Florida Western and Northern Railroad

Last updated
Florida Western and Northern Railroad
Florida Western and Northern Railroad
Map of full route from Coleman to West Palm Beach
Overview
LocaleCentral Florida
South Florida
SuccessorSeaboard Air Line Railroad
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The Florida Western and Northern Railroad was a subsidiary of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad that expanded their network in the 1920s by building a rail line from Coleman, Florida (near Wildwood) all the way to West Palm Beach via Auburndale and Sebring (near Lake Okeechobee), a distance of 204 miles. The line would be extended to Miami by the Seaboard-All Florida Railway, another Seaboard Air Line subsidiary, shortly after with the full line from Coleman to Miami becoming the Seaboard Air Line's Miami Subdivision. The line is still in service today from Auburndale to West Palm Beach and is now operated by Seaboard successor CSX Transportation as their Auburndale Subdivision.

Contents

Route description

The Florida Western and Northern Railroad line and defect detector in Winter Haven Winter Haven Defect Detector.jpg
The Florida Western and Northern Railroad line and defect detector in Winter Haven

The Florida Western and Northern Railroad began in Coleman, which was located on the Seaboard Air Line Railroad's main line about five miles south of Wildwood (where the Seaboard Air Line operated a major yard). It branched off the main line in Coleman and proceeded south through wetlands of north Central Florida in a nearly straight line down to Auburndale, where it crossed the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's main line (the current CSX A Line). From here, it continued through southern Central Florida, passing through Winter Haven, West Lake Wales, Avon Park, and Sebring. Between Auburndale and Sebring, the line's trajectory closely paralleled the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's Haines City Branch, which at one point ran from Haines City to Everglades City.

After Sebring, the line turned into a more southeast trajectory towards Okeechobee. From here, it continued southeast near the northern edge of Lake Okeechobee in a nearly straight line southeast to Indiantown and to its terminus in West Palm Beach.

History

The Seaboard Air Line Railroad first chartered the Florida Western and Northern Railroad in April 1924 and construction began shortly after. The line was beginning of Seaboard president S. Davies Warfield's ambitious plan to connect the Seaboard network to the South Florida region, which for almost thirty years had been the exclusive domain of the Florida East Coast Railway. The line's final spike was placed on January 21, 1925, and four days later, a special section of the Seaboard's Orange Blossom Special ran to West Palm Beach officially inaugurating service. President Warfield was on board with around 500 guests. [1] :115–116

To accommodate large amounts of traffic bound for Miami, the Seaboard Air Line also double-tracked its main line from the junction in Coleman to Wildwood Yard. [1] :143

The line only briefly terminated in West Palm Beach before Seaboard organized another subsidiary, the Seaboard-All Florida Railway, to extend it to Miami which was completed in January 1927. [1] :116 The Seaboard would designate the line from Coleman to Miami as their Miami Subdivision. [2]

Seaboard Air Line station in Sebring, which is still used by Amtrak Sebring FL old depot02.jpg
Seaboard Air Line station in Sebring, which is still used by Amtrak

The Seaboard Air Line ran a number of intercity passenger services on the line including the Orange Blossom Special , Silver Meteor , Silver Star , the Sunland, and the Palmland. [2] The Cross State Limited also ran the line, which was one of the first rail services to connect Tampa and Miami directly. [3] :75 The Cross State Limited ran the Valrico Subdivision from West Lake Wales to access Tampa. [4]

General James A. Van Fleet State Trail on the abandoned segment of the right-of-way north of Auburndale FL Van Fleet Green Pond south02.jpg
General James A. Van Fleet State Trail on the abandoned segment of the right-of-way north of Auburndale

In 1963, the line began hosting the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's Miami-bound passenger trains. This arrangement between Seaboard and its competitor was quickly made due to the abrupt discontinuation of passenger service on the Florida East Coast Railway, which the Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) had used prior. By then, merger talks were underway between the two railroads. The merger would be complete by 1967 and the new combined company would be named the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. [5] :39

The line remained mostly unchanged through the Seaboard Coast Line (SCL) era. It became their main route through southern Central Florida and segments of the Atlantic Coast Line's parallel Haines City Branch were abandoned. Remaining segments of the Haines City branch became smaller branches of the Florida Western and Northern line including a short branch into Avon Park, as well as trackage now operated by the Florida Midland Railroad (Lake Wales to Frostproof) and the South Central Florida Express. [6]

In 1989, a few years after Seaboard Coast Line became CSX, the northern section of the line from Coleman to just north of Auburndale was abandoned and removed. It carried Amtrak's Miami service up until its removal, which was then shifted to its current routing along the A Line. [7] Most of the former right-of-way of the abandoned northern segment is now part of the nearly 30-mile General James A. Van Fleet State Trail, as well as the adjoining Auburndale TECO Trail.

