This was my first ride aboard Brightline. I rode the "Smart" service from Boca Raton down to Miami, then on their "premium" service back to Boca. Let go!
I hope that the different transit agencies in the Northeast take notice of Brightline Rail. I'm a retired conductor from NJ Transit and would like to see these improvements on NJT territory. Excellent coverage and your narration is smooth and professional. I noticed that most crossings on the Brightline route are quad gates and horn free zones. I certainly hope the riding public respects this wonderful rail equipment.
We all have hopes and dreams but the southern end runs down the middle of Dixie Hwy and people love to short cut across the tracks and the train is fast and Spooky quite.
Rebadged Chinese train made by Qindao, located Tangshan China. Not riding on that low quality train of embarrassment with shabby business deals with US politicians allowing communist Chinese to build important US infrastructures. Not safe.
In case anyone was curious to know, Brightline increased train lengths to 5 cars from 4. Hence the lone coach that's a different color from the rest of the train. Ridership has gone up a lot this year.
I hope to see the day when Brightline trains will have 8-10 passenger cars. I think rail service is really going to catch on with Floridians and visitors alike.
@@richardsmith4187 I don't. All that will happen is more traffic at the stations, and more people to contend with in the stations. Bigger is not always better.
I was actually thinking about that while watching the last few minutes of this. I just figured one coach was either out of service and swapped with one from a different set or some such.
Great video Danny and thanks for taking us along. I am very hopeful for the future of Brightline. They seem to be committed to making the line an attractive/safe/clean/fast way to go. They're killing all of the decades long criticisms of rail travel in the USA. God bless the FEC.
Hopefully Brightline won’t take the maintenance of whatever signals whose maintenance it’s responsible for for granted because as last week’s fatal train crash in the eastern Indian state of Odisha made clear, failure to properly maintain signals can lead to disaster.
Brightline isn't that new... I rode it in the first week it opened in January 2018 (on vacation from the UK). As for speeds - my local trains regularly hit 75mph on a 35 mile journey that includes about 9 stops. And that's in a 2-car DMU - never mind a bloated 8000hp on 5 cars on Brightline.
@@newbryford Remember that these trains will also be used for the up-to-125 mph service to Orlando and later Tampa. The UK has plenty of similar 125 mph diesel intercity services.
To answer some questions you had, and to add some more knowledge for ya: The Brightline station was built next to the bus terminal in Fort Lauderdale as an interchange point. Smart move! The Orlando section has no railroad crossings. The now southernmost searchlight are now Bayard siding, the first siding heading south on the FEC and the last one heading north. all of the old signals including Palm Bay South and North are now gone. I have pictures of Palm Bay South and North as well as Pineda South. Pineda South I got pictures of ONE WEEK before they were removed and I didn’t even know it! EXCELLENT VIDEO DH!!
@@distantsignalalways! For the doll arm, I saw that signal back in February and it stunned me too, I’m guessing with the FEC it’s means this small signal is for the track next to it, or if anything no use at all.
The more planes we remove from the skies that are nothing more than a fancy commuter taxi when used domestically the better! Each jet uses 3 to 4 gallons per engine per second of fuel at takeoff!
Rail is more relaxing, but it is also so much more expensive for trips of any great length, not to mention the time. If I want to travel from Miami to anywhere in the mid-west or west, I have to geo way out of the way taking at least two trains and spending a couple of thousand dollars or more for some kind of sleeper for the three or four day trip.
@@agems56 Passenger service is generally a money losing business for railroads which is why it had to be nationalized into Amtrak. Freight is where the money is to be made.
Loved your show for years. I have learned more about modern railroads from your show than I have learned anywhere else. That Brightline is passenger rail done right!
Rebadged Chinese train made by Qindao, located Tangshan China. Not riding on that low quality train of embarrassment with shabby business deals with US politicians allowing communist Chinese to build important US infrastructures. Not safe.
Dang, Miami is growing fast! Seems like all of Florida is growing quickly. Brightline definitely has some great branding/style! Definitely good advice from your IT friend! I never use any public connection that is designed specifically to handle data.
All of FL is growing rapidly, so much faster than anytime I've seen in all my life living here, governmental "shenanigans" aside... new homes and apartments are growing like grass, highway infrastructure is getting redone everywhere for the better and of course a slow but sure growth of new life for passenger high speed regional rail... I hope one day I can ride a train from Tampa to Miami if Brightline can keep the growth up. :)
@JonManProductions I know! I live in the Tampa are but I like to travel not only within the state but internationally as well. Having Brightline would give me such a a convenient way to access the airports in Miami and Orlando.
Wait til my old hometown of NYC goes bankrupt and both the New York Stock Exchange and the New York Bond Exchange moves to Miami. It will be like the roaring 1920s and 1960s put together! 😁
You are correct, we are growing at a crazy fast rate. People who yearn to be free of the tyranny of Democrat run states and big cities emigrate here by the thousands and tens of thousands.
No shortage of workers for such an endeavor down there… from the track laying to the engineers running the consists…. Great stuff as usual Dan and we thank you…
It’s so nice to see more people using the service. Hopefully when Orlando opens there will be packed trains and stations signaling a desire for more rail service🤞🏼
Thanks Danny. I'm hoping to visit Orlando this year via Amtrak Silver Star and make my way to the new Brightline airport terminus once it opens for travel. It's great to have this available for across state travel. We know the next expansion will be our home Tampa route, but like you, I'm not waiting to experience the new line.
