@RoamingRailfan clearly has an excellent relationship with Brightline's PR folks. I expect he'll give us a look at the trainset inside the maintenance facility. Might even be on the scene to film its arrival. (It's probably too close to OIA to shoot from a drone.)
Brightline Trains Florida discussion
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jis
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Yeah. It is on OIA grounds almost adjacent to the up and coming Terminal C, and between approaches to various runways.
neroden
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Scott Orlando
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Enroute to MCO now
Told ya' so! 
Looks like he did get permission to fly.
Looks like he did get permission to fly.
First off, glad I'm wrong about the trainset going to MCO. I can't wait to see the line finished! Nice to see that brand new track being used by a passenger trainset.
Not really. I think the color gradient fades to the end of the passenger coach in a nice way to have a "colorless" engine that can then be reassigned if necessary without upsetting the overall look.Does is bother anyone else that the specific colors (in this case blue) don't extend to the engines?
neroden
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Told ya' so!
Looks like he did get permission to fly.
You can get exceptions to the "restricted flight zone" rules around airports by filing requests in a particular system. I assume he said "I'm gonna be this far away from the runaways and I'm only gonna be 100 feet in the air" and they said yes.
Scott Orlando
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cirdan
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Wow, I wouldn't have thought it was that easy. Airport authorities tend to have a reputation for having zero trust or patience, understandably so when you consider the potential risk that a drone could cause, even if by incompetence rather than malice.
I'm not sure now whether the drone shots were taken by @RoamingRailfan or by Brightline. I saw footage similar to the photos on a local newscast attributed to Brightline. One or the other filmed it and shared it with the other.
Mailliw
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I believe that once Orlando is open the trainsets will be extended to 7 coaches.
UserNameRequired
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FAA UAS Data on a Map, Federal Aviation Administration, for KMCO area. Note really sure where Brightline is though:
https://arcg.is/1X90O0
jis
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The Brightline facility appears to be in a 50' quadrilateral. Even though it is right under the approach to 36R it is far enough displaced from the threshold to be in a 50' ceiling zone.
neroden
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I just spent some time browsing articles about it; according to what I've read, they aren't complete jackasses about it, and once you are out of the "0' ceiling" zones they will give limited permissions. Roaming Railfan has a long record of responsible behavior, and in this case has a large company backing him up in any request he might have made.
I'm surprised nobody has posted this link yet:
Stepped out of work for lunch and caught Brightline crossing NASA then Babcock near US-1 in Melbourne today.
Unfortunately too far away to pull out camera and get to it.
Locals are mixed about BL flying through here. Many upset it exists, many upset there isn't a stop, many don't give a poo.
Unfortunately too far away to pull out camera and get to it.
Locals are mixed about BL flying through here. Many upset it exists, many upset there isn't a stop, many don't give a poo.
I mean, to be fair it was only posted a couple hours prior.
jis
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Way back when the Brevard County Council had its first meeting regarding AAF (the then name of Brightline), the real estate agent who helped me with the purchase of my residence in West Melbourne, was an active voice in the Council Meeting. She knew about my interest and knowledge about railroads and hence asked me for my expert opinion about what the real estate folks in the County should be worried about and what position they should take, in my opinion. I filled her up with ideas about what position the real estate industry in the county ought to take and what they should push for, including a station in the county. This was over eight years back. Most of the significant conversation took place over a very long lunch at The Grill on the Indian River by the Pineda Causeway.
I have no idea what she and her real estate industry folks made of it, but it was satisfying to see that other than individuals with a loud voice here and there (Debbie Mayfield I am pointing at you), generally the Council has been supportive of the project and has worked with AAF and Brightline towards getting a station in the County including running a County funded project to propose a prioritized list of possible station sites, from which Brightline has selected one.
This is in contrast with the shenanigans that every county between Brevard and Palm Beach have pulled over the years only to be finally beaten into submission in the last couple of years.
I have no idea what she and her real estate industry folks made of it, but it was satisfying to see that other than individuals with a loud voice here and there (Debbie Mayfield I am pointing at you), generally the Council has been supportive of the project and has worked with AAF and Brightline towards getting a station in the County including running a County funded project to propose a prioritized list of possible station sites, from which Brightline has selected one.
This is in contrast with the shenanigans that every county between Brevard and Palm Beach have pulled over the years only to be finally beaten into submission in the last couple of years.
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neroden
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I found Roaming Railfan's second-from-most-recent update quite interesting because of the drawbridge construction. They're, as usual, building new piers, but this time underneath the existing spans. It looks like it's going to mostly follow the usual procedure of "remove old west track bridge spans -- place new west track bridge spans -- remove old east track bridge spans -- place new east track bridge spans" but I really wonder what they're going to do with the actual drawbridge component. Probably a big replacement with a couple of days' track closure?
jis
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Brightline has completed the construction of the 3.5 mile approach track to the Orlando International Airport station (with lots of photos). Click the link below...
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/brightline-completes-first-major-construction-zone/ar-AATSoFc
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/brightline-completes-first-major-construction-zone/ar-AATSoFc
Scott Orlando
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Thanks for this! (I was having BL withdrawals too).
I haven’t had the chance to drive across town lately. I am wondering if the station is finally connected to the VMF.
I haven’t had the chance to drive across town lately. I am wondering if the station is finally connected to the VMF.
I took this picture of fenced in tracks as our bus was taking us from the airport to WDW. It wasn’t too long after we left and I wondered if they might be the Brightline tracks.
jis
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They are Brightline tracks.
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