in is very impressive. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with us.
Excellent video! I learned a great deal. I would see the Tropicana Juice Train now and then while commuting to work in Northern Virginia in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s. It was always a thrill!
Wow the amount of effort and teamwork it took to make this video is amazing Thanks again Danny !
A pretty rare video....like seeing the warehouse workers/ factory loading up the cars. It is so refreshing to see this! A time lost, but won't be forgotten, if we can keep the generations to see this! 😊😊
Amazing content. The intense onslaught of trivia, along with the excellent narration is so soothing, as are the trains of course. I don't live in America so I learn a lot of the character of the country this way.
Hey Danny I like your videos for the CSX Tropicana juice train I’m a fan of the Tropicana juice train but keep up the good work 🍊🧃
So beautiful whenever people take time to preserve history... .whether you like it or not!
Some "history" deserves the museum treatment...
Thanks for letting us follow the adventures of the dynamic duo Bob & Terry! Also, JUICE TRAIN!!!!!!
Danny this was the greatest video ever. The end actually brought tears to my eyes. I lived less than a block from the RR tracks in Beverly as a kid and all of us kids would run to the corner when we heard the train whistle. Thanks again for the great video!
These videos are my childhood. Born in march of 93 ive seen all these
This is another example of the high-quality work we have come to expect from Danny. Not only video of trains passing, but background (like that old hidden turntable). Great job, Danny!
Anyone remember this ? The OJ train was featured (on the high line in Philly) in the opening montage of the movie Trading Places, with Dan Ackroyd & Eddie Murphy....
Wonderful look back Danny! Definitely miss the dedicated juice trains...
Fantastic video what a great peice of work
That's awesome how you filmed this when you had the chance. My father ran the juice train between Tampa and Bradenton for decades.
Edward McFail, so did you and I although probably not as often. Btw, Dennis looked so young back then didn't he?
@@matthewscott5977 yep. May Dennis enjoy a long, healthy, blessed retirement. He deserves it! They just dont make trainmasters like him any more.
I worked a Tropicana Juice Train from Indianapolis, IN to St. Louis, Mo. back in 2001. 115 cars of loaded juice.
The newest cars have Therm King refrigerators on them with 1000 gallon fuel tanks underneath them now.
60 mph ride all the way.
Third best ride I ever worked.
Outstanding presentation of railroad operation with historical perspective included. As an old SP brakeman I enjoyed this very much. Thanks.
It's not just a guy recording at a crossing. There is a story along for the ride! Great work Danny!
I remember as a kid living here in MD see the Tropicana Juice Trian pass through DC and Baltimore areas heading north.
the dad and his kid at 6:42 really hit hard for me. i miss you dad. i know youre spotting all the trains i'm missing up there for me. cant wait for you to show me all them when i see you again someday i love ya
Always nice to see how things were back then. I remember the first time I saw the train in 1996. Though, it had two SD40-2's for power.
Though, I do wish the Juice Train still went like it did in the SCL - PC era, with electric locomotives on the ex-Pennsylvania Railroad Maryland, Philadelphia Terminal, and New York Divisions.
Another thing I like seeing in this video is unpatched Conrail power. God, I miss Conrail. The beautiful blue units and that sweet RS3L air horn that always reminded me of Conrail.
Why am I watching this? I don't know but the producers made trains interesting again! 😅
Thanks Chris. That's a great compliment.
Another great Video by the #1 Railfan, Danny Harmon. Thank you Danny for your wonderful insight into the world of real railroading.
Im on Hwy 301 north of Folkston. I see the Tropicana cars most days. Maybe two years ago, I saw BRAND NEW cars going south. You're right, I swear, it wasn't a few weeks later, and, whoever had graffiti 'en all. (ps. In BRADENTON, my grandfather had bought Tropicana stock. Think I have this story correct. Because today its not publucally traded. But, I was always told they paid my Nana good dividends. )
easily the best vintage rail documentary I've ever seen! I learned more than I expected from this video, and felt a tinge of heartache for rail days long gone. Thank you so much for sharing this with us!
I lived right next to the New York short line, which used to be the Reading line in northeast philly. I loved watching the Tropicana orange train, and I even remember it, when it was under Reading railroad control in its last couple of years in existence 1975 76. I also remember the Ringling circus train coming to philly in 79 using that track, it was the Tropicana orange train first followed by the Ringling bros circus train.
I'm surprised you haven't gotten a TV program or something. This is quality material, really well done.
First time I watched you but it brings back memories when I was a kid I use to watch the juice train I lived on the little manatee and see the trusted all the time
This is one of the best railfan videos ever! Thanks for sharing it with us, Danny!
This was a very informative video and something to look back at as well. 1997/98 doesn't seem that long ago. Time fly's...
Danny, thanks for all you do for us railfans!
Plate C
Priceless!
I really lime these videos from this guy..he really makes you feel right at home watching the videos and explains what's going on. He's got a great personality for this kind of videos...keep up the great work and I'll keep on watching!
Thanks Jerry!
Absolutely spot on. Danny Harmon is in a league of his own. Nobody gets within shouting distance of him. Fantastic guy.
I loved all the history. Thanks for sharing, Danny! If I had the money, I would love to see that all the abandoned and empty depots, like the one in Ocala, get new coats of paint and some TLC.