I also can't wait until Brightline gets here to Tampa !!!!! I will be riding every weekend headed south for weekend get aways. I think they could put a station near downtown Tampa but anywhere they put it will be fine with me. " Have Train Will Travel " LOL
Thank you! Thank you! Can't get enough, but I appreciate all the hours you put into your productions. BrightLine couldn't buy a better promotional video.
Brightline is G R E A T !! We're in Weeki Wachee, Fl and took Amtrak from Tampa to West Palm Beach to get on Brightline to go to Miami. What a difference between trains. Love Brightline. The one thing you forgot to mention is on Brightline, after each stop, the cart lady also has free spirits with soda in premium seating!!! Can't wait to do Orlando to Miami & Tampa will be coming on line soon. Love you channel. Joe
Its awesome you got to review Brightline, Dan. I live in South Florida well Miami, but I have ridden on Brightline a couple of times since its introduction and I got to say its quality service. Not only that they are planning to run from Miami to Orlando trains every hour which is fantastic it does feel like an airline on the ground but in a very good way. Even though I am going for the Aerospace Industry (Space Sector more specifically). I think Brightline has the potential of providing us Floridians another way of traveling besides car and airplane. I hope they consider extensions to Jacksonville and a stop at Cocoa, since with that I can go to Cape Canaveral and to NASA easily. Anyways great coverage Dan, and that taco place looks great, I should check it out when I get free time. I like that we are getting another way to get to Orlando that is not of a car, bus or airplane. I hope Brightline will be implanted to more places in the United States.
This is the closest I'll ever get to Premium Class Seems like the golden age of Passenger Rail Transport is coming back to the US since the 1900s! Great video as always, Danny. Edit: What are your tips of filming in a public coach? I sometimes try to make B-Roll in some Trains, but I don't want to make other people uncomfortable.
I’m not a TH-camr but I’d say if you do any close-ups instead of just crowd scenes then to blur out the faces of the people and tell them that you’re doing that if they ask and feel uncomfortable. In Europe, I believe it’s the law to blur the faces unless it’s a big crowd scene
@@dkbmaestrorules yes I’m sure it varies by country in Europe since there’s so many different countries,in Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Central, Europe, etc. and, of course, the law would not be all the same.
@@dkbmaestrorules I’m just giving the man who asked for suggestions about how to film if people were uncomfortable with that. There may be people that film anyway even if people don’t like it, or they may be a different suggestion, that might be better that I haven’t thought of.
Thank you for sharing your Brightline experience. I wish Amtrak can upgrade to this level of service network wide and give the airline industry a run for it's money.
It takes, apparently, 10b$ for hourly service along a 200 mile stretch. Compare the upcoming 5 trips a day from Raleigh to Charlotte for around $700m (Piedmont and Carolinian).
@@robertolebron2296 They're making an operational profit, not an overall profit. That is, daily track use fees and fuel and electricity and staffing and all that stuff are covered by tickets, but the build cost isn't considered for that sort of "profitable". Transit should generally not need to make a profit, though adequate cost recovery is important. Brightline wouldn't run a lot of Amtrak services because they can't make money on station-adjacent real estate.
Thanks Danny, Great Ride experience YES 5 Stars!!! Appreciate sharing your positive BL experience !! Last Sunday my woman and my youngest enjoyed the day riding premium up to Palm Beach from Fort Lauderdale. We enjoyed every moment, clean stations, very personable Bright Line staff and comfortable ride. At the Palm Beach station you can catch the free golf cart taxi's out front and hang out at City Place (Now called The square) for lunch and shopping. We're now planning a long weekend on BL up to Orlando this fall. GO BRIGHT LINE!!!!!!!!
Great as usual... A couple of notes. Yes, you were riding on a promotional weekend, but the premium fares are rarely if ever discounted. The hand dryer that you displayed in the station are the same ones that are also onboard the train. Actually, you don't have to tap it, the entire restroom is touchless. If you just put your hand under the dryer the dryer will start.
Haha, thank you. Saw that and thought the same thing, "Doesn't make sense to touch something after watching your hands." Also a quick tip...avoid using the hand dryer if the sink still has water/suds in it. Otherwise you risk having it blow back on you.
Thanks for covering America's greatest passenger railroad! I too feel Brightline's privately funded passenger model is the key to bringing forth more passenger service in the U.S. in a quick, efficient and high quality manner.
I absolutly love your videos sir. I too have been a railfan since a little child. To this day when I visit my mother in wellington, KS. Im just two blocks from a double track BNSF main from K.C. to Amarillo. Cool thing is 1 mile east of the crossing is their yard which is a stopping point for wb trains to do a crew change. Oh I love watching them leave as thay get up to yrack speed when they pass by. I have a few videos on my channel showing the crossing.
Danny in thermite welding the magnesium starts the reaction by heating the mixture to the point of ignition then the powdered aluminum strips the oxygen from the iron oxide to sustain it's combustion which basically smelts the iron like in a steel mill and it runs molten into the form around the rail ends to be welded!
