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49-624: The High Springs—Croom Line began at the Atlantic Coast Line's High Springs Yard, where it also connected with their DuPont—Lakeland Line . From High Springs, the line proceeded southeast to Gainesville and continued south through Ocala and Leesburg before reconnecting with the DuPont—Lakeland Line in Croom (originally known as Pemberton Ferry ). From Croom, the line continued west another ten miles to Brooksville , which

98-520: 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

147-656: A half hours later; the return left around 5 p.m. for a late evening arrival in Newberry. A close connection was made with GS&F trains at Lake Butler and package cars ran through via Lake Butler to Lake City and Gainesville . The J&SW had many connections: In addition to the AV&;W and the GS&;F, it connected with the Florida Central & Peninsular Railroad at Jacksonville, Baldwin and Deep Creek Junction;

196-530: A new depot. This rerouted segment used the former right of way of the Gainesville and Gulf Railroad. For much of its history, the Atlantic Coast Line's West Coast Champion and an additional local passenger train ran the line round-trip daily on its route from Jacksonville to St. Petersburg. Trains continued to come in from Jacksonville via the Jacksonville—Wilcox Line at Burnett's Lake. By

245-589: A week from Burnett's Lake to Newberry and Wilcox. In 1967, the Atlantic Coast Line merged with its rival, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad . The merged company was named the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad . After the merger, a daily local passenger train and a local freight train that ran six days a week were still using the line. However, passenger service ended on May 1, 1971, with the advent of Amtrak . By 1972,

294-632: 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

343-435: 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

392-548: Is now CSX's Deerhaven Subdivision and it is the only remaining rail line in Gainesville . CSX uses the line for local freight and it is connected to the rest of CSX's network via the Brooker Subdivision at Burnett's Lake. The Gainesville-Hawthorne State Trail runs on the former right of way between Gainesville and Rochelle. The line is still active between Lowell , Ocala , and Candler . This segment

441-766: Is operated by the Florida Northern Railroad , a shortline run by Regional Rail, LLC , which crosses the S Line in Ocala. A short segment was still active near Leesburg which had been operated by the Florida Midland Railroad since 1987 (this line also used former Seaboard track from Wildwood to Leesburg). This line was abandoned in late 2000. The Good Neighbor Trail runs on the former right of way between Croom and Brooksville. DuPont%E2%80%94Lakeland Line The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's DuPont—Lakeland Line (R Line)

490-494: Is still in service. This track from Grand Crossing to Panama Park is now part of CSX's Kingsland Subdivision . At the other end, track from Hainesworth to Newberry is now part of CSX's Brooker Subdivision . In 1993, CSX sold 14 miles of the unused right of way between Imeson Road (about three miles west of Grand Crossing) and County Road 121 near Baldwin to the Florida Department of Natural Resources to become

539-674: 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

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588-646: The Florida Railroad Commission approved the purchase on July 28, 1904. The daily train continued to use the Catherine Street station for several months before being switched over to the Jacksonville Union Terminal on West Bay Street. The ACL extended the line west to Wilcox in 1907 and beyond to Cross City and Perry by 1909, where it would eventually connect with ACL's historic Perry Cutoff . By then,

637-641: 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 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,

686-661: The Plant System 's Savannah, Florida & Western Railway at Grand Crossing; and the Atlantic, Suwannee River & Gulf Railway at Hainesworth. The J&SW was built primarily to serve the Cummer mills, and though it crossed some valuable phosphate lands, the Cummers did little to develop that traffic. On July 1, 1903, C. W. Chase, President of the H. F. Dutton & Co., a Gainesville-based phosphate mining company, bought

735-479: 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

784-656: 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 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

833-539: 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

882-593: 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 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

931-739: The St. Johns River north of the then city limits of Jacksonville, Florida , to access timber lands near Newberry, Florida . Chartered on March 11, 1899, by November 1899 it was complete to Lake Butler, where connection was made with the Georgia Southern & Florida Railway (GS&F), and the terminus of Newberry was reached a month later. The company was closely held by the Cummer family at first: The original officers were W. W. Cummer of Jacksonville, President; Jacob Cummer, of Cadillac, Michigan, Vice-President; Arthur G. Cummer, Treasurer; and Waldo E. Cummer, Secretary. General manager of construction

980-868: 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 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

1029-609: 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

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1078-407: The 1950s, a local freight train was running the line from High Springs to Croom six days a week. A mixed train (with both passengers and freight) also ran the line from Burnett's Lake to High Springs six days a week. In 1967, the Atlantic Coast Line became the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL) after merging with its rival, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (whose main line ran relatively close to

1127-680: The Atlantic Coast Line built a connection with the Jacksonville and Southwestern Railroad (J&SW), which the Atlantic Coast line bought a year prior. The Atlantic Coast Line then used the J&;SW line, which crossed the High Springs—Croom Line at Burnett's Lake (just north of Gainesville), for trains from Jacksonville since it was more direct and went through more communities. The Atlantic Coast Line would sometimes refer to

1176-427: 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 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,

1225-595: The High Springs—Croom Line also had a small branches to Citra and Howey-in-the-Hills and it also connected with the Leesburg Branch in Leesburg . From High Springs to Gainesville, the line was built by Henry B. Plant in an effort to extend his railroad network further south to Charlotte Harbor . From Gainesville south, the line was built by the Florida Southern Railway. Henry Plant

