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57-614: The Lakeland—Fort Myers Line began at the Atlantic Coast Line 's Main Line just east of downtown Lakeland. From there, it ran southeast to Bartow . After running though central Bartow, it continued south through Fort Meade , Bowling Green , Wauchula , and Zolfo Springs . At a point near Gardner, it turned southwest and went through Arcadia to Punta Gorda on the Gulf Coast. From Punta Gorda, it continued south along

114-553: A bit more modern, having been upgraded in 1883. However, the sprawling ACL system needed larger and more modern facilities to handle locomotive overhauls and freight car building. By the 1920s the two largest shop sites were at South Rocky Mount, North Carolina and Waycross, Georgia , each of which employed about 2,000 workers. To handle extensions into Florida, in 1926 the ACL established the Uceta shops and yard outside of Tampa, Florida at

171-435: A cost of $ 2 million. By the early 1900s the railroad had largely reached its final configuration and began to focus on upgrading its physical plant. By the 1920s the railroad's main line from Richmond, Virginia to Jacksonville, Florida had been double-tracked, which benefited the railroad during the 1920s when Florida boomed. In 1928 the ACL completed a line between Perry, Florida and Drifton, near Monticello, Florida ,

228-849: A racing accident at Watkins Glen in 1950. Briggs's renowned automobile collection was purchased by a member of the Collier family, and is now part of the Revs Institute for Automotive Research in Naples, Florida, which is open to the public. The Collier County Public School System named Barron Collier High School in honor of Barron Gift Collier, Sr. Collier had relationships with several U.S. Presidents, including Theodore Roosevelt , Woodrow Wilson , Calvin Coolidge , and Herbert Hoover . He also maintained ties with influential senators, governors, and diplomats. His political involvements covered

285-591: A series of shorter trestles could be built. The northernmost trestle originally had a steel swing span built by the American Bridge Company to accommodate river traffic. Service up to the Caloosahatchee River commenced in 1903. The first train reached Fort Myers on May 10, 1904, after the completion of the trestles over the river. Fort Myers would remain the southernmost point of the entire Atlantic Coast Line Railroad system until

342-729: A steamship line. Collier was born in Memphis, Tennessee . He quit school at age 16 to work for the Illinois Central Railroad . Within four years, he started his own business, the Consolidated Street Railway Advertising Company of New York City. At age 26, his assets were valued at a million dollars. In 1907, Barron Collier married Juliet Gordon Carnes , also a native of Memphis. In 1911, they visited Fort Myers, Florida on vacation and developed an enduring relationship with

399-583: Is operated by the Florida Midland Railroad . The abandoned segment between Lake Alfred and Winter Haven is now the route of the Chain of Lakes Trail . Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad ( reporting mark ACL ) was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form

456-481: The Silver Meteor , the ACL launched its first streamlined train, the all-coach Champion . ACL invested heavily in its passenger fleet after World War II but passenger revenue fell from $ 28.5 million in 1946 to $ 14.1 million in 1959. Until its 1967 merger the railroad continued to maintain and improve its passenger service, even replacing old stations with new. All of ACL's New York - Florida trains ran on

513-502: The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) in 1902 and serving Fort Myers quickly became a top priority for ACL president Henry Walters . Construction commenced promptly on an extension to Fort Myers via Tice , which made it the ACL's first expansion of the former Plant System. The alignment through Tice was selected so the line would cross the wide Caloosahatchee River farther upstream at Beautiful Island, where

570-745: The Civil War , and operated them as a network of independent companies. In 1897–98, most of the South Carolina lines in Walters' system were consolidated under the name of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company of South Carolina. In 1898, as the companies moved towards combining themselves into a single system, the lines in Virginia were combined into the new Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company of Virginia, and

627-537: The Florida Special (ACL's premier, winter-only train) in New York City's Pennsylvania Station . Barron Collier Barron Gift Collier (March 23, 1873 – March 13, 1939) was an American advertising entrepreneur who became the largest landowner and developer in the U.S. state of Florida , as well as the owner of a chain of hotels, bus lines, several banks, newspapers, a telephone company and

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684-594: The Florida land boom of the 1920s . Once the land boom was underway, the ACL partnered with a number of local businessmen including advertising entrepreneur Barron Collier , who owned large amounts of land in the newly created Collier County. Through this partnership, they acquired the dormant charter of the unbuilt Fort Myers Southern Railroad (which was chartered in 1918 by the Fort Myers Southern Railroad Company) and used it to extend