16:50 The Amtrak Logo was called the Pointless Arrow and it was seen on engines like the F and E Units and the SDP40F the logo would appear on Stations but many of those logos were replaced with the Travel mark logo in the 2000s and 2010s.
I was in the Miami area for a couple weeks during Thanksgiving of 2022, and I took the Brightline up to West Palm Beach for a little day out. Love the train!
Thank you Mr Danny for bringing us along. I watch everytime I get a notification. I live up north in Maryland. Have been to Florida but never in South Florida. I appreciate all you do for us.
Nice. I have been following The Roaming Railfan on his channel. The No 32 turnout is all-welded and the frog has a moveable point with two switch motors. If Brightline doesn't use his videos or get him to combine his videos into a construction documentary, they are plain crazy; his videos are in that class.
He needs to get a lifetime free pass on Brightline as he has done a fantastic job in documenting the whole process. And your right I hope a full length construction video could be produced.
The $50.00 (+or-) fare for a 1-2 hour business class ride on Amtrak, in at least one area of the country, seems to be a *fair-market* price. 😊 Bright-line is shiner / newer and the lounge looks 😳. I do remember you saying you received a good price for your return premium-class ticket. Thanks for taking us along. First time riding along on Bright-line.
By the way. Termite welding also involves melting a metal powder charge that flows in to a space that has been made between the two rails. A worker puts a ceramic form aroud the rail ends and then preheat the ends. So one could say it's a casting method.
That bit about the free taxi rides might be the key to reviving rail travel. One of the biggest problems with Amtrak is the "last mile problem", where passengers get to their destination city but then need to find a way to get from the station to wherever they are going. A lot of train stations don't have taxi stands or car rentals nearby. If you build a taxi ride into the price of the ticket, say, one ride from your house to the origin station, and another from the destination station to the final goal, that makes it easier to ride.
Just watched your film and am very excited about the Brightline. Any word bringing the rail over further to Disney and Lakeland and on to Tampa? I was a soldier in Germany back in the 80s and fell in love with their railways!
always interesting informations ,here in quebec via rail start to receive there new equipments with siemens charger locomotives with new passengers cars about the same as on the brightline railroad service ,again big thank,s and keep the good work from a subscriber in montreal.
Danny Outstanding overview of the Brightline operation and you are right, Brightline is not only a big deal in Florida but will spark new lines all over the country. I hope ...... they will start construction and head over here to Tampa as I know both you and I will be happy campers along with many others ! I can't wait to board in Tampa and head south to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami for weekend get aways and leave all that "driving" to Brightline. Brightline really is a game changer and what beautiful trainsets.
We used to be able to do that on Miami to Tampa runs on Amtrak. Till they fouled up the schedules completely. The Star left Miami in the early morning and got you to Tampa in time for lunch. After lunch you would catch the SB Star and get back to Miami at about 1800. Now the Star leaves at 1150 and gets to Tampa at 1725 while the SB Star leaves Tampa at 1237 and gets to Miami at 1758. The NB and SB Stars pass each other somewhere between WPB and Sebring depending on how late each one is running. Used to be able to go to Winter Park on the Meteor NB, have lunch there and then come back on the SB. But they screwed that up also. And we lost the Sunset Limited from Miami and then from Orlando also. So Amtrak has done Florida no favors. Brightline is our best hope for getting some decent service again.
As a Tampa resident I also look forward to that. I just had to take a day trip to Melbourne, driving the I-4 sucks. If train was an option, I'd greatly consider it.
Excellent video as usual! I look forward to riding Brightline when the Orlando station is open for business, hoping they add a few stops in between and continue on to Tampa.
Excellent Dave! I have been following the Brightline development ever since I met Gene Skoropowski and a forum in Toledo several years ago! Hope to come visit you and ride this some day!
I really, really, really, really, really hope that the Brightline extension to Tamp happens... Right now I commute weekly to MCO for work from St. Pete... I rent a room near the airport to stay during my work week.... We were thinking about moving to the Orlando area for my work, but it's too expensive there and we love where we live now... If Brightline gets moving forward with the TPA extension, I'd be able to come home every night because the train will be a hell of a lot faster than driving 2 hours for a lousy 100 miles on I-4.....
Mister H, very good video, Thanks! I have 26 shares in the Fast train that was supposed to go from Vegas to L.A. but my shares are worth $0.000052 now. Cool.
Greetings from the UK Danny. Just wanted to say how interesting this video it was comparing your experience to travel here in the UK. Most of our inter city trains look like the train you travelled on. Many miss the concept of a standalone loco and passenger carriages but those are now heritage or specials only. One massive difference is freight. Our freight trains are a fraction of the length of yours but frequency is much more often. In the UK we have the concept of spotting. Less popular than it was. The idea being to record the numbers of all the locos you see. Books are published every year with a list of all locos and the idea is to try to see them all. Do you have such a concept in the US ? All the best
I looked up the rates for a ticket on their site for Boca > Miami in late July and rates vary depending on the travel time slot you chose. The cheapest for Smart tickets appears to be the off-peak hours, 6:00 AM departure gets you a $12.50 ticket, while a 7:00 AM departure bumps to $29.50! Also, if you get a Premium off-peak it is $37 for a 6:00 AM departure and $52 for a 7:00 AM departure. In my opinion, the Premium ticket seems worth it if you intend to use some of the station amenities such as the snack bar/drinks as those add up FAST! That said if you just need to get from A to B in a hurry, stick with Smart. If I ever make it out that way, riding that is on my to-do list! Thanks for putting this together as always Danny.
