My hunt for FEC 430 has had quite a few blunders. From missing the unit by a matter of minutes, to it not running on the train we wanted it to, and outright getting pulled off the train to make a gevo lead, I've pretty much seen it all. But this past Friday, intuition and a lockdown on expected operations resulted in success.
It all started with noticing an emerging trend on how the railroad handles power coming off train 103, which is Jacksonville to Ft. Pierce. The standard power set for this train is a ES44C4 and a trailing EMD, usually of the GP40 variant. On Tuesday through Friday, there is the need to keep the ES44 in Ft. Pierce so it can lead train 204 in the overnight hours. So that unit can't be sent down on 191, since its return counterpart 290 doesn't arrive till after 204 leaves. But the trailing EMD can go on 191, and it usually does as it serves as a natural way to turn the unit to face railroad north. This is because crews tend to prefer that orientation for their ops out of the yard.
With that pattern in mind, the wait began for a 103 with 430 in the trailing position. Friday July 25th was that day, and we set out for Rio with the hopes the "usual" would happen. Sure enough, it did, and 191 came into view around 18:57 with FEC's Veterans GP40 up front and solo, putting a grin on my face as the mission of seeing 430 on the trash train was finally complete.
