Sugar & Steam In South Florida 

"Plus you get the smell of French Fries" - gold Danny - just GOLD!

I'm really happy to see Florida get a standard gauge steam locomotive again. I'm planning on filming the sugar cane trains in January or February. I sure would like to get lucky and see that steamer running. Awesome video!

“Even had a bear in the air” 🤣 only 21 and I got the C.W McHall reference

9:25 "I'm also looking for a second locomotive" Did not expect to hear that! I know 253 is on property, but dang. Nice!

A lot has changed on the SCFE railroad from 2020 to 2023... the tourist trains are running every few weeks now and 148 is still in good-as-new condition. I'm glad they restored this as its such a treat to see FL's only live steam train.

Recently rode the sugar Express to lake placid and back to clewiston. Wonderful experience. All rail fans should take a ride!

Love that 5 chime whistle! Tuned just perfectly! Music to my ears 😊

5:14 "Uh, Pigpen, you wanna back off another ten?" In all seriousness, I think steam locomotives remind people of an era when people were decent to each other. A bygone time that's not quite so noisy as today. When people took their time about things. When 90 mph on a train (used to be that was legal) was okay as compared to over 400 on a plane. I miss that.

This is classic. My hats off to everyone who played apart in getting this ole gal back to work. A huge thank you to us sugar for using their profits for a small part of history that many of us would never see otherwise. Goes to show people if you have a plan things can happen. A dream is just a dream without a plan!

As a member of the crew restoring AT&SF 2926 my hats off to those who restored 148. Beautiful job!

It's nice to see that U.S. Sugar appreciates their heritage.

I'm only 21 and I got the reference: Convoy by C.W. McCall. (EDIT: I was 21 when I posted this comment, but I'm still under 50 until October 7, 2049, so...I guess that's my expiration date. XD)

Usually I really enjoy the revenue stuff on this channel, but it’s really nice to see the occasional heritage run!

Don’t you worry Danny, us young guns get the helicopter reference, cause we got a great big convoy as well

I would fly from Australia to go on the tour this train would run. What an amazing restoration job. Lucky US Sugar!

Love the unique sweet cry of a steam whistle. Thanks Danny

what i enjoyed here is seeing this engine actually running and working without a diesel attached to it behind. may be the first time ever!

Great video! I work for the Morristown & Erie Railway in Morristown, NJ, where this engine ran for the “Whippany-Toonerville” tourist railroad in the early 1970s. I can’t wait to see it soon.

29 yrs old caught the c w McCall reference and love the song. Cant wait to see the tourist railroad covered

Wow, thanks for posting. I grew up with steam locos working the sugar cane in Cuba. That whistle and bell bring back great memories.

Those mechanical bells just make the shots unforgettable .

Excellent coverage of elegant steam ! The locomotive's graceful lines and visored headlight are classic. Hearing the crisp sound of the exhaust "stack talk" and whistle is fun. At the 10 minute mark the slight slip of those tall drive wheels catches the ear and eye. it's amazing this locomotive was restored to perfection. I saw it in 1970 on the Black River & Western RR in New Jersey when it was having the boiler tubes replaced. Number 148 has come a long way.

Caught the cool wheel slip around the 10 minute mark! Love old steam engines!

Yet another great video! The best railfan channel on RU-vid, hands down. -Drayton

Thank you for sharing. Very cool indeed. I love your comment "You can smell french fries as the steam train passes". 🙂

Great video as usual! I enjoyed running this beautiful Locomotive that day along with the FMW crew! And it was nice meeting you Danny. Please come back again! I will retire in '22 after a 40+ year career which started with the C&O / Chessie System. I chose to finish here because I get my summers off. I'll be stepping into a business venture after retirement. Happy railfanning to you all!

I dont know why but during this crappy year of COVID, protests, wildfires ... watching a steam locomotive somehow lifts my spirits. Strength, power, precision, teamwork ... what mankind can do right without destroying something. Steam locomotives are morale builders. They come out of the past, focus our attention now, and let's us know we have a future. Very cool video.