Awesome video and narration Danny. Glad you took us along for the ride. I worked for the FEC back in the early 80’s. I was hired out of Hialeah yard, being on the extra board as a trainman you were called for all jobs within a 75 mile radius from Hialeah. A on opened up for a trainman on the Villa Rica switcher. It was Monday through Friday at 4am. I was living in south Miami at the time and drove about 75 miles each way to work just to get off the extra board. We went on duty at Yamato road in Boca Raton. I loved that job and crew. My engineer was Bill Greenough and my conductor was a ex Navy cook name Jack (can’t remember his last name). They tough me a lot. I eventually became a local conductor, yard engineer and before I left the FEC I was a mainline conductor. Thanks for bring back those memories. Robert now retired in Island City Oregon.
You looked like a kid that had just gotten a new toy, Dan! Thanks for sharing your 'discovery ride' on Florida's new system. Always great to see a new video of yours. Take care & stay healthy. From one of your ardent Canuck viewers.
Good report, thank you Danny! Now waiting for the rest of the country to catch up with commendable service like this. Also thanks for taking the time to get some last minute search light documentation in before it's too late!
Great presentation and you are a pro sir! Great voice over and front of camera presence. We live off beach line and watch the track come together. We are seeing the trains often now and crazy how fast they move!
Thermite welding uses a reaction called redox, (reduction, oxidation). The iron oxide is already oxidized and the aluminum reduces it so the Iron loses its oxygen atoms to become molten iron, while the aluminum gains the oxygen atoms to become aluminum oxide. The denser Iron sinks to the bottom and fuses with the Iron track forming the weld. The less dense aluminum oxide floats to the surface as slag which is chipped off. The mix is five (5) parts Iron Oxide to three (3) parts Aluminum powder by weight.
I’m eventually heading from SC to FL to ride the BrightLine. Just waiting on the proposed AMTRACK route from Atlanta to Jacksonville. Because I live just off the Crescent line right out of Clemson, SC. A nice all rail trip
Great video and tutorial as well as taking us along on the new Brightline Rail System! Definitely a 1st Class ride with the amenities to boot! That FEC GEEP was rolling through with those Stone Cars! Thanks again Danny for sharing this video with us along with your PRICELESS time and effort! Cheers from Laurel, Delaware USA.
I hope that the different transit agencies in the Northeast take notice of Brightline Rail. I'm a retired conductor from NJ Transit and would like to see these improvements on NJT territory. Excellent coverage and your narration is smooth and professional. I noticed that most crossings on the Brightline route are quad gates and horn free zones. I certainly hope the riding public respects this wonderful rail equipment.
We all have hopes and dreams but the southern end runs down the middle of Dixie Hwy and people love to short cut across the tracks and the train is fast and Spooky quite.
No. We have weekly accidents. Only non-Floridians like Brightline. It’s an unaffordable, inconvenient POS that worsens traffics
these would be a hit in this area of the country
Rebadged Chinese train made by Qindao, located Tangshan China. Not riding on that low quality train of embarrassment with shabby business deals with US politicians allowing communist Chinese to build important US infrastructures. Not safe.
In case anyone was curious to know, Brightline increased train lengths to 5 cars from 4. Hence the lone coach that's a different color from the rest of the train. Ridership has gone up a lot this year.
I hope to see the day when Brightline trains will have 8-10 passenger cars. I think rail service is really going to catch on with Floridians and visitors alike.
@richardsmith4187 the stations are made to handle up to 7 passenger cars (I believe)
No wonder I see a blue in a bright orange set in Aventura
@@richardsmith4187 I don't. All that will happen is more traffic at the stations, and more people to contend with in the stations. Bigger is not always better.
I was actually thinking about that while watching the last few minutes of this. I just figured one coach was either out of service and swapped with one from a different set or some such.
Great video Danny and thanks for taking us along. I am very hopeful for the future of Brightline. They seem to be committed to making the line an attractive/safe/clean/fast way to go. They're killing all of the decades long criticisms of rail travel in the USA.
God bless the FEC.
Hopefully Brightline won’t take the maintenance of whatever signals whose maintenance it’s responsible for for granted because as last week’s fatal train crash in the eastern Indian state of Odisha made clear, failure to properly maintain signals can lead to disaster.
There are two tracks, here in Ft. Pierce, and FEC uses both. I thought only one was for FEC use only, And Brightline had its own exclusive track.
Thanks for taking us along on America’s HOTTEST new passenger service!
Brightline isn't that new... I rode it in the first week it opened in January 2018 (on vacation from the UK). As for speeds - my local trains regularly hit 75mph on a 35 mile journey that includes about 9 stops. And that's in a 2-car DMU - never mind a bloated 8000hp on 5 cars on Brightline.
@@newbryford For a nation that progresses passenger rail in measures of decades, I would say it’s pretty new.
I feel like this is a Stefan reference…
@@newbryford Remember that these trains will also be used for the up-to-125 mph service to Orlando and later Tampa. The UK has plenty of similar 125 mph diesel intercity services.