Sad that the juice train isn't around, but I love seeing the juice cars in freight trains these days. Thanks Danny, you rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You know DS uploads brighten up anyone's day!
Fantastic Production
Got To See The 🍊Juice Train When I Went To Winter Park to Visit Relatives,I was Just a Boy, But it Was Great to see a Bright 🍊Orange 🍊
Unit Train,Having grown up on the Old
F.W.&D.in Northern Tx. We Had Dozens of Coal Trains& The
Occasional Coors Train Out of Colorado … This Was A Bang Up Job
Of A Production!!!
☝🏻Easy Way To Tell ?
After 45minutes of
Watching & Then Hearing,”This Is Where We Had To Leave Our Train…Our Batteries 🪫Are …NO !!! I Thought To Myself! 2 more cents!!! Great Job of
Narration! Didn’t talk
Too Much,Or Over the Sounds Of the Trains! Great Inserts On Classic Trains that Once Roamed!!!
And A Great Narration Voice WITH EXCELLENT
GRAMMAR!
Kudos To You Sir !!!
NOT one eBell at the crossings! Love it
Outstanding. I was 21 when this was filmed. Makes me feel old.
Danny is a mad lad, he didn’t do the Distant Signal Vault videos in order.
But now it's up to you to watch them again in order. =D
And not complain
what a great narrator you are Danny. Thank you for that history.
Love watching your videos Danny, even the older versions in "not so high def." Lol! You put together a great story to go with a great train of the not too distant past.
My father took me on the Champion in 1968 or 69? to Tampa. I will never forget it. So grateful to have ridden a passenger train before I rode Amtrak.
Thanks for such a great video!!
As a life long train lover. I really enjoyed this video. Earned a sub from me. Can’t wait to watch more. Keep up the great work!
Really enjoyed this episode, Danny. From Bud Harriss, St Augustine railfan , still watching at 93 yrs old.
These videos are awesome.
Stay safe Danny
I wish I could do some of these with you, Sounds like fun.
I am up in New England but not where I used to live about 300 years from the old B&M now Pan Am/CSX line (near the old depot (that used to be a Model Train Shop (owned by my neighbor).
That was over 20 years ago when he passed away.
WOW...Broadcast quality production....Great work.
9:50 a N&W caboose. Man, I really miss seeing those.
I miss the ol blue conrail engines and their horns too.
We still have the N&W caboose at the museum still on the our train
Saw a cut of Tropicana cars up in Cincinnati a couple of days ago and immediately thought of you.
Hey, Danny! Just want to say that I love your channel and the content you produce is fascinating and educational. I've learned about signals, timetables, radios and more from watching your videos. Thanks a lot, and keep up the great work!
I can remember this train coming through Newark, Elsmere and Wilmington Delaware in the '80's.
The one stand out morning for me and this train was in 1983. Five geeps lead the dedicated train - RF&P, Chessie(C&O), B&O(blue), WM(circus) and Seaboard(black & yellow). Wish I had my camera... I was just getting off work in the morning in Elsmere. What a sight!
This is a great video. It's nice to see some of the operations inside Tropicana. Well done sir.
Just doesn't get any better than Danny's videos!! Past or Present!
Danny love these throwback videos! Keep’m coming
A video so well done that even railroad employees wind up learning something from it!
Nice video Danny!
I'm not much of a railfan, but I really enjoyed this documentary. Thank you for posting it.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Another amazing job Danny, the Juice train has always been one of my favorite catches. Excellent history lesson and its so awesome that you actually got to ride along back then. Can't wait for next one, keep up the great work as always.
My wife and I really enjoyed this. So we’ll done. Thanks
Thank you Tim!
No way you would be able to do that these days! Its things like this that make me wish I had been born in the later years of the 1980's or early 90's apposed to the early 2000's
Same I thought I was the only one who thought that way.
I was born in the late 80s and dont remember getting cab rides 😆 but then again my family weren't railfans either.
Great photo shoot on the Juice Train. Im an old railroader off the old Erie Lackawanna who worked between my hometown of Huntington Ind to Chicago. Most of our freight went into Hammond Ind and then onto Chicago at 51st St yard. Huntington was the changing point for crews going east and west, with the eastend crews going to Marion Oh and then yarding or moving on east. You do a great job of showing the railroads past and present!
My phone: sends notification for Distant Signal upload
Me: 😃
As a news videographer i have to say this was exceptionally well shot. That was a lot of work if that was one shooter on the ground, chasing the train all day.
Family Lines livery, cab rides and no graffiti...those were the days.
Not to mention the diverse motive power and liveries. All of the standard cab dash 8's, U-boats, and older SD units are now either retired or scrapped. Miss those days so much now.
Well the graffiti didn't end up there yet but others weren't so lucky
I personally like graffiti on trains. It gives them a unique artistic look.
@@SouthRails so you support criminal damage to property then? Got it.
@@SIGINT007 Shut up ya Karen!
Normally I wouldn’t have the patience to sit through 46 minutes of a video, but this is an absolute masterpiece. This video is very informational, and entertaining at the same time. Good job on this!
Wow, thank you very much, Phoenix!
im running the "juice train" on my MSTS NEC route while im watching this right now
This was an awesome video. My husband workedfor Tropicana and retired from there.