Questions About Texas Bridges, Passenger Rail in the Miami/FL Area

[Devil's Advocate]

I have two quick questions to ask the forum.

1. How can I find a listing of bridges Amtrak crosses in Texas? Or is that sort of information even available? I'd like to get some photographs and/or videos of Amtrak passing over intersting looking vintage bridges but I don't want to just mindlessly drive all over the place cris crossing the tracks needlessly.

2. I might be visiting South Florida in another month or so for some beach time along the Atlantic as the Gulf is so screwed up right now. Although taking the train there is out of the question thanks to the butchered SL route I keep hearing that there are some other local trains to ride in the area. What's the general view of Miami/FL area passenger train services? Anything interesting to recommend for quick ride? I was hoping we'd do a trip to San Diego (perfectly doable on today's route network) but it looks like Miami is going to win this battle.

 

[GaSteve]

Tri-Rail is an active 7-day-a-week commuter rail service that runs from Miami to West Palm Beach. You can find info here

 

[battalion51]

Tri-Rail is not a bad ride these days. The entire corridor is double tracked, except for the last two miles at Hialeah Market and Miami Airport Station. They're pretty much all diesel hauled trains (except for the DMU set when it cooperates) with a cab car on the north end of the train. I think they're pretty much all two or three car sets these days. It's not the most scenic ride ever, but it could be a neat trip. One of my favorite spots when I lived down that way was City Place just east of the WPB station (about a five minute walk). There's a movie theater (it was Muvico back in the day, but I think they went under as a company), a Cheesecake Factory, along with other dining and shopping options. On the east side of City Place is the FEC main line which, depending on the time of day, can be quite active. Tri-Rail also has a connection to Metrorail at the aptly named Tri-Rail/Metrorail station in Hialeah. This is also the closest station to the Miami Amtrak station along with the yards for Tri-Rail, Amtrak, and CSX. On the weekends there is service every two hours, but you can also buy an all day pass which I believe only costs $4 or $5.

 

[stntylr]

The SL crosses the Pecos River out in West Texas and the Sabine River in East Texas.

The TE crosses the Trinity River in Downtown Dallas.

The Brazos River crossing is out in the middle of nowhere in Johnson County but the river is pretty wide because its flowing into Lake Whitney.

In Downtown Austin the TE crosses LadyBird Lake.

The TE also crosses the Guadalupe River just outside of San Antonio.

The HF crosses the Red River on the OK border.

That's all I can think of offhand.