741-954: The Pennsylvania Railroad north of Washington, D. C., then via the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad from Washington to Richmond. Tampa/St. Petersburg trains used ACL rails south of Richmond all the way to their destinations. Trains for Miami ran on the Florida East Coast Railway from Jacksonville to Miami, but after passenger service on the FEC effectively ended with a long-lasting strike in 1963, ACL transferred its Miami-bound trains to Seaboard rails at Auburndale, Florida . New York-Florida routes: Midwest-Florida routes: Other routes: In Preston Sturges' 1942 comedy The Palm Beach Story , main character Gerry Jeffers ( Claudette Colbert ) boards

798-643: The Petersburg Railroad between Petersburg, Virginia , and a point near Weldon, North Carolina , founded in 1830. A route between Richmond, Virginia , and Petersburg was built by the Richmond & Petersburg Railroad , which was founded in 1836. In 1840 the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad , at the time known as the Wilmington and Raleigh and renamed in 1855, completed a route between Weldon and Wilmington, North Carolina . From Wilmington,

855-469: The Richmond and Petersburg Railroad formally merged, and two years later the combined company took control of the ACL's routes south of Virginia and the Norfolk and Carolina Railroad , which operated from Norfolk, Virginia to Tarboro, North Carolina . These mergers created an ACL system reaching from southern Virginia to South Carolina and Georgia. Other small acquisitions took place in 1901, and in 1902

912-675: The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad . Much of the original ACL network has been part of CSX Transportation since 1986. The Atlantic Coast Line served the Southeast , with a concentration of lines in Florida. Numerous named passenger trains were operated by the railroad for Florida-bound tourists, with the Atlantic Coast Line contributing significantly to Florida's economic development in the first half of

969-553: The Wilmington and Manchester Railroad began operations in 1853 to Florence, South Carolina , where the Northeastern Railroad operated to Charleston, South Carolina . In 1871, the W&;W and the W&M (renamed the Wilmington, Columbia & Augusta) began using the Atlantic Coast Line name to advertise the two lines. An investor from Baltimore, William T. Walters , gained control of these separate railroads after

1026-644: The 12-mile extension to Hookerton was abandoned in 1933. The ACL's last major acquisition was the Atlanta, Birmingham and Coast Railroad , which it purchased in 1927, though the AB&;C was not merged into the ACL until 1945. Upon the formal incorporation of the ACL in 1900, an assessment was made of its repair and maintenance facilities. The oldest inherited shop site was at Wilmington, North Carolina , which dated to 1840. The shops in Florence, South Carolina were

1083-402: The 20th century. At the end of 1925, ACL operated 4,924 miles of road, not including its flock of subsidiaries; after some merging, mileage at the end of 1960 was 5,570 not including A&WP, CN&L, East Carolina, Georgia, Rockingham, and V&CS. In 1960, ACL reported 10,623 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 490 million passenger-miles. The earliest predecessor of the ACL was

1140-474: The ACL handled mostly seasonal agricultural products, but by World War II its freight traffic had become more diverse. During the 1950s, around 44% of all freight traffic consisted of manufactured and miscellaneous items, while bulk traffic like coal and phosphates also expanded during this time. During the 1950s, the ACL acquired some 13,000 new freight cars, to be used on high-speed trains offering reduced running times compared to earlier equipment. This allowed

1197-671: The ACL took over the Plant System , which operated numerous lines within Florida and Georgia. This same year the ACL took control of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad as well as the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway , though the two were never merged into the ACL and were operated independently. The ACL acquired the East Carolina Railway in 1935, running south from Tarboro to Hookerton , although

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1254-562: The Atlantic Coast Line operated a daily local passenger train and a daily freight train along the line from Bartow to Fort Myers. The ACL operated mixed train service from Fort Myers to Naples six days a week. In the 1950s–1960s, the ACL ran a daily passenger train between Lakeland and Naples via Fort Myers, with through cars from New York coming off the Tampa-bound section of the West Coast Champion at Lakeland. In

1311-595: The Atlantic Coast Line's Bartow Branch , which ran from Bartow northeast through Winter Haven to the Atlantic Coast Line's Main Line at Lake Alfred . Many long-distance passenger trains to Southwest Florida often used the Bartow Branch throughout its history. The northernmost 14 miles of the line from Lakeland to Bartow were built by the South Florida Railroad in September 1884. It was

