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34-917: 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,

68-480: A distance of over 800 miles. Along its route it passed through Petersburg , Raleigh , Columbia , Savannah , Jacksonville , and Ocala, Florida . While some segments of the line have been abandoned as of 2023, most of the line is still in service and is owned by the Seaboard Air Line's successor, CSX Transportation as their S-Line . By the time the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (known as

102-497: A number of through freight trains instead ran the Andrews and Charleston Subdivisions between Hamlet, North Carolina and Savannah, Georgia to allow passenger trains to be prioritized on the main line. The Seaboard Air Line installed Centralized traffic control along the main line in the 1940s to improve efficiency. The Seaboard Air Line would also be the first railroad to install a talking hot box detector (the predecessor to

136-558: 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. 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. The line only briefly terminated in West Palm Beach before Seaboard organized another subsidiary,

170-544: Is now CSX's Yeoman Subdivision and part of the Tampa Terminal Subdivision . The S-Line has been abandoned beyond Gary, which has severed the line from Tampa Union Station . General James A. Van Fleet State Trail General James A. Van Fleet State Trail is a rail trail in Florida , named after General James A. Van Fleet , who was a distinguished combat commander in both World Wars and

204-759: Is the only segment of the S-Line that still carries regular passenger service. From Savannah to the Ogeechee River in Richmond Hill, Georgia , the line was abandoned and consolidated with the A-Line shortly after the 1967 merger. Though, the original S-Line bridge over the Ogeechee River remained with its tracks removed next to the A-Line bridge until 2019. The S-Line was severed as a through route between Savannah and Jacksonville in 1986 when track

238-766: 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). All CSX freight trains to and from Miami also run

272-414: The Florida and Metropolitan Limited , Atlanta Special , Suwanee River Special , Orange Blossom Special , Southern States Special , Cotton Blossom , Palmland , Silver Meteor , Silver Comet , Silver Star , Sunland , and Tidewater. Seaboard also had a number of fast, high-priority freight trains called Red Ball freights between various points on its system. However, from 1918 to 1966,

306-734: The Seaboard-All Florida Railway , to extend it to Miami which was completed in January 1927. The Seaboard would designate the line from Coleman to Miami as their Miami Subdivision. 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 . The Cross State Limited also ran

340-624: The Wildwood Subdivision from Baldwin to Owensboro . A short section of the S-Line from Owensboro to Zephyrhills via Dade City was abandoned by the Seaboard Coast Line shortly after the 1967 merger in favor of the ex-ACL line which circumnavigated the towns instead of going right through them. The Hardy Trail was built on some of the former right of way near Dade City in 2019. From Zephyrhills to Gary in Tampa

374-774: 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 . In 1989, a few years after Seaboard Coast Line became CSX,

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408-656: 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 . The line remained mostly unchanged through the Seaboard Coast Line (SCL) era. It became their main route through southern Central Florida and segments of

442-607: 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,

476-477: The Korean War. It is protected as a Florida State Park and occupies a 29.2-mile (47.0 km) abandoned portion of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad 's Miami Subdivision through Central Florida's Green Swamp area. It extends from Polk City in the south to Mabel in the north. It passes through Bay Lake and crosses Lake , Polk and Sumter counties. The entire 29.2-mile (47.0 km) length of

510-493: The S-Line in the mid 2000s and are both owned by Genesee & Wyoming . South of Yulee to Panama Park near Jacksonville is now CSX's Kingsland Subdivision . The S-Line Urban Greenway is now on the former right of way in northeast Jacksonville. The S-Line in Florida is CSX's primary freight route through the peninsula. From Jacksonville to Baldwin, the S-Line runs through CSX's Jacksonville Terminal Subdivision and runs on

544-503: The Seaboard Air Line Railway before 1946) was officially created, track that would make up its main line had already been built by the company's predecessors. The main line was built in the late 1800s by the following companies: By 1900, the Seaboard Air Line Railway was incorporated, which brought together the predecessor companies together and created the main line north of Camden, South Carolina . At this time,

578-516: The company had leased the Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad (FC&P) network which expanded the system through Georgia and Florida. The Seaboard Air Line would fully not own the FC&;P network until 1903. The Seaboard Air Line would run many historic passenger services over its main line, many of which ran from New York to Florida. Some of the Seaboard's passenger trains included

612-618: The formation of the Seaboard System Railroad , which merged all of the railroads owned by SCLI into one. In 1986, Seaboard System renamed themselves CSX Transportation (CSXT), and by August 1987, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway -the final remaining railroad under the Chessie System brand- was merged into CSXT. As of 2023, much of the line is still in service, though it has been abandoned in some places. At

