Florida’s Sugar Express adds former Florida East Coast observation car to its fleet

Sugar Express

CLEWISTON, Fla. — U.S. Sugar’s Sugar Express train consist continues to grow in length, and its latest addition is an historic streamlined railcar with a strong Florida pedigree. Round-end observation lounge car Bay Biscayne arrived on U.S. Sugar’s Clewiston headquarters in July, and has been added to the Sugar Express 9-car excursion train hauled by former Florida East Coast 4-6-2 steam locomotive No. 148.

U.S. Sugar uses rail to transport all of the cane harvested from its 300 square miles of sugarcane fields. It operates an extensive network of trackage throughout the fields, and also owns 168-mile common carrier South Central Florida Express, which runs over former Atlantic Coast Line and Florida East Coast routes.

The company acquired the historic 1920 Alco Pacific in 2016 and after a complete rebuilding, returned it to service in 2020. The Sugar Express train carries local residents and visitors from around the world on regular excursions covering the South Central Florida Express routes. More than 20,000 people rode the trains in 2023.

U.S. Sugar leases Bay Biscayne from its current owner, East Tennessee Railcar. But the 85-year old car travelled far and wide before it returned home to Florida this summer.

Built as Florida East Coast Railway Bay Biscayne by Budd in 1939, it served as the observation lounge carrying the markers of joint FEC/Atlantic Coast Line/Pennsylvania Railroad trains between Florida to New York. Following FEC’s exit from the passenger business, Seaboard Air Line purchased Bay Biscayne and assigned it to its own Florida-New York trains. Following SAL’s 1967 merger with ACL, several Seaboard Coast Line observation cars had their rounded ends modified with large passageways to permit them to used mid-train.

By then 32-years old, the stainless-steel car was purchased by Amtrak and would remain in service throughout the U.S. for the next decade. Following retirement, the car moved through several owners before finding a home on Nashville’s Broadway Dinner Train for six years.

Its next stop took it north of the border, renamed Pavilion by new owner BC Rail. Some reports show that it was owned for a period by VIA Rail Canada, although it never saw service, before being purchased by East Tennessee Railcar. Over the years, the 1939 veteran had most of its ungainly rear-end vestibule assembly removed, and had been rebuilt to operate with 480-volt Head End Power, and was certified to run in Amtrak trains.

Sugar Express superintendent M. Scott Ogle praises East Tennessee’s year-long preparation of the car for its delivery to Florida. He tells Trains New Wire that the car arrived “safe and suitable” for service. Ogle added the car to a series of trips on the last weekend of July, but did not sell tickets for it as he wanted to make sure that Bay Biscayne’s air conditioning could handle Florida summer weather. The system worked well, and Ogle says he opened up the car so each trains’ passengers could view the interior.

“It was a big hit,” he says.  The Sugar Express is marketing the car as a “brand-new first-class Tavern Lounge Observation Car” on this fall’s and winter’s trains.

Because of the lack of turning facilities over much of Sugar Express’ South Central Florida routes, the train usually runs in pull-pull configuration, with a diesel pulling the train in one direction. The railroad will position the round-end against the steam locomotive to give first-class passengers a chance to see and hear the 4-6-2 in action. He notes that there are few places today where people can see and ride a steam engine running at 40 mph.

Ogle says that the train introduces riders to U.S. Sugar in the region:  “Here is who we are, this is what we do.” He adds that visitors often are surprised about the scenery they see from the train: “They say, ‘I had no idea that Florida looked like this.’”