Current operations

Template:Attached KML/Auburndale Subdivision
KML is not from Wikidata

Today, the remaining trackage of the original Florida Western and Northern Railroad remains in service under CSX Transportation. It is now CSX's Auburndale Subdivision from its junction with the A Line in Auburndale to Mangonia Park just northwest of West Palm Beach. The line south of Mangonia Park is now the South Florida Rail Corridor, which is owned by the Florida Department of Transportation.

All of Amtrak's passenger service to Miami including the Silver Meteor and Silver Star service continue to traverse the line from Auburndale to access Miami. A short spur known as McDonald Connection connects the Auburndale Subdivision with the CSX A Line towards Tampa. The Auburndale Subdivision runs in a roughly parallel trajectory to U.S. Route 27 between Avon Park and Sebring, and from Okeechobee to West Palm Beach, the line directly parallels State Road 710 which in some places known as Warfield Boulevard (named after Seaboard president S. Davies Warfield). [8] [9]

All CSX freight trains to and from Miami also run the line. Freight trains also notably serve the Palm Center Automotive Terminal just west of Jupiter and CSX's Winter Haven Intermodal Logistics Center in Winter Haven which opened in 2014. [10] [11] A short spur known as Mission Spur splits from the line in Mangonia Park just north of the South Florida Rail Corridor boundary. Mission Spur connects with the Florida East Coast Railway’s Lewis Terminal track, which connects to FEC’s main line. [12]

CSX also uses the line to interchange freight with two shortline railroads: the Florida Midland Railroad in Winter Haven and West Lake Wales and with the South Central Florida Express (which is owned by U.S. Sugar) in Sebring. [9]

Historic stations

Milepost [6] CityStation [2] ImageConnections and notes
SX 766.1 Coleman Coleman Bobby's Historic Village and ex-Train Station-1.JPG junction with Seaboard Air Line Railroad Main Line
SX 777.3 Center Hill Center Hilljunction with Atlantic Coast Line Railroad High Springs—Croom Line
SX 781.9 Mabel Mabeljunction with Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Trilby Branch
SX 793.1Bryan
SX 800.3Withla
SX 808.1Flanders
SX 811.6 Polk City Polk City Polk City SAL Depot.jpg
SX 816.8 Auburndale Noxon
SX 820.1Auburndale Seaboard Air Line Rail Depot; Auburndale, FL-06.jpg former depot relocated to site of the ACL depot in the 2000s [13]
junction with Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Main Line
SX 821.4Oasis
SX 826.2 Winter Haven Winter Haven Winter Haven Station - Across 7th Street.jpg junction with Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Bartow Branch
SX 835.8 West Lake Wales junction with Seaboard Air Line Railroad Valrico Subdivision
SX 842.0Wolfolk
SX 846.7 West Frostproof
SX 857.2Reppard
SX 858.2 Avon Park Avon Park Avon Park Hist Dist depot museum04.jpg
SX 862.0Harttjunction with Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Haines City Branch
SX 867.2 Sebring Sebring Sebring Train Station from NE.JPG
SX 870.2Ridge
SX 884.7Plains
SX 892.3 Fort Basinger Fort Basinger
SX 901.7Mildred
SX 908.7 Okeechobee Okeechobee Okeechobee FL Amtrak01.jpg junction with Florida East Coast Railway Kissimmee Valley Line
SX 914.1Sherman
SX 924.7Zana
SX 934.5Elcid
SX 936.3 Indiantown Indiantown
SX 940.3Yale
SX 955.4Delta
SX 963.8Agram
SX 968.1 West Palm Beach Northwood
SX 969.9 West Palm Beach West Palm Beach SAL 002.jpg continues as Seaboard-All Florida Railway (SAL)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seaboard Air Line Railroad</span> Defunct American railroad