1368-627: The Hotel Punta Gorda, would later be owned by Barron Collier (the namesake of nearby Collier County ). Charlotte Harbor was Henry Plant's ultimate goal for his railroad system in Florida. Despite owning a hotel in Fort Myers, he had no interest in having the line continue beyond Punta Gorda. Fort Myers was seeking railroad service at the time and had already been established as a city unlike Punta Gorda. After Plant's death in 1899, his heirs would sell his entire system of railroads to

1425-554: The Naples depot. Collier Boulevard (SR 951) runs along the original alignment of the line from its intersection with the Tamiami Trail to Marco Island . Near Marco Island, a small sandbar named "Railroad Islet" and the "Railroad Shoals" mark the former location of the railroad's bridge to the island, which was located just east of the S.S. Jolley Bridge . Part of the Bartow Branch remains today from Winter Haven south to Gordonville (just northeast of Bartow). This segment

1482-559: The SAL's Naples depot on Fifth Avenue South. The original Naples depot on Airport Road was closed as a result and was later demolished in the 1970s. The Atlantic Coast Line's Gulf Coast Special and West Coast Champion were notable passenger services to operate on the line from Bartow to Naples. At this time, passenger trains were running the Bartow Branch north of Bartow to access the ACL's main line at Lake Alfred . By 1949,

1539-735: The Spring 1967 timetable, southbound train #291 left Lakeland at 3:05 pm, arriving at Punta Gorda 4:55 pm, Fort Myers at 5:40 pm, and Naples at 6:50 pm. The Atlantic Coast Line became the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL) after merging with the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1967 (which ironically brought the Seaboard brand back to the Naples depot). The Seaboard Coast Line adopted the Seaboard Air Line's method of naming their lines as subdivisions which resulted in

1596-501: The area. They bought nearby Useppa Island for the sum of $ 100,000. Barron Gift Collier was a highly successful and diversified entrepreneur with a portfolio that went far beyond his first business, the Consolidated Street Railway Advertising Company of New York City. His varied business interests included: Collier was an avid fisherman and established the Izaak Walton Club at their Useppa Island resort; it became one of

1653-413: The as the Atlantic Coast Line's southernmost track until 1928, when their parallel Haines City Branch was extended to Everglades City . By the end of 1927, the Atlantic Coast Line was running regular passenger train service to Naples. Service to Marco Island was provided by a mixed train from Fort Myers and Naples. The Doxsee Clam Cannery was the railroad's main freight customer on Marco Island. A wye

1710-484: The coast to Fort Myers . In later years, the line continued south from Fort Myers to Bonita Springs and Naples . While a continuous line, track south of Fort Myers was classified separately on employee timetables as the Fort Myers Southern Branch . The Fort Myers Southern Branch extended as far south as Marco Island at its greatest extent. The Lakeland—Fort Myers Line also connected with

1767-691: The early 1930s. Collier died March 13, 1939, in Manhattan , survived by his wife and three sons, Barron Jr., Miles, and Samuel , and was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx , New York. Although the Great Depression had strained his finances and slowed development of their Florida lands, the next generations of his family would continue his development work in subsequent decades. The family members participated in many sports, including motorsports , and especially road racing , which led to

Lakeland—Fort Myers Line - Misplaced Pages Continue

1824-540: The entrance to the mine to Bowling Green (at a point just 100 yards north of the Bowling Green depot) is still in place but is out of service. Much of U.S. Route 17 has been widened into the former right of way between Bowling Green and Arcadia. The most substantial segment of the line that still remains is from Arcadia to North Naples. This segment has been operated by Seminole Gulf Railway since 1987, which carries mixed freight to Southwest Florida . However,

1881-594: The fast-emerging military industry in the Southeast. In 1942, Champion McDowell Davis (nicknamed "Champ") became president of the ACL after starting with the railroad in the 1890s as a messenger boy. He immediately began an improvement program that finished in the mid-1950s, including the rebuilding of several hundred miles of track, the installation of modern signaling systems and improvements to freight yards . The railroad spent at least $ 268 million in upgrading its physical plant during this period. On June 30, 1955,

