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32-546: At its greatest extent, the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway ran from Mulberry to the southern tip of Gasparilla Island, a distance of nearly 100 miles. From Mulberry, the line proceeded south in a mostly straight trajectory through Bradley Junction , Fort Green Springs , and Ona to Arcadia. What remains of the line today terminates in Arcadia, but historically it continued from Arcadia southwest, paralleling

64-401: A 3,000 foot dock for loading large vessels directly from railroad cars. In addition to transporting freight, it also provided passenger service to Boca Grande, which was famous for its world-class tarpon fishing. Three passenger depots existed on Gasparilla Island, with one at the north end of the island, one in downtown Boca Grande (which still stands), and one at the port at the south end of

96-544: A valuable commodity used in agriculture, were discovered along the Peace River in the late 1800s. Transporting phosphate by ship down the Peace River was a slow and tedious process due to the river levels being low at some times. The Florida Southern Railway (which later became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad ) operated tracks to Punta Gorda along the south side of the river, and it

128-672: A year later. This gave Seaboard direct access to the Boca Grande port. Almost immediately after the purchase, Seaboard began construction of a branch line from Hull (near Fort Ogden ) to Fort Myers and Naples (via their Seaboard-All Florida Railway subsidiary). That route was completed in 1927. Upon completion of the Fort Myers extension, the Seaboard Air Line operated the former Charlotte Harbor and Northern in three segments. Track from Mulberry to Bradley Junction

160-633: Is served by Polk County Public Schools . Winston and Bone Valley Railroad The Winston and Bone Valley Railroad was a railroad line running in the Bone Valley region of Central Florida . It connected to the South Florida Railroad main line (the current CSX A Line) near Lakeland . A vast majority of the line remains in service by CSX Transportation , who operates it today as their Bone Valley Subdivision . The Winston and Bone Valley Railroad began operations in 1892. It

192-603: The Achan Subdivision in Achan. The Bone Valley Subdivision still serves a number of phosphate mines along its route between Achan and Agricola. Phosphate is generally brought from the mines to Winston Yard to be exported by rail throughout the country. Phosphate is also sent to Tampa to be exported by ship at Rockport Yard. Currently, Winston Yard at the north end of the line is CSX's primary classification yard for much of Central Florida. In addition to phosphate,

224-750: The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1967. The merged company became the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad . Increased competition from the Rockport Terminal in the Tampa Bay area led to the closure of the Boca Grande Port in 1979. Due to the closure of the port, the Seaboard Coast Line (which was in the process of being merged into CSX Transportation at the time) abandoned and removed the line from

256-541: The Myakka River in El Jobean and continued running south just northwest of what is today Gasparilla Road toward Placida and Gasparilla Island. In Placida, the line crossed a causeway consisting of three major trestles onto Gasparilla Island, where it ran the length of the island and terminating at the Boca Grande port at the south end of the island near Port Boca Grande Lighthouse . Large amounts of phosphate ,

288-493: The Peace River and the adjacent Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (former Florida Southern Railway) through Nocatee and Fort Ogden . Near Fort Ogden, the line crossed the river and continued southwest into southeastern Sarasota County and Port Charlotte , where it ran alongside of what is today Raintree Boulevard, Veterans Boulevard, and State Road 776 (which has since been widened into the former right of way). It crossed

320-539: The Spanish Main , that he named most of the islands in the Charlotte Harbor area, and had left an as-yet undiscovered treasure cache in the vicinity of the Gasparilla Inn upon his dramatic death in battle. The tale was unsupported by any evidence, and Pat Lemoyne, the publicist who wrote it, freely admitted in later years that "there was not a true fact in it" and that it was simply an advertisement written in

352-585: The American Agricultural Chemicals Company, secured the charter for the line in 1905, and renamed it the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway. By 1907, the line was completed between Boca Grande and Arcadia, where repair shops were located, as well as a connection to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's Lakeland—Fort Myers Line (the former Florida Southern Railway ). The Boca Grande port included