There's still and always will be, something special about steam power. I was lucky enough in 2013 to go to the National Railway Museum in York to see what was billed as "The Great Gathering." It was the last six surviving A4 Pacific's designed by Sir Nigel Gresley in 1935. These were: Mallard, Bittern, Union of South Africa, Dominion of Canada, Dwight. D. Eisenhower and Sir Nigel Gresley. Personally I think that they're one of the prettiest train series ever built. And the Mallard the most beautiful in her blue overcoat. Regardless, it's good to see the love and attention that went into recovering, renovating and rebuilding the old workhorse. Hopefully she will serve Florida for another half century at least.

What a GREAT piece of nostalgia for Me, I was Born in Pahokee and My Uncle John Brantley worked for U.S. Sugar as a welder in the Clewiston Maintenance shop and another Uncle C.R. Stevenson was the section Master for the track around the Lake, I had the pleasure of riding that Locomotive several times as a young Boy.

Wow!!! What a successful restoration project! Beautiful!!!

Oh boy Danny, did I ever pick up on that reference at 5:13 . I had no idea this restoration was even happening, Great information complete with interviews. Thank you for the video, and hat's off to U.S. Sugar for making the investment on such a project.

This is a repeat of a comment I made on an old video earlier today. I wanted to put it on an updated video. I do enjoy all of yours !!! I've watched a lot of your videos. You are clear, concise, intelligent and have a great voice for broadcasting. I grew up in Eldon Iowa, back when the Rock Island Railroad actually existed and ran right through the middle of town. I've learned a lot from your videos and appreciate the level of knowledge you display. I've wondered about so much of the things you answer for most of my life. I currently reside about a mile from an Austin to Mexico railroad hosted by the BNSF or formerly Atchison Topeka and Santa Fe, a great name for a railroad if ever there was one !!! Thanks again for the great stuff !!!

With the good job that was done on this loco, I'm highly anticipating ACL 1504's return. I hope to be there when it happens. Maybe I'll get to meet you there when it does. Thank you Mr Harmon for posting this.

I love all your train videos anytime

I love that old Florida east coast railroad steam locomotive

It is great to see steam locos still operating in the US in 2020.

Nothing better than a Danny video on a nice cold Saturday

Greetings from Arizona! I'm south but on the opposite end haha so I unfortunately didn't get to go to this amazing event. I did however see Big Boy 4014 when it stopped down in Tucson! Can't wait for the Sugar Company to start doing passenger train rides, will be very cool!

Looks like I’ve got to get to Florida and ride some trains... lol Danny keeps teasing all of us on the west coast with such great footage...!!

Great videos always to watch. From a 70+ railfan

Super cool to see a steamer with high drivers like those! I bet it really would book down the tracks given the chance!

I'm so happy that a true professional was there to capture this event. Great work Danny, you did a stellar job with this video.

Danny, That Was Awesome, Thank You And Keep Up The Awesome Work, Best-RU-vid-Friend. 👍👍👍

And the award goes to Danny Harmon, DH-Distant Signal. Great production as always. Stay safe!

I can not wait to visit this historic engine. Wonderful report sir. Steam engines stir feelings and excitement like no other RR equipment. Thank you for this exciting report.

So much is cool about this: A restored stream locomotive running on used frying oil and plans that there will be a sightseeing rail line coming down around the lake. Great and informative video. I've been watching the videos of the official kickoff tour of Union Pacific's Big Boy 4014 from Cheyenne to New Orleans and back to Cheyenne. It will be cool to have restored steam engines running again in Florida. Looking forward to that sightseeing line coming into operation.

What a wonderful sounding whistle. I watch a lot of train videos, both steam & diesel. So far, this is the best steam whistle that I have heard, even beats the Big Boy ( 4014), for my listening ears.