1938-456: The former Lakeland—Fort Myers Line remains in three discontinuous sections. At the north end, the line is still in service from Lakeland to Eaton Park. This segment is now CSX's CH Spur . From Homeland to Bowling Green, the line is still in service and it is now the southeastern end of CSX's Valrico Subdivision . This segment of the line still carries large amounts of phosphate from The Mosaic Company 's South Fort Meade mine. Track from

1995-580: The full line from Lakeland to Naples being designated the Fort Myers Subdivision (a name which the Seaboard Air Line had previously used on their own line to Fort Myers which was abandoned in 1952). The Bartow Branch was designated as the Bartow Subdivision . The SCL briefly continued to operate a daily passenger train and a local freight train six days a week between Lakeland and Naples. However, intercity passenger service on

2052-532: The last link of the new " Perry Cutoff ". This created a more direct route between Chicago and Florida's west coast and bypassing Jacksonville, one which passed through Macon, Albany, and Thomasville, the route followed by ACL's passenger train Southland from December 1928 to 1957 when it was rerouted to Jacksonville. During the Great Depression ACL's freight traffic declined by around 60%, but

2109-581: The line from Fort Myers further south into Collier County. The Atlantic Coast Line would designate track south of Fort Myers as the Fort Myers Southern Branch, referencing the line's charter. The line reached Bonita Springs by late 1925 where a depot was built just south of the Imperial River . The line was further extended to Naples by December 1926, where a depot was built on the east side of town. The original Naples depot

2166-670: The line was discontinued in 1971 upon the creation of Amtrak , who opted not to serve Southwest Florida. In 1977, the swing bridge over the Caloosahatchee River in Tice was replaced by the current bascule bridge . In early 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line abandoned the southernmost 10 miles of the line from its terminus at the Naples depot to a point just north of Immokalee Road in North Naples . The abandoned right of way

2223-493: The lines in North Carolina underwent a similar process in 1899, becoming the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company of North Carolina. In 1899 or 1900, due to a regulatory climate in Virginia that was better suited to the company than that in other states, the ACL of Virginia took control of the other lines and subsequently shortened its name to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company. In 1898, Petersburg Railroad and

2280-608: The merger was approved by shareholders of both railroads. In 1963, a merger between the two companies was approved by the Interstate Commerce Commission , however, petitions for reconsideration were filed leading to a court decision to remand the approval of the merger on May 13, 1965, citing the Clayton Antitrust Act . Following another round of court decisions in 1966, the merger was allowed to proceed, and did so on July 1, 1967. The result

2337-683: The most exclusive sporting clubs in the world. Collier next developed golf courses and improved the Rod and Gun Club , a hunting club in Everglades City, Florida , that also attracted wealthy tourists. Over the next decade, the Colliers went on to acquire more than a million acres (4000 km ) of land in Southwest Florida , making them the largest private land owners in the state. He invested millions of dollars to transform and develop

Lakeland—Fort Myers Line - Misplaced Pages Continue

2394-421: The move from Wilmington completed over the following weeks. As early as October 1958 the ACL and competitor Seaboard Air Line Railroad had discussed the possibility of a merger, initiating extensive studies on the potential unified system. The results showed that the merger could save considerable money through savings incurred and reduced expenditures to the amount of $ 38 million annually. On August 18, 1960,

2451-458: The railroad retired its last steam locomotive. In 1956 the railroad moved its headquarters, which had been sited at and adjacent to Wilmington, North Carolina's Union Station to Jacksonville, Florida . Jacksonville was selected from three candidate cities, the other two being Savannah, Georgia and Charleston, South Carolina . Construction of the new office complex was finished in July 1960, with

2508-553: The railroad survived the 1930s without declaring bankruptcy; its success in this regard has been attributed to its leadership and careful financial practices, as well as owning the Louisville and Nashville, which remained strong through the Depression. During World War II ACL's passenger traffic increased 200% and freight traffic 150%. The railroad provided a submarine-proof alternative to coastal shipping, and it also served

2565-571: The railroad to remain competitive in the face of competition from the Interstate highway system . The ACL's passenger traffic consisted almost entirely of Florida-bound traffic, largely from the Northeast, but also from the Midwest via trains that were operated by multiple railroads and handled by the ACL at their southern ends. In 1939, in response to the Seaboard's popular new streamliner,