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384-452: The end of the line on Gasparilla Island that claimed that the area was once home to José Gaspar , a renegade Spanish pirate who was supposedly based in Charlotte Harbor when Florida was still Spanish territory . The brochure claimed that Gaspar had been the most feared buccaneer of his generation during his 40-year career spent ravaging shipping and taking hostages across the Gulf of Mexico to

416-508: The ghost town of Pierce is located near the tracks on the town's former site. Track from Bradley Junction south to Arcadia is now part of CSX's Brewster Subdivision . The Brewester Subdivision also includes track from Bradley Junction west to Edison Junction. Seminole Gulf Railway owns the southernmost two miles of the line in Arcadia, who also operates the connecting ex- ACL route from Arcadia south to Punta Gorda, Fort Myers, and Bonita Springs. Despite its abandonment in 1981, evidence of

448-414: The island where boat connections could be made to nearby Useppa Island . The line ran between Gasparilla Island and the mainland on a two-mile long causeway consisting of three trestles over Gasparilla Sound. The trestles contained two steel swing spans built by Virginia Iron Works to accommodate vessel traffic. The northernmost trestle's swing span would later be replaced by a bascule bridge . By 1910,

480-407: The line south of Arcadia can still be found on Gasparilla Island and Charlotte County. Most of the right of way on Gasparilla Island was purchased by a local entrepreneur and converted into the popular Boca Grande Bike Path in 1985, which was the first rail trail in the state of Florida. The Cape Haze Pioneer Trail was later built on the right of way between western Port Charlotte and Placida in

512-486: The line to the island. The southernmost trestle is now a fishing pier as is the northernmost trestle up to the abandoned drawbridge tower. The rest of the causeway and trestles, which remain just to the south of the Boca Grande Causeway, are now completely abandoned. The center trestle's swing span is still in place and is locked open to facilitate boat traffic. The bascule span on the northernmost trestle

544-649: The line was extended north beyond Arcadia into the Bone Valley where a connection to the Seaboard Air Line Railroad 's new spur from Plant City to Agricola was established. This connection would become known as Bradley Junction (named after founder Peter B. Bradley). In addition to penetrating more phosphate-rich regions of the state, the extension provided a shortcut for trains traveling between Boca Grande and Tampa. A further extension north from Bradley Junction to phosphate mines in Mulberry

576-580: The mid 1990s, the Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum (now the Florida Railroad Museum ) moved the railroad station from Bradley Junction to Parrish . The depot was then consumed by a fire soon after the move. Bradley Junction is located at 27.795 degrees north, 81.98056 degrees west (27.795, -81.98056). The elevation for the community is 135 feet above sea level . The community of Bradley Junction

608-432: The mid-2000s. The most substantial remnant of the line is the historic Boca Grande passenger depot at Park and 4th Streets, which is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The depot was restored in the 1970s and today houses shops and a restaurant. A number of bridges along the abandoned route also remain to this day as well, the most notable of which is the causeway over Gasparilla Sound that connected

640-762: The north end. At the south end, the track currently ends in Agricola at a wye with CSX's Agricola Spur (a former Seaboard Air Line track). The Bone Valley Subdivision crosses the Valrico Subdivision in Mulberry in the median of State Road 37 . The line connects to the Valrico Subdivision (which is CSX's busiest route through the Bone Valley) through Mulberry Yard at Prairie Junction. The Bone Valley Subdivision also intersects with

672-559: The port to just south of Arcadia in 1981. In 2023, the track between Mulberry and Arcadia was the only active track remaining of the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway. The northernmost seven miles of the line (between Mulberry and Bradley Junction) is now CSX's Achan Subdivision. The line still serves as a direct route from eastern Mulberry and Mulberry Yard to the Brewster Subdivision and Agricola spur, where more phosphate facilities are located. A historical marker for