The Seaboard Air Line Railroad, which styled itself as "The Route of Courteous Service", was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. Predecessor railroads dated from the 1830s and reorganized extensively to rebuild after the American Civil War. The company was headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, until 1958, when its main offices were relocated to Richmond, Virginia. The Seaboard Air Line Railway Building in Norfolk's historic Freemason District still stands and has been converted into apartments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Florida Railroad</span> Historic railroad in Central Florida

The South Florida Railroad was a railroad from Sanford, Florida, to Tampa, Florida, becoming part of the Plant System in 1893 and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. It served as the southernmost segment of the Atlantic Coast Line's main line. The line remains in service today and is now part of the Central Florida Rail Corridor in the Orlando metro area. The rest of the line remains under the ownership of CSX Transportation as part of their A Line.

The Florida Midland Railroad Company, Inc. is one of several short line railroads operated by Regional Rail, LLC in Florida. The Florida Midland Railroad operates two former CSX Transportation railroad lines including their former Lake Wales Subdivision, and their former Bartow Subdivision. It once had a third line from Wildwood to Leesburg that is now mostly abandoned. Florida Midland Railroad began operating the lines in 1987 and uses locomotives branded for the Florida Central Railroad, its sister railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Central Florida Express</span> Shortline railroad in Florida

The South Central Florida Express, Inc. is a common carrier shortline railroad in southern Florida run by U.S. Sugar Corporation. Its trains operate from Sebring to Fort Pierce via Clewiston around the southern perimeter of Lake Okeechobee, and serves customers at 26 locations. With 171 miles (275 km) of track, the SCXF is the largest private agricultural railroad in the U.S.

<i>Silver Meteor</i> Amtrak service between New York and Florida

The Silver Meteor is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Miami, Florida. Introduced in 1939 as the first diesel-powered streamliner between New York and Florida, it was the flagship train of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) and one of the flagship trains of its successor, the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL). The train was transferred to Amtrak when it took over intercity passenger rail service in 1971.

<i>Silver Star</i> (Amtrak train) Amtrak service between New York and Florida

The Silver Star is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on a 1,522-mile (2,449 km) route between New York City and Miami via Washington, D.C., Richmond, Virginia, Raleigh, North Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, Jacksonville, Florida, and Tampa, Florida. The Silver Star and its sister train in the Silver Service brand, the Silver Meteor, are the descendants of numerous long-distance trains that operated between Florida and New York for most of the 20th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad</span> Historic railroad system

The Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad was the final name of a system of railroads throughout Florida, becoming part of the Seaboard Air Line Railway in 1900. The system, including some of the first railroads in Florida, stretched from Jacksonville west through Tallahassee and south to Tampa. Much of the FC&P network is still in service under the ownership of CSX Transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida State Road 704</span>

State Road 704 (SR 704), also known as Okeechobee Boulevard, is a 10.199-mile-long (16.414 km) east–west boulevard in the West Palm Beach area, known for being dangerous to pedestrians and bicyclists. It extends from an intersection with SR 7 at the border of West Palm Beach and Royal Palm Beach and just south of The Acreage at the western end to an intersection with SR A1A in Palm Beach at the east end.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida State Road 710</span>

State Road 710 is a 57-mile (92 km) northwest-southeast route connecting SR 70 near Okeechobee, three miles (5 km) from the northern tip of Lake Okeechobee in south central Florida, to Old Dixie Highway in Riviera Beach. Most of the route is also known as Bee-Line Highway and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, as it parallels the railroad tracks maintained by CSX Transportation and used by Amtrak; and doesn’t have a turn or curve in the 48 miles (77 km) southeast of Sherman, except for a small bend northwest of North Palm Beach County General Aviation Airport. Near the middle of the highway, where Indiantown is located, the route is also known as Warfield Boulevard, named after S. Davies Warfield, the president of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad who originally built the adjacent railroad tracks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 98 in Florida</span> Highway in Florida

U.S. Route 98 is a major east-west thoroughfare through the U.S. state of Florida. Spanning 670.959 miles (1,079.804 km), it connects Pensacola and the Alabama/Florida state line to the west with Palm Beach and the Atlantic coast in the east. It is the longest US road in Florida, as well as the longest US road in any state east of the Mississippi River.