@@ohutchie This is like America's HST moment. We've finally caught up to the UK circa 1975.
To answer some questions you had, and to add some more knowledge for ya:
The Brightline station was built next to the bus terminal in Fort Lauderdale as an interchange point. Smart move!
The Orlando section has no railroad crossings.
The now southernmost searchlight are now Bayard siding, the first siding heading south on the FEC and the last one heading north.
all of the old signals including Palm Bay South and North are now gone. I have pictures of Palm Bay South and North as well as Pineda South. Pineda South I got pictures of ONE WEEK before they were removed and I didn’t even know it!
EXCELLENT VIDEO DH!!
Thanks Brylon!
@@distantsignalalways! For the doll arm, I saw that signal back in February and it stunned me too, I’m guessing with the FEC it’s means this small signal is for the track next to it, or if anything no use at all.
So glad to see commuter rail expanding in the US. Train travel is so relaxing and easy and I hope it keeps growing!
Flying sucks
The more planes we remove from the skies that are nothing more than a fancy commuter taxi when used domestically the better!
Each jet uses 3 to 4 gallons per engine per second of fuel at takeoff!
Rail is more relaxing, but it is also so much more expensive for trips of any great length, not to mention the time. If I want to travel from Miami to anywhere in the mid-west or west, I have to geo way out of the way taking at least two trains and spending a couple of thousand dollars or more for some kind of sleeper for the three or four day trip.
@@agems56 Passenger service is generally a money losing business for railroads which is why it had to be nationalized into Amtrak. Freight is where the money is to be made.
@@agems56it's all about choice... I'd rather have a balance of all 3 and more competition than banning one to boost another.
Loved your show for years. I have learned more about modern railroads from your show than I have learned anywhere else. That Brightline is passenger rail done right!
Rebadged Chinese train made by Qindao, located Tangshan China. Not riding on that low quality train of embarrassment with shabby business deals with US politicians allowing communist Chinese to build important US infrastructures. Not safe.
It's so amazing to see regional passenger rail returning to the United States. Hopefully another Golden Age is right around the corner!
I really really hope so, fingers crossed!
Love the Bright line. Love the videos.
You really managed to catch that "golden era rail promotion film" vibe this time
Excellent video and commentary, as always. Thanks for the ride.
First video I watched from you- became an instant fan! Commentary and videography were top-notch.
Many thanks! Please check out the rest of the channel.
One of your best videos
Another great video Danny.
Keep them coming!
Excellent as always!
Thanks for the video. I’m a Floridian in Europe right now and getting very used to train transit. Can’t wait to use this when I get home.
Dang, Miami is growing fast! Seems like all of Florida is growing quickly.
Brightline definitely has some great branding/style!
Definitely good advice from your IT friend! I never use any public connection that is designed specifically to handle data.
All of FL is growing rapidly, so much faster than anytime I've seen in all my life living here, governmental "shenanigans" aside... new homes and apartments are growing like grass, highway infrastructure is getting redone everywhere for the better and of course a slow but sure growth of new life for passenger high speed regional rail... I hope one day I can ride a train from Tampa to Miami if Brightline can keep the growth up. :)
@JonManProductions I know! I live in the Tampa are but I like to travel not only within the state but internationally as well. Having Brightline would give me such a a convenient way to access the airports in Miami and Orlando.
Wait til my old hometown of NYC goes bankrupt and both the New York Stock Exchange and the New York Bond Exchange moves to Miami. It will be like the roaring 1920s and 1960s put together! 😁
You are correct, we are growing at a crazy fast rate. People who yearn to be free of the tyranny of Democrat run states and big cities emigrate here by the thousands and tens of thousands.
@@luislaplume8261 Do you think the will rename themselves the Miami Stock Exchange (MSE) and Miami Bond Exchange? LOL
No shortage of workers for such an endeavor down there… from the track laying to the engineers running the consists…. Great stuff as usual Dan and we thank you…
Lol great stuff? It’s privately owned and operated. Dan didn’t have shit to do with it
It’s so nice to see more people using the service. Hopefully when Orlando opens there will be packed trains and stations signaling a desire for more rail service🤞🏼
Thanks Danny. I'm hoping to visit Orlando this year via Amtrak Silver Star and make my way to the new Brightline airport terminus once it opens for travel.
It's great to have this available for across state travel. We know the next expansion will be our home Tampa route, but like you, I'm not waiting to experience the new line.
I also can't wait until Brightline gets here to Tampa !!!!! I will be riding every weekend headed south for weekend get aways. I think they could put a station near downtown Tampa but anywhere they put it will be fine with me. " Have Train Will Travel " LOL
When does it open for travel?
Gonna plan to head to Orlando on the 4th of July weekend
Thanks for the great video Danny👍😃
Brilliant video. Thank you.
Another great video, thank Danny
Thank you! Thank you! Can't get enough, but I appreciate all the hours you put into your productions. BrightLine couldn't buy a better promotional video.
Thanks Danny for taking us on this amazing premium bright line ride for all of us to enjoy! Your videos continue to amaze me! Keep them coming! :)
Thanks for sharing, Danny. Looks like a very interesting line.Greetings from Australia.
