Juice Train

Rocky Jackson
Aug 16
8 min read

This was originally written on April 12, 2021and was updated on August 31, 2021.

As a teenager I became so excited when I happened to see the #JuiceTrain with my own eyes. I had only previously read about this special #Tropicana train that ran from Florida to New Jersey to supply the Northeast's orange juice needs.

At some point I read that #Tropicana had expanded this service and had a similar train that ran on a smaller scale to #Cincinnati. Having moved to the #Cincinnati area I decided to begin exploring trying to discover if they did indeed have a corresponding #Tropicana juice train to this area. I discovered that #Tropicana's plant is located on Highway 747 just north of Crescentville Road in the suburb of Springdale. They also have a leased engine to move the cars from the siding to the loading dock area.

I began researching the history of the #Tropicana #JuiceTrain. Besides the main #Tropicana plant in #Bradenton, which is just south of St. Petersburg, a secondary plant was built in Ft. Pierce. The #FloridaEastCoast #FEC railroad sends its cut of cars from Ft. Pierce on the K-Branch to #CSX's Moncrief Yard in Jacksonville, Florida where it joins with the cars from #Bradenton travelling on #CSX to continue on their journey. The main train goes to a distribution facility in Jersey City, New Jersey where Tropicana owns a #GE 70-ton locomotive to do its own switching. The other cut of cars travels on #CSX from Moncrief Yard to #Cincinnati and 2-3 cars are sent a couple of times a week to the #CityofIndustry in California via the Union Pacific.

Beginning of the Juice Train

#Tropicana was founded in 1947 by Anthony T. Rossi, an Italian immigrant. Originally, #Tropicana hand-delivered orange juice to nearby Floridian homes. As demand grew particularly in the Northeast #Tropicana decided it needed a new way to get orange juice into the hands of its thirsty customers. In the 1950's they used a ship called the S.S. Tropicana that took 1.5 gallons of juice to New Jersey from its Cape Canaveral, Florida base. One of its very Manhattan customers was the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel which had a standing order for 1,000 gallons of juice and fruit jars every week.

#Tropicana realized it needed an even faster and more frequent service to deliver its orange juice into the hands of its thirsty customers. In 1961 the S.S. Tropicana made its final voyage. From 1960 to 1970 #Tropicana utilized TOFC (trailers on flatbed cars) to move the juice more efficiently over the 1,250-mile route.. Then #Tropicana had 150 100-ton insulated boxcars fabricated at Fruit Growers Express's Alexandria, Virginia shops. On June 7, 1971 #Tropicana inaugurated what it called the "Great White Juice Train," the first unit train in the food industry. Railroaders refer to #Tropicana's shipment of orange juice as the "#JuiceTrain." This unit train consisted of two 65-car unit trains a week which stretched about a mile long that each carried one million gallons of juice. In the first 10 years of the Juice train operation #Tropicana saved $40 million in fuel costs.

Originally, the "juice train" ran on the #SeaboardCoastLine Railroad (from #Bradenton to Tampa) (#SCL). It then used the former #SeaboardAirLine Railroad (#SAL) and the #AtlanticCoastLine Railroad (#ACL) tracks. At Richmond, Virginia it crossed over to the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac (RF&P) (#RichmondFredericksburgPotomac #RFP) railroad at Pier 5 at the famous concrete James River Bridge where it traveled to the Potomac Yard in Alexandria, Virginia where the Penn Central Transportation (#PC) took over. Penn Central operated it most of the rest of the way to Kearny, NJ with electric locomotives under the overhead wires.

Changes come to the juice train operation

In 1976, #Conrail (#CR) took over from the ill-fated #PennCentral (#PC). It discontinued electrification in 1981. This was a year after the #SCL became part of #CSX Corporation. Subsequently, it was merged into the #SeaboardSystem Railroad (#SBD) and eventually into #CSX Transportation. The RF&P (#RFP) became part of #CSX in 1991.