I live not to far from there and remember touring US Sugars facilities just after they got to old bones of 148. Our local paper and TV news did an article about it and have been waiting to see it. Thank you!!

God bless Danny, thanks for posting these videos.

Bear in the Air- Trucker slang for a Police Helicopter. Made popular by Neil McCoy’s hit song “Convoy” My grandpa used to listen to that song a lot with me 16 years ago.

Danny, I've operated as fireman her sister ( #113 ) with just as little smoke. But minus the french fry smell as we were burning a mix of used motor oil and bunker fuel. Good to see it back home and running again. Bob Bucker has always been a backer of passenger service on the USSC tracks. Back in the early 2000s we provided passenger cars for a Diesel hauled train from Lake Placid to Sebring and back. And were invited back but the museum had changed management and declined to provide them a second time. To get the cars from Miami, the cars left the museum and went South to Homestead. From Homestead, the cars went North to the FEC interchange at MIA. From there, the cars went to FEC's Hialeah yard for an overnight stay. The next day, the cars went North to Fort Peirce and then down to South Bay and to Lake Harbor. At Lake Harbor USSC, by way of the SCFE, transported the cars to Lake Placid where we stayed the nights. During the day we ran two trips per day for the weekend. The Lake Placid to Sebring runs were good for both groups and for Lake Placid. I wish them good luck on running from Clewiston to Sebring but foresee a operating problem if they do not put a Diesel on the rear. There are no turning facilities at any other location on that route except at Clewiston. If they go East toward Canal Point, they at least could turn at the old Bryant mill site or if they ran to Fort Peirce, on the wye there if FEC let them. Clewiston to Bryant would make a nice trip to run on weekends. 75+ miles of running backwards on the trip back from or to Sebring would be no fun for the engineer and fireman. The southern lake route would also be an easier run on the loco as there are no grades on it where there is on the run to Sebring.

Reminds of Strasburg 90's history. It used to haul Sugar Beats for the Great Western Railroad. Really great video. Can't wait to see more events of it out.

Another great video Danny! Love the 'Blast From The Past' reference to 'Convoy' with the bear in the air. Great Videography and commentary. If ever we get out of Covid lockdown and allowed to travel O/S again, I'm heading to Florida. Cheers from Victoria, Australia.

Thank you Danny. Clewiston was up at the north end of the area I lived in and drove around when I was working and living in Florida.

My Dad worked for Southern Rail. They used to have steam train excursions From Alexandria, VA to Front Royal, VA. Hated when they stopped.

I followed you for a while but ain't no rail nut. But listening to that steam whistle gave me goose bumps. Makes me want take trip to see it when its operational for tourists

Just commented on your sugar train video 3 years ago!! Saw this train the same day down in Palmdale Florida! I was like hey dad I hear a whistle he was like yeah right then he hear the sound of the train approaching he was like mason! It’s a steam train run towards the tracks we tried so fast to run towards the tracks to catch a shot or 2 😂 we had just missed it but I’ll tell you it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!

The sound of a steam engine and steam whistle always gets into my soul. Thank You.

I’m 33 and I totally got your bear in the air reference. I must be an old soul or just a geek. I still run a CB. I don’t even think of those movies like Smokey and the bandit or Convoy as old. I grew up watching them and still do. I wish there were more movies like that with trains in them.

Awesome video. I am glad to see USSC celebrating railroad heritage by maintaining steam engines and even occasionally using them for revenue freight. Definitely something I'd love to check out, whether the steamers are hauling freight or possibly running a rare-mileage trip along most of USSC/SCFE's track mileage. Plus, I've never ridden behind or seen an engine fueled by recycled veggie oil, so that might be an interesting sensory experience. And, full disclosure, I am under 50 years old, but I did get the "bear in the air" reference.

With the smell of french fries this , is a whopper. Another great job , thanks.

Thanks for getting convoy stuck in my head again.