Another excellent video, Danny...👍
Brightline is G R E A T !! We're in Weeki Wachee, Fl and took Amtrak from Tampa to West Palm Beach to get on Brightline to go to Miami. What a difference between trains. Love Brightline. The one thing you forgot to mention is on Brightline, after each stop, the cart lady also has free spirits with soda in premium seating!!! Can't wait to do Orlando to Miami & Tampa will be coming on line soon. Love you channel.
Joe
Its awesome you got to review Brightline, Dan. I live in South Florida well Miami, but I have ridden on Brightline a couple of times since its introduction and I got to say its quality service. Not only that they are planning to run from Miami to Orlando trains every hour which is fantastic it does feel like an airline on the ground but in a very good way. Even though I am going for the Aerospace Industry (Space Sector more specifically). I think Brightline has the potential of providing us Floridians another way of traveling besides car and airplane. I hope they consider extensions to Jacksonville and a stop at Cocoa, since with that I can go to Cape Canaveral and to NASA easily. Anyways great coverage Dan, and that taco place looks great, I should check it out when I get free time. I like that we are getting another way to get to Orlando that is not of a car, bus or airplane. I hope Brightline will be implanted to more places in the United States.
This is the closest I'll ever get to Premium Class
Seems like the golden age of Passenger Rail Transport is coming back to the US since the 1900s! Great video as always, Danny.
Edit: What are your tips of filming in a public coach? I sometimes try to make B-Roll in some Trains, but I don't want to make other people uncomfortable.
I’m not a TH-camr but I’d say if you do any close-ups instead of just crowd scenes then to blur out the faces of the people and tell them that you’re doing that if they ask and feel uncomfortable. In Europe, I believe it’s the law to blur the faces unless it’s a big crowd scene
@@enjoyslearningandtravel7957 varies by country, but there certainly are European countries where that's true.
@@dkbmaestrorules yes I’m sure it varies by country in Europe since there’s so many different countries,in Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Central, Europe, etc. and, of course, the law would not be all the same.
@@dkbmaestrorules I’m just giving the man who asked for suggestions about how to film if people were uncomfortable with that.
There may be people that film anyway even if people don’t like it, or they may be a different suggestion, that might be better that I haven’t thought of.
Thank you for sharing your Brightline experience. I wish Amtrak can upgrade to this level of service network wide and give the airline industry a run for it's money.
It takes, apparently, 10b$ for hourly service along a 200 mile stretch.
Compare the upcoming 5 trips a day from Raleigh to Charlotte for around $700m (Piedmont and Carolinian).
@@daniellewis1789 aren’t Brightline still making profit regardless of that $10B dollars per hour of operation
@@robertolebron2296 They're making an operational profit, not an overall profit. That is, daily track use fees and fuel and electricity and staffing and all that stuff are covered by tickets, but the build cost isn't considered for that sort of "profitable".
Transit should generally not need to make a profit, though adequate cost recovery is important. Brightline wouldn't run a lot of Amtrak services because they can't make money on station-adjacent real estate.
Thanks Danny, Great Ride experience YES 5 Stars!!! Appreciate sharing your positive BL experience !! Last Sunday my woman and my youngest enjoyed the day riding premium up to Palm Beach from Fort Lauderdale. We enjoyed every moment, clean stations, very personable Bright Line staff and comfortable ride.
At the Palm Beach station you can catch the free golf cart taxi's out front and hang out at City Place (Now called The square) for lunch and shopping. We're now planning a long weekend on BL up to Orlando this fall.
GO BRIGHT LINE!!!!!!!!
Looks great Danny. Thanks
Wow, those trains are really posh! They sure beat the dingy old Gallery and Bombardier cars that I have to ride for my commute.
Great as usual... A couple of notes. Yes, you were riding on a promotional weekend, but the premium fares are rarely if ever discounted. The hand dryer that you displayed in the station are the same ones that are also onboard the train. Actually, you don't have to tap it, the entire restroom is touchless. If you just put your hand under the dryer the dryer will start.
Haha, thank you.
Saw that and thought the same thing, "Doesn't make sense to touch something after watching your hands."
Also a quick tip...avoid using the hand dryer if the sink still has water/suds in it. Otherwise you risk having it blow back on you.
You make really good interesting videos. I always watch them clear to the end. Keep up the good work.
8:20 nice nod to Jerry Reed…..
“Let it all hang out ‘cause we got a run to make”
Thanks for covering America's greatest passenger railroad! I too feel Brightline's privately funded passenger model is the key to bringing forth more passenger service in the U.S. in a quick, efficient and high quality manner.
Bright line express premium class services and your commentryboth are excellent love from new Delhi to all of you keep this standard up for ever
I just noticed 135,000 subscribers good for you Danny! 🥳
Excellent presentation and well spoken! Thank you!
I absolutly love your videos sir. I too have been a railfan since a little child. To this day when I visit my mother in wellington, KS. Im just two blocks from a double track BNSF main from K.C. to Amarillo. Cool thing is 1 mile east of the crossing is their yard which is a stopping point for wb trains to do a crew change. Oh I love watching them leave as thay get up to yrack speed when they pass by. I have a few videos on my channel showing the crossing.
