Miami, Florida’s downtown skyline backdrops our snowbirding friends Dee and Dick Weeks and ladyfriend Sue Brooks (above center) at the Bayside shopping district on Miami’s waterfront.  In the lower photo Dick, Dee and Sue are headed for one of our Tri-Rail trains which will speed us on our way through that densely populated portion of the state.

RIDING THE RAILS

Southeast Florida Style--

We were riding the interurban railroad between West Palm Beach and Miami, Florida recently when it dawned on me train wheels don’t go clickity-clack any more.   The rails used to be laid in sections and each joint squawked when the steel wheels rolled by.

Now, the rails are in continuous or welded lengths—and mostly silent.  That’s progress; I guess. 

But it sure made me think longingly of those overnight train rides from Mansfield, OH to Altoona, PA years ago and being lulled to sleep by the metallic rhythm of the rails.

Earlier on this story’s morning we drove about an hour from Vero Beach to West Palm Beach where we parked at the Tri-Rail station (where the automobile fire occurred that was shown on the blog a few days ago.)

Tri-Rail serves commuters up and down the densely populated southeast coast of Florida.  In our trips down and back the trains ran on a remarkably prompt schedule.

In fact, often we ran adjacent to I-95 and the train easily kept pace with the highway traffic which usually ran with a 70 mph speed limit.   But, who knows how fast the vehicles or the train was moving.

And, our entire day was a free ride.  I think it was because of our lofty status as senior citizens.

There is one station where the service begins at Magnolia Park, north of West Palm Beach and 13 more to the south until you reach Miami’s Metrorail Transfer station which scoots passengers along their way until you arrive at the downtown “people mover;” an elevated rail system that wiggles through downtown…in our case, to Bayside, a very trendy shopping area on Miami’s waterfront.

Along the way some of life’s painful realities slid by.  Several times I noted homeless camping areas in the scrubby brush trackside. 

And the visual gruel of Miami’s impoverished neighborhoods was often back-dropped by the sparkle of the downtown’s high-rise architecture.

Coordinating with a clever system of shuttle buses and scheduled bus routes most of southeast Florida’s attractions are conveniently available via this service.

I strongly suspect there are more Miami-area train rides in our future snow birding experiences in southeast Florida. 

 

At least I hope so.

   

Sue (above in purple) prepares to board Miami’s elevated train which allowed us to romp through that city’s cavernous downtown completely oblivious to traffic snarling the streets.  That’s her below in one of the train’s modern and cool passenger cars as we meander through the city.