Thank you Danny for bringing this one to us all I really appreciate seeing some old iron back on the rails. Enjoy all your videos very much

Danny: *Posts a video about a steam engine* Me: YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Awesome!! That whistle gives me chills!

Saw you in the live feed from Trains. Gave a heads up in the FB Florida Railfans group that you were there, so expect a video soon. You didn't disappoint, not that you ever do. Thank you.

This locomotive was up in Ringoes, New Jersey on the Black River and Western in the 70's. Spent a couple of years up here in Northern NJ. Great engine, too bad it got out before I could see it... thanks for the great coverage. That whistle gave me the chills: the sound is so beautiful.

Nice to see another steamer returned to operational status... and pulling revenue freight! 🤠

6:25 Shot takes me back to Cuba pre-2005 when steam was king on their sugar mill railroading operations. See this frequently during La Zafra (harvest). Great cause, great video. Thanks for sharing!

Great video of another steam restoration. It is nice to see that some corporation's think about their heritage and want to bring part of that heritage back. Thank you for making the trip to capture this historic day and sharing this video with us!

That whistle is beautiful. And so is the production quality. Awesome work, good sir!

That steam engine is a beauty.

Terrific video Danny. Great work US Sugar.

Watching from the UK. Another great video Danny!

USS 148 is a beautiful locomotive, can't wait to get on a ride with my wife and friends to Lake Placid, FL on Saturday June 3rd/2023. Congratulations to the team of Davidson Ward for restoring this historic machine. God bless all of you. Last time I saw a steam locomotive was on November 2019 when we went to Houston, TX to see the Magnificent Union Pacific "Big Boy" (4-8-8-4).

This is really neat! A restored steamer actually doing work, I mean doing something other than pulling passenger cars.

i about dropped on my butt when I saw this restored locomotive.. What a beaut!

So good to see another steam locomotive restored to service.

Beautiful locomotive congrats to us sugar for doing that.

Something very special seeing a steam loco.

Excellent video love the old steamers!

Bear in the Air hadn't heard that in a while...think I watch meet of the 2 giants everyday great channel

So cool! Not a fan of steam since I grew up in the era of diesel but this video made me smile and say wow! What a great video!

Enjoy all your videos, the professionalism and hard work (editing, etc)always comes through.

Absolutely fantastic, thanks Danny.

I had 2 uncles, one that worked the railroad and a Father retire from the Bryant Mill in Pahokee. I also worked for a season there as well. One of my jobs was closing the rail car doors after they were moved through the cane dump. A cane dump was the platform a rail car was moved on to so it could tilted to release the cane load.

I. Can't wait for passenger service. Live in Valrico and love this channel. Learned a great deal about the trains I see near me

ONE AGAIN, Danny! What a story!

Great video Danny! She has one hell of a beautiful whistle!

So happy to see this Dan. Couldnt believe the transformation! Thank you for the great job you do. Several of us from NJ checked in on this video. As mentioned once before, I'm from South River, NJ originally. Had freight line right up the street. They still do. Living in Milltown now 27 yrs, with a freight line up the street. Happiness, is a line running through your town!

Great video. Very informative. I went by the fields over ten years ago. Very cool.

I grew up in Royal Palm Besch just down the road from u.s. sugar ! Thank you for catching this for us Dan. Super cool! Can’t wait to ride on it !

That whistle is magical

You know it's going to be an great day when danny uploads

Glad too see another steam engine redone. Me and mine chased the 4014 from Texarkana thru Arkansas.

Great video, Danny. I'll remain cautiously optimistic about the future scenic railway.

Fantastic, a childhood friend of mine will be the engineer on that locomotive in the coming months

What fun you have Mr. Danny!

Nice info Danny. I can always count on you to info me about current railroad activity or CSX/ other rail activates in Florida. As a model CSX railroad modeler I really appreciate your channel...

Thanks my friend. Brilliant video Danny. Laters!!