The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's DuPont—Lakeland Line (R 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 (which was part of the company's Waycross District) and the High Springs—Lakeland Line (which was part of the company's Ocala District). 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.
34-666: The DuPont—Lakeland Line began in DuPont, Georgia at the Atlantic Coast Line's Waycross—Thomasville Line . From DuPont, it proceeded south into Florida and passing through Live Oak and Branford . From Branford, the line turned southeast to High Springs , where the Atlantic Coast Line operated a major freight yard. From High Springs, the line continued south to Newberry , Williston , Dunnellon , Inverness , and Dade City before coming to an end just south of their Lakeland Yard at Lakeland Junction, where it connected with
68-583: A bypass for the busy rail hub in Jacksonville . It was completed in 1928 to reduce travel times for its passenger trains to the west coast, or Gulf Coast , of Florida during the Florida land boom of the 1920s . The Perry Cutoff basically connected two pre-existing Atlantic Coast Line Railroad routes. Track to Monticello, which originated in Thomasville, Georgia , was built in 1888 as a branch of
102-519: A connection between CSX's S Line (the former Seaboard Air Line Main Line) and A Line. CSX's freight trains from the north heading to Winston Yard, southern Orlando, and Miami continue to operate over the Vitis Subdivision. The Vitis Subdivision crosses Interstate 4 on an overpass just west of Kathleen Road interchange (mile marker 31) near Lakeland. The Florida Department of Transportation
136-531: A direct route to Tampa ). Three round trip passenger trains ran this section of the line for much of its history. The Southland ran the line daily from the Perry Cutoff to Tampa via Vitis Junction with stops at Dunnellon, Inverness, Trilby and Dade City. The Atlantic Coast Line's West Coast Champion and an additional local passenger train also ran the line daily between Croom and Trilby (where they continued southwest to St. Petersburg). The Southland
170-467: A line from Dunnellon northwest to Wilcox in 1914 to connect with the Newberry to Perry Line. Once the Perry Cutoff was in place in 1928, trains could travel from the midwest to Thomasville, Georgia and head south along Florida's Gulf Coast through Monticello, Perry, Wilcox, and Dunnellon to reach Tampa and St. Petersburg. The line allowed for trains to travel up to 59 miles per hour. Most notably,
204-630: A week. Local freight trains also ran on the Lake City and Crystal River branches several times a week. On October 18, 1956, a head-on collision between two Atlantic Coast Line Railroad freight trains occurred near Pineola killing four crewmen. The crash is known as "The Great Train Wreck of 1956," and signpost at the site of the crash on the Withlacoochee State Trail memorializes the event today. The Atlantic Coast Line became
238-518: Is a town in Clinch County , Georgia , United States. The population was 134 in 2020. According to the 1916 History of Clinch County the town was first settled around 1856 as Lawton, on the route of the newly chartered Atlantic and Gulf Railroad . During the Civil War, a branch line from Lawton to Live Oak, Florida , was built to assist the movement of Confederate troops and supplies, but
272-433: Is in the process of replacing the overpass with a new structure that will be wider to accommodate two tracks for the railroad, as well as longer to accommodate future expansion of Interstate 4 underneath. The former Lakeland Yard at the south end of the line is now the site of Bonnet Springs Park. From Vitis Junction north to Owensboro, the line is now the southernmost part of CSX's Wildwood Subdivision , which continues up
306-670: The A Line (the former Atlantic Coast Line Main Line). By 1982, the Crystal River Subdivision was abandoned south of Red Level Junction. In 1987, only a year after completing the transition to CSX, the company abandoned 46 miles of the West Coast Subdivision between Gulf Junction (in Dunnellon) to its connection with the S Line at Owensboro. CSX abandoned the line from DuPont to High Springs in 1988. From 1990 to 2004, Amtrak operated service on
340-866: The Louisville & Nashville 's and ACL's Southland was shifted over to this direct route in 1928. The Line crossed the Seaboard Air Line Railroad 's Jacksonville to Tallahassee line in Drifton . It also connected with the Live Oak, Perry, and Gulf Railroad in Perry, which the Atlantic Coast Line owned until 1928 (the year the Perry Cutoff was complete) when it was sold to the Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Company , who would eventually sell it to Norfolk Southern . Once
374-478: The S Line north of Owensboro. The abandoned right of way from Owensboro to Dunnellon is now the Withlacoochee State Trail , the longest rail trail in Florida. The line north of Dunnellon to High Springs and the remaining Crystal River Branch to Red Level was taken over by the shortline Florida Northern Railroad in 1988. The Florida Northern abandoned the line north of Newberry to High Springs in 2014, which
