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28-789: The original railroad line was formed sometime in the 1880s. It connected with what is now the Florida Northern Railroad in Citrus Springs with what is now CSX's Wildwood Subdivision (S Line) in Owensboro (a train junction, south of Trilby ). In 1892, the Silver Springs, Ocala and Gulf Railroad (SSO&G) built the original railroad line through Inverness and Hernando and the South Florida Railroad built from Inverness south. In 1902,

56-698: A crossover of U.S. 98 / SR 50 , a mile east of I-75 and 40 miles (64 km) north past the Silver Lake Campground in the Withlacoochee State Forest, close to the Withlacoochee River . The trail runs under I-75 as it continues north and about a mile from there intersects the Good Neighbor Trail at 28°35'22.2"N 82°13'42.3"W. From there it runs through Nobleton , Istachatta , and then crosses

84-808: A multi-use path along that route follows it west passing through County Road 491, and connected to State Road 44 by the end of 2013. In May 2013, the State of Florida had approved funding for the Coast to Coast Connector, some of which will include connecting the Withlacoochee State Trail to the Claridoma-Ocoee Connector Trail in Lake County, which will then connect all the way to the east coast, terminating on Merritt Island. The Coast to Coast Connector will also connect

112-631: Is a census-designated place in Citrus County , Florida , United States. The population was 9,284 at the 2020 census, up from 9,054 at the 2010 census. At one time it was a city but it was disincorporated in the 1970s. It is part of the Homosassa Springs, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . Hernando is located in northeastern Citrus County at 28°55′46″N 82°22′28″W  /  28.92944°N 82.37444°W  / 28.92944; -82.37444 (28.929498, -82.374340). It

140-613: Is bordered by Citrus Springs to the northwest, Pine Ridge to the west, Citrus Hill to the southwest, Inverness Highlands North to the south, and Marion County to the north. The eastern edge of the CDP extends into Tsala Apopka Lake , a network of lakes and wetlands that are part of the Withlacoochee River system. According to the United States Census Bureau , the CDP has a total area of 35.6 square miles (92.1 km ), of which 31.7 square miles (82.1 km )

168-598: Is land and 3.9 square miles (10.0 km ), or 10.85%, is water. As of the census of 2000, there were 8,253 people, 3,730 households, and 2,514 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 262.2 inhabitants per square mile (101.2/km ). There were 4,750 housing units at an average density of 150.9 per square mile (58.3/km ). The racial makeup of the CDP was 95.58% White , 2.27% African American , 0.29% Native American , 0.52% Asian , 0.06% Pacific Islander , 0.17% from other races , and 1.11% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.64% of

196-630: Is one of several short line railroads run by Regional Rail, LLC . It has connections to CSX at Ocala, Florida , running north to Lowell, Florida , and south to Candler, Florida . It was formerly run by CSX as their Ocala Subdivision. The railroad also operates lines connecting to CSX in Newberry, Florida , running south to the Crystal River Energy Complex in Red Level, Florida , just north of Crystal River . This line

224-905: The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) acquired both the SFR and the SSO&;G. The segment was officially declared as the DuPont—Lakeland Line , part of a passenger rail route that afforded a more direct path from Georgia to Gulf Coast tourist destinations. From the 1920s up to 1957, the ACL carried the daily Southland over this line. South of Trilby the route split and there were two different western Florida destinations: train 33 (train 32 northbound) via Atlantic Coast Line tracks to Tarpon Springs, Dunedin, Clearwater , St. Petersburg ; and train 37 (train 38 northbound) splitting off

252-656: The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The Atlantic Coast line used this line for passenger service and in 1917, they jointly built Ocala Union Station with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad where the two railroads crossed. Ocala Union Station no longer serves passenger trains but continues to stand where the Florida Northern crosses the CSX S Line (the former Seaboard Air Line). The Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line merged in 1967 with

280-751: The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad . SCL merged with the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and other railroads to form the Seaboard System Railroad in 1982, and in 1986 was merged with the Chessie System to form CSX Railroad . CSX decided to abandon the 47-mile railroad in 1987. In 1989 the state bought the railroad for their " rail-to-trails " program. The southern terminus is at U.S. 98 / 301 south of Trilby . The trail goes 6 miles (9.7 km) north to

308-720: The Hernando-Citrus County Line into Pineola , the site of the Great Train Wreck of 1956 . As it enters Floral City , it runs much closer to and parallel to US 41 . South of Inverness across from Citrus County Speedway and the Inverness Airport , there is a paid access trail leading to Fort Cooper State Park . Within Inverness itself, the trail runs under State Road 44 , with access trails on both sides running east. North of there,

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336-579: The West Coast Subdivision. The track from Red Level Junction to Crystal River was removed by 1982 and track from Dunnellon south to Inverness and Owensboro was removed in 1987, which became the Withlacoochee State Trail . The Florida Northern took over the remaining track of the West Coast Subdivision in 1988. The spur from Newberry to High Springs was removed in 2014. Hernando, Florida Hernando

364-914: The Withlacoochee State Trail to the Suncoast Trail, which follows the Suncoast Parkway south to Tampa. Parking for the trail is located off U.S. 98 / 301 at the Owensboro Junction Trailhead, C.R. 575 / Trilby Trailhead, S.R. 50 Trailhead on Croom-Rital Road, Silver Lake Campground, Townsen Lake Regional Park off C.R. 476, Desoto Trail Kiosk off U.S. 41 , Wallace Brooks Park and Liberty Park in Inverness, South Citrus Springs Trailhead and Gulf Junction Trailhead, both of which are in Citrus Springs. Florida Northern Railroad (current) The Florida Northern Railroad Company, Inc. ( reporting mark FNOR )