1274-456: The High Springs—Croom Line as the "Florida Southern Route" (named after the predecessor that built the line) to differentiate it from their nearly parallel High Springs—Lakeland Line which was called the "West Coast Route" and was primarily a freight route. In 1948, the Atlantic Coast Line rerouted the line in central Gainesville from Main Street to instead run along 6th Street, where they built

1323-650: The High Springs—Croom Line). In the Seaboard Coast Line era, both the High Springs—Croom Line and the Jacksonville—Wilcox Line were designated as the Ocala Subdivision . A local passenger train would continue to use the line up until 1971 when Amtrak took over the Seaboard Coast Line's passenger operations. By 1982, the Seaboard Coast Line abandoned the line from High Springs to Burnett's Lake, and track south of Micanopy Junction

1372-455: The J&SW and became its president. E. S. Spencer, the road's traffic manager, was named general manager. Within a month Chase announced that construction was to begin on a large phosphate port at Milldale. The road was extended a few miles west of Newberry to reach the Dutton mine. The Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) expressed interest in the J&SW, and bought the railroad outright as soon as

1421-710: 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

1470-690: The Palatka Branch during their initial construction, as well as the branches to Micanopy and Citra. The Florida Southern Railway would eventually become part of the Plant System. After Plant's death, his network of railroads was sold to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) in 1902. Initially, the Atlantic Coast Line used the Palatka Branch to run trains from Jacksonville to the High Springs—Croom Line, which then went south to Ocala and Tampa. This changed in 1905 when

1519-652: 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

High Springs—Croom Line - Misplaced Pages Continue

1568-544: 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

1617-422: The line daily between Croom and Trilby (where they continued southwest to St. Petersburg). The Southland 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

1666-544: The line just north of Dunnellon) and the Vitis—Tampa Line (which connected to the line at Vitis Junction and provided 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

1715-485: The line was abandoned between Mattox and a point just west of Grand Crossing in Jacksonville. The line from Mattox south to Hainesworth remained until the mid to late 1980s and operated as Seaboard Coast Line Railroad 's Ocala, Gainesville, and Wilcox Subdivisions. Parts of the line are still active and are operated by CSX Transportation . Track from just west of Jacksonville near Duval Yard east to Panama Park

1764-614: The line was designated at the Jacksonville–Wilcox Line (SG Line). Eventually, the line became the main route for the Atlantic Coast Line's passenger trains running from Jacksonville to St. Petersburg . By 1949, the West Coast Champion and a local passenger train were running the line daily between Jacksonville and Burnett's Lake, where they turned south to St. Petersburg. At the same time, mixed train service (consisting of both passengers and freight) ran six days

1813-457: 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. 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

1862-595: 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 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

1911-465: Was George L. Davis. An agreement with the new Atlantic, Valdosta & Western Railway (AV&W) allowed the use of their line from the junction at Grand Crossing near the Jacksonville city limits to a station adjacent to the AV&W depot at Catherine and East Bay streets. Excursions were run for Jacksonville's Gala Week in November, regular daily service began a month later. By then the president

1960-411: Was James M. Barnett of Grand Rapids; Jacob Cummer as First Vice-President; W. W. Cummer Second Vice-President; Harvey Hollister of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Treasurer; Arthur G. Cummer, Secretary. Waldo E. Cummer was named Superintendent, and George L. Davis remained as Superintendent of construction. The road operated a round trip daily, leaving Newberry around 6 a.m. and arriving in Jacksonville four and

2009-575: 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

High Springs—Croom Line - Misplaced Pages Continue

2058-435: Was a railroad that served Florida from 1899 to 1904. It was purchased by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1904. The Atlantic Coast Line would extend the line further west and it would become their Jacksonville—Wilcox Line . Some of the original right-of-way was converted to a recreational path in the rails to trails program in the 1990s. The railroad was built by Wellington W. Cummer from his sawmill at Milldale, on

2107-635: 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 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

2156-454: Was broken up into segments. By 1989, track was abandoned from Gainesville to Rochelle (along with the Palatka Branch east to Hawthorne). Some segments of the High Springs—Croom Line remain active today and some abandoned segments have since become rail trails . The short 13-mile segment of the line is still in service from Burnett's Lake south to Gainesville, where it terminates just north of central Gainesville at NE 23rd Avenue . This line

2205-577: 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 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

2254-554: Was classified separately on employee timetables as the Brooksville Branch . The High Springs—Croom Line also connected with the Atlantic Coast Line's Palatka Branch just south of Gainesville at Rochelle. The Palatka Branch ran from Rochelle east to Palatka , where it connected with the Atlantic Coast Line's Main Line . The line's Micanopy Branch ran from the line to the small town of Micanopy and Tacoma. Further south,

2303-482: Was the final link in what would become the DuPont—Lakeland Line (R Line). The DuPont—Lakeland Line would become a busy route for 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

2352-684: 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. Jacksonville and Southwestern Railroad The Jacksonville & Southwestern Railroad ( J&SW )

2401-486: Was unaware that the Florida Southern was building north to Gainesville and further north as he was building his line, the Live Oak, Tampa and Charlotte Harbor Railroad , south. To prevent having competing lines, Plant made a mutually beneficial deal with the Florida Southern that essentially combined the two lines into one, connecting them in Gainesville. The Florida Southern also The Florida Southern also built

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