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704-507: The style of a romantic adventure to attract the attention of tourists. Still, the colorful legend of Gaspar presented in the brochure helped inspire the annual Gasparilla Pirate Festival in nearby Tampa and has led to ongoing confusion as to Gaspar's historic authenticity. In 1925, the line was leased by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, who then fully purchased the line from the American Agricultural Chemicals Company

736-605: Was 542 as of the 2020 census . Bradley Junction is named for the railroad junction located in the community, which was historically the junction between the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (the east-west track) and the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway (the north-south track). The junction itself is named after phosphate mining company executive Peter B. Bradley, who chartered the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway in 1905. The railroad junction still exists today and both lines are now owned by CSX Transportation . In

768-580: Was abandoned by 1952. By then, the Boca Grande Subdivision designation was expanded all the way to Bradley Junction. By 1940, two daily local passenger trains were still running the line to Boca Grande. Passenger service to Boca Grande was discontinued in 1958 shortly after the opening of the Boca Grande Causeway , which was the last passenger service to ever operate on the line. The Seaboard Air Line Railroad merged with

800-650: Was abandoned by 1982. In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line's parent company merged with the Chessie System , creating the CSX Corporation . The CSX Corporation initially operated the Chessie and Seaboard Systems separately until 1986, when they were merged into CSX Transportation . What remains of the line continues to be operated today by CSX Transportation and is designated as their Bone Valley Subdivision. It connects to CSX's A Line and Winston Yard at

832-584: Was also heavy demand for rail service in the area's flourishing phosphate industry, and the 16-mile line also ended up serving many of the area's phosphate mines. The line was later leased to the Plant System in 1900, which also operated the nearby South Florida Railroad and Florida Southern Railway . The line was then extended to connect with the Florida Southern in Fort Meade . The lease

864-541: Was also used to some extent to transport phosphate to its dock in Punta Gorda for shipment. Boca Grande Pass, a natural deepwater inlet at the south end of Gasparilla Island, was seen as the perfect place for a deepwater port to simplify the process of shipping phosphate. The Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway was first chartered in 1897 as the Alafia, Manatee, and Gulf Coast Railroad . Peter B. Bradley, who created

896-720: Was designated as the Agricola Subdivision. From Bradley Junction to Hull, the line was designated as the Fort Myers Subdivision (which also included Seaboard track north of Bradley Junction to Plant City and track to Fort Myers and Naples). Track south of Hull became the Boca Grande Subdivision. Seaboard passenger trains provided service on the line to both Boca Grande and to Fort Myers and Naples (the latter destinations were provided by Orange Blossom Special and West Coast Limited). However, passenger service to Fort Myers ended in 1933 and track to there

928-478: Was founded by J.D. Griffin and William Mills Winn, who had operated a lumber mill just four miles northwest of Lakeland since 1884. They relocated the mill to a location four miles west of Lakeland in 1892. The location of this lumber mill became known as Winnston (named for Winn), which would later be shortened to Winston . Griffin and Winn built the Winston and Bone Valley Railroad to serve the lumber mill. There

960-510: Was inherited by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) in 1902 when they took over the plant system. The ACL then bought out the line completely in 1909, designating it as their Bone Valley Branch . In 1967, the Atlantic Coast Line merged with their rival, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (which also operated tracks nearby). The merged company became the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad . The track from Agricola east to Fort Meade

992-463: Was later built around 1912, which provided additional connections to both the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (via their Bone Valley Branch ) and Seaboard Air Line Railroad (via their Valrico Subdivision ). This final extension would also serve Pierce, a defunct town where a phosphate drying plant once existed. In the early 1900s, the Railway produced an advertising brochure for its Gasparilla Inn near

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1024-703: Was removed and reinstalled in 1988 over Reynolds Creek in Long Beach, New York on the Long Island Rail Road 's Long Beach Branch , where it is still in service. Other remaining bridges include trestles over the Myakka River and Coral Creek, which have been converted into fishing piers. Bradley Junction, Florida Bradley Junction (also known as Bradley ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in southwestern Polk County, Florida , United States. Its population

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