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#1732790563391408-621: The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL) in 1967 after merging with their rival, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL). At the time of the merger, the Seaboard Air Line's Brooksville Subdivision closely paralleled the High Springs—Lakeland Line though Inverness, Dunnellon, and Morriston. The lines even crossed each other twice (once just south of Dunnellon and again near Rainbow Springs where
442-744: The Silver Springs, Ocala and Gulf Railroad were incorporated into the Plant System in 1893 and 1901 respectively. In 1902, the Plant System was bought by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad . The Atlantic Coast Line would then built track from Archer to Morriston in 1913, which was the final link in what would become the DuPont—Lakeland Line (R Line). The DuPont—Lakeland Line would become a busy route for
476-608: The Vitis Subdivision from Vitis Junction to Lakeland. The Crystal River Branch was designated the Crystal River Subdivision . Much of the parallel Seaboard Air Line track from Archer to Inverness was also abandoned in the wake of the merger due to its proximity to the West Coast Subdivision. A local passenger train continued to run the line the short distance from Croom to Trilby on its route from Jacksonville to St. Petersburg until 1971, when all of
510-466: The Atlantic Coast Line in the 1920s. During the decade, both High Springs Yard and Lakeland Yard were expanded. The line was also double tracked between Dunnellon and Vitis Junction in 1928. This was due to increased traffic between the newly-built Perry Cutoff (which connected to the line just north of Dunnellon) and the Vitis—Tampa Line (which connected to the line at Vitis Junction and provided
544-716: The Atlantic Coast Line's main line . The DuPont—Lakeland Line connected with the Atlantic Coast Line's High Springs—Croom Line in both locations, the Thomasville—Dunnellon Line in Dunnellon, the St. Petersburg Line in Trilby, and the Vitis—Tampa Line at Vitis Junction. The line also had three smaller branch lines. The Lake City Branch ran from Lake City Junction (between Branford and High Springs) to Lake City . The Ocala Branch ran from Rainbow Falls east to Ocala, and
578-549: The Homosassa Branch (also known as the Crystal River Branch) ran from just south of Dunnellon to Crystal River and Homosassa. The DuPont—Lakeland Line was built in segments from 1863 to 1913 with most of the line being built by the Atlantic Coast Line's predecessor railroads. The north end of the line from DuPont to Live Oak, Florida was the first segment of the line to open. It opened in 1863 and
612-709: The Juliette Falls Golf Course's driving range is currently located). The merged company adopted the Seaboard Air Line's method of naming their lines as subdivisions. As a result, the DuPont—High Springs Line north of High Springs was designated as the DuPont Subdivision on employee timetables, the West Coast Subdivision from High Springs to Vitis Junction (which also included the former Vitis—Tampa Line), and
646-635: The Live Oak and Rowlands Bluff Railroad and the Live Oak, Tampa and Charlotte Harbor Railroad to continue the line from Live Oak via High Springs to Gainesville , which opened in 1883 (track from High Springs to Gainesville would become part of the High Springs—Croom Line ). The Live Oak, Tampa and Charlotte Harbor Railroad also built the Lake City Branch. In 1893, track was built from High Springs south to Archer. The first segment of
680-625: The Perry Cutoff was in place, the full line from Thomasville to Dunnellon was designated on employee timetables as the Thomasville–Dunnellon Line (ND Line). The Southland was discontinued in 1957. The Atlantic Coast Line became the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in 1967. The Seaboard Coast Line continued to operate the full line from Thomasville to Dunnellon as the Perry Subdivision . In 1980,
714-511: The Savannah, Florida and Western Railroad. The Savannah, Florida and Western Railroad was once the main line of the Plant System . At the other end, track was built in 1907 by the Atlantic Coast Line from Newberry west to Wilcox and Perry . This was an extension of the Jacksonville and Southwestern Railroad , a railroad from Jacksonville to Newberry that the Atlantic Coast Line acquired in 1904. The Atlantic Coast Line additionally built
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#1732790563391748-699: 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. Most of the Perry Cutoff north of Cross City was removed by the mid-1980s along with track from Dunnellon to Chiefland. Remaining track from Newberry to Cross City, and from Wilcox to Chiefland
