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Description
Growing up in Orlando, I was mostly exposed to the ACL, whose Jacksonville-Tampa mainline cuts through the center of downtown, and, to a lesser extent, the Seaboard Air Line whose branch from Wildwood to Lake Charm crossed and paralleled the ACL downtown before veering eastward at Lake Ivanhoe.
Steam was gone from both roads when we moved there in 1955- ACL was still purple and silver, but only SAL dull green and yellow freight units came in- mostly Alco RS's. Both lines had interesting steam. The ACL stabled hundreds and hundreds of Pacifics, but their most memorable locomotives were the R-1s. Huge 4-8-4s, designed for 100 mph service with the Coast Line's heavy passenger trains, they were badly balanced and actually bounced on the rail at speed. They were the last new steam on the road.
Handsome in two-tone gray livery with aluminum striping and herald, they lasted a mere dozen years. In 1984, I painted one at Jacksonville in acrylic on canvas.

NOTE: No one knows what the shade of gray was, because no color image of an R-1 has even been found, apparently. Baldwin's records are vague, as are the ACL's. Many remember it has having a strong bluish tint, others disagree. Those who actually saw one new in service are few in number these days...

Description
Growing up in Orlando, I was mostly exposed to the ACL, whose Jacksonville-Tampa mainline cuts through the center of downtown, and, to a lesser extent, the Seaboard Air Line whose branch from Wildwood to Lake Charm crossed and paralleled the ACL downtown before veering eastward at Lake Ivanhoe.
Steam was gone from both roads when we moved there in 1955- ACL was still purple and silver, but only SAL dull green and yellow freight units came in- mostly Alco RS's. Both lines had interesting steam. The ACL stabled hundreds and hundreds of Pacifics, but their most memorable locomotives were the R-1s. Huge 4-8-4s, designed for 100 mph service with the Coast Line's heavy passenger trains, they were badly balanced and actually bounced on the rail at speed. They were the last new steam on the road.
Handsome in two-tone gray livery with aluminum striping and herald, they lasted a mere dozen years. In 1984, I painted one at Jacksonville in acrylic on canvas.

NOTE: No one knows what the shade of gray was, because no color image of an R-1 has even been found, apparently. Baldwin's records are vague, as are the ACL's. Many remember it has having a strong bluish tint, others disagree. Those who actually saw one new in service are few in number these days...