646-644: The line for high-speed passenger service as part of the Southeast High Speed Rail Corridor . Virginia has since bought its portion of the line, and, as December 2023, North Carolina is negotiating a deal to buy the portion in their state. The S-Line is still in service from Norlina, North Carolina to Savannah, Georgia . This segment is now CSX's Norlina Subdivision , Aberdeen Subdivision , Hamlet Subdivision , Columbia Subdivision , and Savannah Subdivision . Amtrak still operates on this segment from Raleigh to Savannah. This

680-653: 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 . Main Line (Seaboard Air Line Railroad) The Seaboard Air Line Railroad ’s Main Line was the backbone of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad 's network in the southeastern United States. The main line ran from Richmond, Virginia to Tampa, Florida ,

714-469: 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. The Seaboard Air Line Railroad first chartered

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748-482: The line, which was one of the first rail services to connect Tampa and Miami directly. The Cross State Limited ran the Valrico Subdivision from West Lake Wales to access Tampa. 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

782-750: 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. 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. CSX also uses

816-498: The merger was complete, the company was named the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL), who largely retained both main lines in the combined network. To differentiate the two main lines, the Seaboard Coast Line designated the SAL’s main line as the S-Line and the ACL’s main line as the A-Line. The letter S was added as a prefix to the mileposts on the S-Line (S was also added to the beginning of

850-582: The modern defect detector ). This first talking hot box detector was installed on the main line in Riceboro, Georgia . In 1967, the Seaboard Air Line merged with their long-time rival, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL). The ACL also had a main line running from Richmond, Virginia to Tampa, Florida that was roughly parallel to the SAL’s main line. The two main lines crossed each other in Chester , Savannah , Jacksonville , and Plant City . After

884-412: The north end, CSX still operates the line from Richmond to just north of Chester, which is now CSX's Bellwood Subdivision . The short segment of the S-Line from Centralia (just north of Chester, Virginia ) to Collier Yard (just south of Petersburg, Virginia ) was abandoned by the Seaboard Coast Line shortly after the 1967 merger. The remaining track was connected to the A-Line in an effort to consolidate

918-423: 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. 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 . Today,

952-523: The pre-existing letter prefixes on the SAL’s branch lines). In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line's parent company, Seaboard Coast Line Industries (SCLI), merged with the Chessie System , creating CSX Corporation . CSX Corporation initially operated the Chessie and SCLI Systems separately, however in 1982 they began the process of consolidating the railroads of both holding companies. This began with

986-584: 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

1020-674: The trail is paved approximately 12-foot (3.7 m) wide and is mostly straight, containing only one slight curve toward the southern end of the trail just north of the Polk City trailhead. Among the wildlife that can be seen along the trail are egrets , herons and various raptors . Also sighted are white-tailed deer , Florida gopher tortoises , American alligators , raccoons and nine-banded armadillos . Activities include walking , running , inline skating , hiking , horseback riding , biking , and viewing wildlife. Florida state parks are open between 8 a.m. and sundown every day of

1054-516: The trail itself; and finally in Mabel where the trail intersects just south of State Road 50 . The right of way for the former railroad line continues north on its way to Coleman . This line carried the Silver Meteor between Coleman and Auburndale until 1988, and had a bridge under SR 50. The bridge was kept intact for a future horses-only extension of the trail toward Coleman. The extension

Florida Western and Northern Railroad - Misplaced Pages Continue

1088-471: The two lines on to the A-Line though Petersburg. Some of the supports that once held the S-Line's bridge over the Appomattox River are still standing on the northwest side of Petersburg. CSX abandoned the S-Line from Collier Yard to Norlina, North Carolina in 1987. CSX sold the right of way to the states of Virginia and North Carolina in 2019. The states are doing preliminary work to rebuild

1122-510: The year (including holidays). There is no admission necessary to use the park. The trail has four trailheads with parking areas specifically for the trail, each spaced approximately 9.6 miles (15.4 km) apart. These are located in Polk City at the intersection of State Road 33 and County Road 665; Green Pond at the intersection of Green Pond Road and the trail itself; Bay Lake at the intersection of Bay Lake Road (County Road 565) and

1156-638: Was abandoned between Riceboro and Bladen, Georgia . Additional track was abandoned between Bladen and Seals, Georgia four years later. The shortline Riceboro Southern Railway now operates from Richmond Hill to Riceboro, and the First Coast Railroad operates from Seals, Georgia to Yulee, Florida . Both the First Coast Railroad and the Riceboro Southern Railway took over their respective sections of

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