392-403: The average family size was 2.62. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 17.2% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 20.8% from 25 to 44, 29.1% from 45 to 64, and 28.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 51 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males. The median income for a household in the CDP

420-583: The county seat, and north 12 miles (19 km) to Dunnellon . Two other roads that terminate in Hernando at US 41 are State Road 200 and County Road 486 , known as West Norvell Bryant Highway. Hernando lies along the North boundary of the Tsala Apopka chain of lakes. The community of Hernando has a long-standing heritage of airboating (fan boats) which navigate the thousands of acres of swamp that lies to

448-538: The early organizers of the Silver Springs, Ocala and Gulf Railroad was John F. Dunn, for whom Dunnellon is named for. The Silver Springs, Ocala and Gulf Railroad would become part of the Plant System of railroads in 1901. The Plant System was acquired by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The Atlantic Coast Line then extended the line from Morriston north to Archer in 1913 to connect with

476-526: The east. Hernando is home to the Citrus County Airboat Alliance a civic group that promotes environmental stewardship and protecting the rights of airboat operators. Fishing and hunting are popular outdoor activities in the Hernando community. Hernando features a 46-mile (74 km) bike riding trail known as the Withlacoochee State Trail which was converted from the former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad line that had been built in

504-538: The line from High Springs. The completion of this line created a through route from High Springs to Dunnellon, which combined with track to Inverness south created a west coast main line for the Atlantic Coast Line. In the 1960s, a spur was built to the Crystal River Energy Complex in Red Level. The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad eventually evolved into CSX in 1986, with this line being known as

532-848: The merged company becoming the CSX Transportation in 1986. The former Atlantic Coast Line route was abandoned north of Lowell and south of Candler around 1982, creating the line that exists today. CSX leased the line to the Pinsly Railroad Company in 1988 who established the Florida Northern Railroad. In November 2019, Pinsly Railroad Company sold the Florida Northern, along with the Florida Central Railroad and Florida Midland Railroad , to 3i RR Holdings GP, LLC and subsidiaries (d.b.a. " Regional Rail, LLC "). As of 2016,

560-521: The northernmost 5 miles from Zuber to Lowell are out of service. The line from Newberry to Red Level was built incrementally by Henry Plant 's system of railroads. Track from High Springs to Archer was built in 1893 by the Plant System as a branch of the Live Oak, Tampa and Charlotte Harbor Railroad . At the other end, the Silver Springs, Ocala and Gulf Railroad (which originated in Ocala), built

588-409: The population. There were 3,730 households, out of which 18.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.8% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.6% were non-families. 26.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.21 and

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616-420: The route at Trilby to Zephyrhills, to Tampa and then to Bradenton and Sarasota . Additionally, an unnamed train ran from Jacksonville over this route, also to St. Petersburg. In 1946, an overpass was built to carry a realigned US 301 at Owensboro over both the Seaboard Air Line Railroad and Atlantic Coast Line Railroad tracks. In 1967, the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line Railroads merged to form

644-408: The track from a point historically known as Juliette (near Rainbow Springs ) south to Dunnellon, Crystal River, and Homosassa in 1887 (though track to Homosassa only lasted until 1941). In 1893, track was built from Juliette (near Rainbow Springs ) north to Morriston and from just south of Dunnellon south to Inverness . The split in the line to Inverness would become known as Gulf Junction. One of

672-561: The trail is briefly detoured around County Road 486 for one block, then resumes its use of the former railroad right-of-way. Before reaching Holder , it has an intersection with another trail leading to the Central Ridge District Park. North of there it continues through Citrus CR 491 in Holder, and Citrus Springs , where it finally ends at Gulf Junction just south of Dunnellon . Since the widening of County Road 486,

700-408: The trail runs through Cooter Pond Park, Wallace Brooks Park and Liberty Park, then uses a former railroad bridge over a section of Lake Henderson. Beneath the bridge under US 41, another trail leads to Whispering Pines Park, and from there it makes a right curve around White Lake. Just south of the intersection with East Arlington Street, it runs relatively close to the west side of US 41. In Hernando ,

728-434: Was $ 29,121, and the median income for a family was $ 35,118. Males had a median income of $ 26,084 versus $ 21,460 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $ 15,030. About 11.6% of families and 15.4% of the population were below the poverty line , including 25.7% of those under age 18 and 11.0% of those age 65 or over. U.S. Route 41 is the main road through Hernando, leading south 5 miles (8 km) to Inverness ,

756-483: Was extended south to Leesburg . The track connecting the Florida Northern main track with the CSX track and the industrial spur from Ocala west was originally part of the Silver Springs, Ocala and Gulf Railroad , which was built in 1887 and historically extended west to Dunnellon and Homosassa . The Silver Springs, Ocala and Gulf Railroad also became part of the Plant System . The Plant System became part of

784-601: Was formerly CSX's West Coast Subdivision and Red Level Subdivision. Long coal trains are still pulled by CSX locomotives on this branch while local traffic still uses the Pinsly Red with Yellow locomotives. The main track of the line from Lowell to Candler via Ocala was originally built by the Florida Southern Railway , which was part of the Plant System of railroads. It was built from Rochelle (south of Gainesville) to Ocala in 1881. In 1883, it

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