The Seaboard Air Line Depot can refer to the following former and active train stations previously used by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, many of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildwood station</span>

Wildwood station is a bus station, and former train station, in Wildwood, Florida. It serves Amtrak Thruway buses and formerly served trains for Amtrak and other rail companies. The station is located on 601 North Main Street in Wildwood, Florida. Along with the northern terminus of Florida's Turnpike, the station gave Wildwood a reason to refer to itself as "The Crossroads of Florida."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seaboard–All Florida Railway</span>

The Seaboard–All Florida Railway was a subsidiary of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad that oversaw two major extensions of the system in the early 1920s to southern Florida on each coast during the land boom. One line extended the Seaboard's tracks on the east coast from West Palm Beach down to Fort Lauderdale and Miami, while the other extension on the west coast extended the tracks from Fort Ogden south to Fort Myers and Naples, with branches from Fort Myers to LaBelle and Punta Rassa. These two extensions were heavily championed by Seaboard president S. Davies Warfield, and were constructed by Foley Brothers railroad contractors. Both extensions also allowed the Seaboard to better compete with the Florida East Coast Railway and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, who already served the lower east and west coasts of Florida respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carters Subdivision</span> CSX railroad line in Florida

CSX Transportation's Carters Subdivision is a segment of CSX's A Line running from Poinciana southwest to Lakeland. The Carters Subdivision ends just west of Downtown Lakeland at Lakeland Junction, where it continues west as the Lakeland Subdivision and connects to the Vitis Subdivision.

CSX Transportation's Valrico Subdivision is a railroad line in Central Florida. It serves as CSX's main route through a region of Central Florida known as the Bone Valley, which contains the largest known deposits of phosphate in the United States.

The Wildwood Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in Florida. It runs along CSX's S Line from Baldwin south to Zephyrhills via Ocala and Wildwood for a total of 155.7 miles. The S Line is CSX's designation for the line that was the Seaboard Air Line Railroad main line from 1903 to 1967.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yeoman Subdivision</span> CSX railroad line in Florida

The Yeoman Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in Florida. It runs along CSX’s S Line from Zephyrhills south to just east of Tampa via Plant City for a total of 31.2 miles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haines City Branch</span> Atlantic Coast Line Railroad branch in Florida

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's Haines City Branch was a railroad line running from their main line in Haines City, Florida south through southern Central Florida. The line notably ran through Lake Wales, Avon Park, Sebring, and Immokalee and would stretch as far south as Everglades City upon its completion in 1928. Everglades City would be the southernmost point the entire Atlantic Coast Line Railroad system would ever reach. The Haines City Branch was one of the Atlantic Coast Line's major additions to its Florida network, much of which was previously part of the Plant System.

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's Lakeland—Fort Myers Line was one of the railroad company's secondary main lines in Central and Southwest Florida. It was built incrementally in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Parts of the line are still active today.

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's DuPont—Lakeland Line was a historic rail line in southern Georgia and the northern west coast of Florida. On employee timetables, the line was actually divided into the DuPont—High Springs Line and the High Springs—Lakeland Line. The line was primarily used for freight, though some passenger services ran on parts of it in Florida. While parts of the line were built as early as 1863, the full line was not complete until 1913. Parts of the line in Florida are still active today.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Turner, Gregg (2003). A Short History of Florida Railroads. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN   978-0-7385-2421-4.
  2. 1 2 3 Seaboard Air Line Railroad North Florida Division Timetable (1949)
  3. Turner, Gregg M. (2005). Florida Railroads in the 1920s. Arcadia Publishing.
  4. Seaboard Air Line Railroad South Florida Division Timetable (1940)
  5. Cox, Jim (2011). Rails Across Dixie: A History of Passenger Trains in the American South. Jefferson, North Carolina: MacFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers. ISBN   978-0-7864-4528-8 . Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  6. 1 2 Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Jacksonville Division and Tampa Division Timetable (1977)
  7. Spear, Kevin (20 March 1988). "Long-distance Trains Leaving Lake County Behind". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 28 August 2013.
  8. http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/AR-Auburndale_Sub CSX Auburndale Sub
  9. 1 2 CSX Jacksonville Division Timetable
  10. "Palm Center Automotive Terminal". TransDevelopment Group. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  11. "State-of-the-Art Terminal Begins Operations in Winter Haven". CSX. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  12. Harmon, Danny. "Circus Train Chase to Miami - Jan 2013". YouTube. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
  13. "Seaboard Air Line Rail Depot 1927". THE HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE. Retrieved 5 November 2022.