In 1999, #CSX acquired part of #Conrail which caused the #JuiceTrain to travel on all #CSX routing. Additionally, it took the "#JuiceTrain" to a new larger #Tropicana facility in Jersey City on the National Docks Secondary. Now the train runs from Washington D.C. to Philadelphia on the former #BaltimoreandOhio Railroad (B&O #BO), then it travels on the former #Reading through West Trenton to Bound Brook, then the former #LehighValley to the #Tropicana Facility which is adjacent to New Jersey Transit's Meadows Maintenance Facility.

In 2004, #Tropicana rail fleet consisted of 514 cars. They traveled over 35 million miles. This method is three times more fuel efficient than other shipping methods. Each refrigerate cars is full of 64-ounce containers of concentrated orange juice. They carry the equivalent of four truck loads.

The unit train was Q740 (ex-K650) from Jacksonville, FL to New Jersey. The empties were run on Q741. The train stopped at Philadelphia to pick up a small block of intermodal cars. The Tropicana cars were placed behind the intermodal cars. Usually the "empty" southbound train has 2 to 5 #Tropicana cars which are actually loaded with either wine, canned beverages or malt liquor depending on the car.

The Decline of the Juice Train

Unfortunately, Americans are drinking less orange juice. From 2005 until 2014 the US production and importation of orange juice has decreased from 1,410.5 million gallons to 973.9 million gallons. The per capita decline of orange juice has gone from 4.76 gallons to 3.05 gallons.

The continued decline of orange juice consumption along with several issues with the Florida orange crop caused #CSX to discontinue the dedicated unit juice trains on April 4, 2017. On that day it took its 13 cars destined for #Tropicana's New Jersey facility and tacked it on to the end of intermodal train Q140 at Jacksonville.

City of Industry operation:

When #Tropicana added this operation it sent 2-3 cars per day a couple of times a week from Jacksonville to the #CityofIndustry. Originally they ran on Q101 Jacksonville to New Orleans. However, #CSX now runs them on Q154 Jacksonville to Atlanta. At Hulsey yard they are added onto train Q145 Atlanta to New Orleans where it becomes #UnionPacific train KATLB, intermodal New Orleans to Long Beach. It sets off all its domestic intermodal as well as its #Tropicana cars upon arriving at Long Beach. The #Tropicana cars are either at the head end or the middle of the block that's for the #CityofIndustry. The train continues on the Alameda Corridor in order to drop its steamship boxes at the ICTF in Long Beach.

#UnionPacific returns the empty #Tropicana cars on KCIAT which contains domestic intermodal blocks for Atlanta, Charlotte, and Florida. #Tropicana's cars are generally on the rear of this train which goes from Long Beach to Atlanta. At Hulsey Yard it goes on Q155 to Jacksonville. It then goes by the #FEC to Ft. Pierce or by #CSX on Q741 to #Bradenton.

Cincinnati operation:

In 1997, #Tropicana began running a second juice train to #Cincinnati. This was a dedicated train that ran twice a week in the late 1990's (K652). Now it runs 6 days a week (except on Sunday) on #CSX Jacksonville-Cincinnati intermodal train Q142. #Tropicana's cars are always on the head end. Once it arrives at Queensgate in #Cincinnati typically around sunrise (or later in the summer), a yard job Y119 ferries the cars to #Tropicana's Distrubution Center in the #Cincinnati suburb of Springdale. The yard job brings back empties to tack on to #Cincinnati-Jacksonville intermodal train Q141 departing just after dark.

The current designation of the trains is Q41 (formerly Q141) and Q42 (formerly Q142). At its height #Tropicana sent 10-20 cars per day to Cincinnati.

Here's the #Tropicana facility in Springdale, Ohio: http://binged.it/MohkXF

Recalling the Juice Train

When the dedicated unit trains ran they were express shipments traveling at a maximum speed of 60 mph. Originally, the cars were orange. Over the years, the rolling advertisements for #Tropicana have been, orange, blue, and white. Recently, they have been white as this helps with the cooling. The cars are kept at 34 degrees. The fast shipment aboard the #Juicetrain brings to mind the legendary bluegrass rail song, the "Orange Blossom Special" (#OrangeBlossomSpeical #CharlieDanielsBand) about the "fastest train on the line."