FEC in the news Twice Today and More

Apparently today's not the day to chase around the Florida East Coast mainline as the line is mute... entirely.

Before I become devil's advocate, the more heartening news. The South End of Gifford siding is now renamed in honor of the ailing veteran FEC signalman Robert Bougard. I really appreciate this selfless effort on the RR. He has been a dedicated employee and it is unfortunate that his health status is rough at the moment. Prayers are for a quick and speedy recovery. We remain hopeful and optimistic for him to improve rapidly. The naming conditions allow for the South End to be named "Bougard" and the North End to be named "Gifford".

And now, the really negative stuff. Two incidents happened; one minor and one pretty drastic.

In Hialeah, a car was stuck on the tracks, and hit by a local from Fort Lauderdale. I believe unfortunately this resulted in a casualty. This happened around noon, and I remember seeing the train lined on the monitor out of Dania.

But the worst news is the collapse of 5 concrete I-Beams at the Fort Lauderdale airport project. This appears to be a structural flaw on I-don't-know-who's part, and I know this... the contractor is in big trouble. Not only will they have to pay up for this, but I suppose they may be liable for the late cargo. Already, trains 101, 202 and 107 are held up. 101 is tied down for about 12 hours at Camp Murphy siding in Palm Beach. Fortunately this only resulted in one minor, treated on scene injury as opposed to it winding up much worse. Consequently, this may cause several months' delay on the completion of the runway.

Here is an updated article: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/broward/fort-lauderdale/fl-structure-collapse-airport-20131102%2c0%2c2409694.story 

FEC will resume operating trains tomorrow morning. I'll be making an effort to get trains 101 and 107 in their messy schedule. Don't forget to set your clocks one hour back.

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