2622-598: The route for the Charlotte Harbor Division was accomplished by Punta Gorda civil engineer Albert W. Gilchrist , who would later serve as Florida's 20th governor. The Florida Southern's Charlotte Harbor Division was completed with its first train to its terminus in Punta Gorda (initially known as Trabue) on July 24, 1886. Plant would go on to open a hotel in Punta Gorda in 1896. This hotel,

2679-603: The sons Miles and Sam founding the Automobile Racing Club of America in 1933, renamed in 1944 as the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). Miles, Cameron Argetsinger , and Briggs Cunningham were instrumental in founding the Watkins Glen racing facility, near one of their summer retreats. Juliet worried about the risks of racing and tried to influence her sons against it; Sam would indeed die in

2736-812: The southern leg of the South Florida Railroad's Pemberton Ferry Branch (the northern leg of the branch north of the main line would be part of the High Springs–Lakeland Line ). The Bartow Branch was also built by the South Florida Railroad in 1884. South of Bartow, the line was originally the Florida Southern Railway 's Charlotte Harbor Division. Both the South Florida Railroad and the Florida Southern Railway eventually became part of Henry B. Plant 's system of railroads . Surveying work to determine

2793-457: The southernmost 15 miles of the Seminole Gulf Railway from Alico Road (near San Carlos Park ) to North Naples is inactive and has not had any active shippers since around 2008. Seminole Gulf rebuilt most of the ACL-era trestles over the Caloosahatchee River in early 2024 after they were destroyed by Hurricane Ian in 2022. Further south, Goodlette-Frank Road runs along the post-1944 former right of way from Immokalee Road to Downtown Naples near

2850-417: The transition into CSX, the company sought to abandon many redundant routes and sell others to shortline railroads . As a result, the line was abandoned between Bowling Green and Arcadia in 1984. The remaining track south of Arcadia, which was sold to the shortline Seminole Gulf Railway in 1987, is still connected to the rest of the CSX network via the former Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway . Today,

2907-410: The use of white and yellow traffic divider lines on highways. Following the Lindbergh kidnapping in March 1932, he was influential in persuading the U.S. government to join, in 1938, INTERPOL , which had been formed in 1923. He was decorated by nine foreign governments. His wife, Juliet Carnes Collier , appeared on the cover of the U.S. edition of the Tatler , the Tatler and American Sketch , in

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2964-447: The wilderness, including drainage of the Everglades and construction of the Tamiami Trail . To recognize his influence on, and investment in, the state's future, the Florida legislature named the newly created Collier County for him on May 8, 1923. He manifested tremendous energy in other pursuits. He was involved in the national Boy Scout movement. In New York, serving as special deputy commissioner for public safety, he introduced

3021-480: Was also built on Marco Island. When the Seaboard Air Line discontinued service to Naples in 1942, the Atlantic Coast Line took advantage of an opportunity to serve downtown Naples. By 1944, the Atlantic Coast Line abandoned the Fort Myers Southern Branch from Marco Island to a point near Vanderbilt Beach. The ACL then extended the remaining line from Vanderbilt Beach down the ex-SAL right of way (along Goodlette-Frank Road ) to Downtown Naples and relocated service to

3078-426: Was building a parallel line from Fort Ogden to Fort Myers and Naples via their Seaboard–All Florida Railway subsidiary. The SAL quietly managed to secure a more ideal right of way to downtown Naples. SAL's service to Naples commenced eleven days after the ACL, though SAL discontinued service to Naples by 1942. The line was extended one last time to Collier City on Marco Island in mid 1927. The line would remain

3135-419: Was located on the northeast corner of Airport Road and Radio Road (near Naples Airport ). A turning wye was built in Bonita Springs and for many years, trains terminating in Naples were turned around here and backed down to the original Naples depot since there was no wye there. The line was built on the east side of town because the Atlantic Coast Line's competitor, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL),

3192-485: Was sold to Collier County, who subsequently used it to widen and extend Goodlette-Frank Road. The area around the line's new terminus in North Naples was subsequently developed into the Rail Head Industrial Park. 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 . During

3249-483: Was the creation of the Seaboard Coast Line . The backbone of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was its main line, which ran nearly 900 miles from Richmond, Virginia to just south of Tampa, Florida . By 1952, the company operated over 5,000 miles of track including the main line and numerous secondary lines and branch lines. The network extended as far west as Birmingham, Alabama and as far south as Everglades City, Florida at its height. During its early years,

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