Danny in thermite welding the magnesium starts the reaction by heating the mixture to the point of ignition then the powdered aluminum strips the oxygen from the iron oxide to sustain it's combustion which basically smelts the iron like in a steel mill and it runs molten into the form around the rail ends to be welded!
I Love you Danny !
You are the real thing !
Great Video Danny, As always....
Thank you for this video!
16:50 The Amtrak Logo was called the Pointless Arrow and it was seen on engines like the F and E Units and the SDP40F the logo would appear on Stations but many of those logos were replaced with the Travel mark logo in the 2000s and 2010s.
Really cool! Thanks!
i rode brightline a year back from miami to wpb and absolutely loved it, america needs more rail
Kudos. Thank you. ❤
All is right with the world when Danny presents a new video! Thank you, Sir!! Greetings from Vancouver, Canada.
I was in the Miami area for a couple weeks during Thanksgiving of 2022, and I took the Brightline up to West Palm Beach for a little day out. Love the train!
Always great stuff. Thank you Sir.
Thank you Mr Danny for bringing us along. I watch everytime I get a notification. I live up north in Maryland. Have been to Florida but never in South Florida. I appreciate all you do for us.
Looks like you had an awesome fun time riding on brightline
Great video, I plan on taking a bright-line from Orlando International South when it opens !!
Nice. I have been following The Roaming Railfan on his channel. The No 32 turnout is all-welded and the frog has a moveable point with two switch motors. If Brightline doesn't use his videos or get him to combine his videos into a construction documentary, they are plain crazy; his videos are in that class.
He needs to get a lifetime free pass on Brightline as he has done a fantastic job in documenting the whole process. And your right I hope a full length construction video could be produced.
The $50.00 (+or-) fare for a 1-2 hour business class ride on Amtrak, in at least one area of the country, seems to be a *fair-market* price. 😊 Bright-line is shiner / newer and the lounge looks 😳. I do remember you saying you received a good price for your return premium-class ticket. Thanks for taking us along. First time riding along on Bright-line.
You rock, my dude! Great video
Great video Sir. This was so cool to watch
Glad you enjoyed it
Love the work Danny!
Many thanks!
Great coverage, Danny!
Many thanks, Irv!
Great video. I am glad to see railroads growing. Brightline looks like an excellent ride.
Awesome! If I lived there I think I'd be taking advantage of that line now and then!
I love that Smokey and the Bandit ( East bound and down ) reference Danny
By the way. Termite welding also involves melting a metal powder charge that flows in to a space that has been made between the two rails. A worker puts a ceramic form aroud the rail ends and then preheat the ends. So one could say it's a casting method.
That bit about the free taxi rides might be the key to reviving rail travel. One of the biggest problems with Amtrak is the "last mile problem", where passengers get to their destination city but then need to find a way to get from the station to wherever they are going. A lot of train stations don't have taxi stands or car rentals nearby. If you build a taxi ride into the price of the ticket, say, one ride from your house to the origin station, and another from the destination station to the final goal, that makes it easier to ride.
Subbed for production quality as we don’t have trains here only when I travel
Just watched your film and am very excited about the Brightline. Any word bringing the rail over further to Disney and Lakeland and on to
Tampa? I was a soldier in Germany back in the 80s and fell in love with their railways!
The Amtrak sign is model railroad plaque. Nice addition to your collection
always interesting informations ,here in quebec via rail start to receive there new equipments with siemens charger locomotives with new passengers cars about the same as on the brightline railroad service ,again big thank,s and keep the good work from a subscriber in montreal.
😮😮 $52 bucks for free beer!!! And a ride along the scenic Florida coast??? SIGN ME UP!!!
Danny Outstanding overview of the Brightline operation and you are right, Brightline is not only a big deal in Florida but will spark new lines all over the country. I hope ...... they will start construction and head over here to Tampa as I know both you and I will be happy campers along with many others ! I can't wait to board in Tampa and head south to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami for weekend get aways and leave all that "driving" to Brightline. Brightline really is a game changer and what beautiful trainsets.
We used to be able to do that on Miami to Tampa runs on Amtrak. Till they fouled up the schedules completely. The Star left Miami in the early morning and got you to Tampa in time for lunch. After lunch you would catch the SB Star and get back to Miami at about 1800. Now the Star leaves at 1150 and gets to Tampa at 1725 while the SB Star leaves Tampa at 1237 and gets to Miami at 1758. The NB and SB Stars pass each other somewhere between WPB and Sebring depending on how late each one is running. Used to be able to go to Winter Park on the Meteor NB, have lunch there and then come back on the SB. But they screwed that up also. And we lost the Sunset Limited from Miami and then from Orlando also. So Amtrak has done Florida no favors. Brightline is our best hope for getting some decent service again.
As a Tampa resident I also look forward to that. I just had to take a day trip to Melbourne, driving the I-4 sucks. If train was an option, I'd greatly consider it.
Excellent video as usual! I look forward to riding Brightline when the Orlando station is open for business, hoping they add a few stops in between and continue on to Tampa.
Good Sunday afternoon! We just watched your new "Brightline Ride".. Great job! Thank you!
Excellent Dave! I have been following the Brightline development ever since I met Gene Skoropowski and a forum in Toledo several years ago! Hope to come visit you and ride this some day!
Danny.