782-595: The Seaboard Coast Line's passenger trains were taken over by Amtrak . 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 . Lakeland Yard closed in the 1980s and traffic was then relocated to nearby Winston Yard just four miles west of Lakeland Junction on
816-542: The line between Lakeland and Owensboro which also ran on the S Line further north. This service was operated by the Silver Star , Silver Palm , and the Palmetto at various times through this period. Today, the former DuPont—Lakeland line still exists in two segments. The southernmost 20 miles of the line from Lakeland Junction to Vitis Junction is still operating as CSX's Vitis Subdivision. Today, it serves as
850-542: The line on the south end was built in 1884 from Lakeland north to Pemberton Ferry (later known as Croom). This segment was built by the South Florida Railroad and was the northern leg of their Pemberton Ferry Branch. In 1887, the Silver Springs, Ocala and Gulf Railroad (SSO&G) built the segment of the line from Juliette (known today as Rainbow Falls) south to Dunnellon as part of their network. The SSO&G also built track to Ocala and Homosassa at
884-436: The line round-trip daily from DuPont to Vitis Junction on their route from Waycross to Tampa with a stop at High Springs Yard. One additional through freight train also ran round-trip daily from High Springs to Tampa via Vitis Junction and another through freight train ran from High Springs to Lakeland round-trip daily. Separate local freight trains also ran from DuPont to High Springs and from High Springs to Lakeland three days
918-658: The same time (which became the Ocala and Homosassa branches). One of the early organizers of the SSO&;G was John F. Dunn, for whom Dunnellon is partially named for. In 1891, SSO&G built track from Dunnellon south to Inverness. At the same time, the South Florida Railroad extended their Pemberton Ferry Branch north to Inverness, linking the two railroads. In 1893, the SSO&G built track from Rainbow Falls north to Morriston. The South Florida Railroad and
952-511: The town, leading east 8 miles (13 km) to Homerville , the county seat, and west 8 miles (13 km) to Stockton . According to the United States Census Bureau , Du Pont has a total area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km ), all of it land. As of the census of 2000, there were 139 people, 57 households, and 42 families residing in the town. By 2010, its population was 120, and at the 2020 census , its population
986-577: Was 134. Perry Cutoff The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad 's Perry Cutoff (which was part of the company's Thomasville—Dunnellon Line ) was a historic rail line in northern Florida running from Monticello southeast to Perry . The line provided a shortcut through the Big Bend of Florida for rail traffic running between the Midwest and the Tampa Bay area by providing a more direct route and
1020-508: Was discontinued in 1957. In 1941, the Homosassa Branch was abandoned between Homosassa and Cutlers. More of the branch was abandoned between Cutlers and Crystal River in the 1960s. The Ocala and Lake City Branches were also abandoned in the 1960s. By the 1950s, a considerable amount of freight traffic was also running the line. The line was the Atlantic Coast Line's primary route for freight trains running between Waycross, Georgia and Tampa, Florida . At least two through freight trains ran
1054-401: Was not completed until 1865, when the war was nearly over. The town was renamed in 1874 after J. P. A. DuPont, an early settler. It was incorporated as a city in 1889. Du Pont is located in northwestern Clinch County at 30°59.4′N 82°52.3′W / 30.9900°N 82.8717°W / 30.9900; -82.8717 (30.9896, -82.8707). U.S. Route 84 passes through the center of
DuPont—Lakeland Line - Misplaced Pages Continue
1088-670: Was originally the Florida Division of the Atlantic and Gulf Railroad . It was the first railroad line to cross the Georgia/Florida border. The Atlantic and Gulf Railroad later became the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway , which was the main railroad of Henry B. Plant 's system of railroads. Plant then sought to expand his railroad system further into Florida and hoped to reach Charlotte Harbor. He then chartered
1122-612: Was the last railroad track remaining in the once busy railroad hub of High Springs.' From Fort White to south of O'Brien, the line is part of the Suwannee River Greenway . It was also replaced by the Heritage Trail southeast of Live Oak . A third trail replaced the line in Jasper between northbound and southbound Central Avenue, which is being expanded south of the city. Du Pont, Georgia Du Pont
1156-554: Was then leased to the Florida West Coast Railroad , a shortline , in 1987. The Florida West Coast Railroad slowly abandoned more of the track until 2010, when the last track west of Newberry was abandoned. The Nature Coast State Trail now runs on some of the former right of way. Another former segment of the right-of-way has been replaced by the Monticello Bike Trail. The only track that
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