I really, really, really, really, really hope that the Brightline extension to Tamp happens... Right now I commute weekly to MCO for work from St. Pete... I rent a room near the airport to stay during my work week.... We were thinking about moving to the Orlando area for my work, but it's too expensive there and we love where we live now... If Brightline gets moving forward with the TPA extension, I'd be able to come home every night because the train will be a hell of a lot faster than driving 2 hours for a lousy 100 miles on I-4.....
Mister H, very good video, Thanks! I have 26 shares in the Fast train that was supposed to go from Vegas to L.A. but my shares are worth $0.000052 now. Cool.
This video is super in depth
Excellent ! You answered many questions. Hopefully they will open a station on the Treasure coast and service to Jacksonville would be nice as well.
Greetings from the UK Danny. Just wanted to say how interesting this video it was comparing your experience to travel here in the UK.
Most of our inter city trains look like the train you travelled on. Many miss the concept of a standalone loco and passenger carriages but those are now heritage or specials only.
One massive difference is freight. Our freight trains are a fraction of the length of yours but frequency is much more often.
In the UK we have the concept of spotting. Less popular than it was. The idea being to record the numbers of all the locos you see. Books are published every year with a list of all locos and the idea is to try to see them all.
Do you have such a concept in the US ?
All the best
I looked up the rates for a ticket on their site for Boca > Miami in late July and rates vary depending on the travel time slot you chose.
The cheapest for Smart tickets appears to be the off-peak hours, 6:00 AM departure gets you a $12.50 ticket, while a 7:00 AM departure bumps to $29.50! Also, if you get a Premium off-peak it is $37 for a 6:00 AM departure and $52 for a 7:00 AM departure. In my opinion, the Premium ticket seems worth it if you intend to use some of the station amenities such as the snack bar/drinks as those add up FAST! That said if you just need to get from A to B in a hurry, stick with Smart.
If I ever make it out that way, riding that is on my to-do list! Thanks for putting this together as always Danny.
Not much more than gas depending on what your driving considering the traffic in soflo
Great to see more rail instead of buses being introduced,safe railroading Danny from ballarat in Oz,👋👋👏👏👍🇦🇺
Awesome video and narration Danny. Glad you took us along for the ride. I worked for the FEC back in the early 80’s. I was hired out of Hialeah yard, being on the extra board as a trainman you were called for all jobs within a 75 mile radius from Hialeah. A on opened up for a trainman on the Villa Rica switcher. It was Monday through Friday at 4am. I was living in south Miami at the time and drove about 75 miles each way to work just to get off the extra board. We went on duty at Yamato road in Boca Raton. I loved that job and crew. My engineer was Bill Greenough and my conductor was a ex Navy cook name Jack (can’t remember his last name). They tough me a lot. I eventually became a local conductor, yard engineer and before I left the FEC I was a mainline conductor. Thanks for bring back those memories.
Robert now retired in Island City Oregon.
Very cool stuff, Robert. Thanks for sharing.
Your welcome Danny
Another great video with a great subject! Thanks Danny!!!
A great introduction to Brightline! I look forward to riding it in the near future when I visit my nephew and his family in the Orlando area!
Thanks for the tour. Glad you did this post.
Can’t wait for the DeLand connection and Tampa route. Want to try the Orlando-Miami trip just for fun when it opens
Nice Video
I truly enjoy your content Mr. Harmon! I look forward to the day I get to meet you. I have been watching your videos since 2014. High-ball!!
You looked like a kid that had just gotten a new toy, Dan! Thanks for sharing your 'discovery ride' on Florida's new system. Always great to see a new video of yours. Take care & stay healthy. From one of your ardent Canuck viewers.
Good report, thank you Danny! Now waiting for the rest of the country to catch up with commendable service like this. Also thanks for taking the time to get some last minute search light documentation in before it's too late!
Very nice Danny!
Great presentation and you are a pro sir! Great voice over and front of camera presence. We live off beach line and watch the track come together. We are seeing the trains often now and crazy how fast they move!
Thanks very much. Glad you enjoyed it.
Mr. Distant Signal really knows his railroad business. Very educational every time I watch.
Great video. A real 1st person video of what the ride is like. Thanks Danny,be safe out there near the high iron!
Thermite welding uses a reaction called redox, (reduction, oxidation). The iron oxide is already oxidized and the aluminum reduces it so the Iron loses its oxygen atoms to become molten iron, while the aluminum gains the oxygen atoms to become aluminum oxide. The denser Iron sinks to the bottom and fuses with the Iron track forming the weld. The less dense aluminum oxide floats to the surface as slag which is chipped off. The mix is five (5) parts Iron Oxide to three (3) parts Aluminum powder by weight.
I’m eventually heading from SC to FL to ride the BrightLine. Just waiting on the proposed AMTRACK route from Atlanta to Jacksonville. Because I live just off the Crescent line right out of Clemson, SC. A nice all rail trip
Great video. May have to go to Disneyworld this year just to see it.
Great video and tutorial as well as taking us along on the new Brightline Rail System! Definitely a 1st Class ride with the amenities to boot! That FEC GEEP was rolling through with those Stone Cars! Thanks again Danny for sharing this video with us along with your PRICELESS time and effort! Cheers from Laurel, Delaware USA.