South Florida Railroad

1888 map

The South Florida Railroad was a railroad from Sanford, Florida to Tampa, Florida, becoming part of the Plant System in 1893 and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902.

History

The Lake Monroe and Orlando Railroad was organized in 1875 with a charter to build from the St. Johns River port of Sanford south to Orlando. The South Florida Railroad was incorporated on October 16, 1878, but was unable to obtain a charter until December 9, 1879, when it took over the charter of the Lake Monroe and Orlando, which was in danger of losing its land grants. The South Florida first ran on November 11, 1880, running the short distance between Sanford and Orlando. However the company had plans to continue to the Gulf of Mexico, reaching it at Tampa.

On May 4, 1883, Henry B. Plant and his Plant System (headed by the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway) bought 3/5 of the stock of the South Florida after an unsuccessful attempt to buy the Florida Southern Railway. Plant had made an agreement with the Florida Southern not to build the SF&W south of Gainesville or Palatka, the northern ends of the Florida Southern, but the existing South Florida was immune from this. Plant then made agreements with all the railroads building towards Tampa except for the Florida Transit and Peninsular Railroad. Specifically, the Florida Southern would not build any lines south of Pemberton's Ferry and Brooksville or north of Bartow, and the South Florida would build its Pemberton Ferry Branch between the two and assign trackage rights to the Florida Southern. The agreement with the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway specified that that company would only build north of Sanford; in both cases the South Florida would give up their rights to the territories given to the other companies. The JT&KW had already done some grading at Bartow and Tampa, and sold them to the South Florida.

Thus two railroads remained in a race towards Tampa - the South Florida and the Florida Transit and Peninsular Railroad. The South Florida managed to get there first, and obtained the best ports (now known as Port Tampa). The Tampa end opened on December 10, 1883, and on January 25, 1884 service began over the full line, built to 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge. On February 20, 1886 the 4 ft 8 ¹⁄₂ in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway opened to Sanford, and the South Florida was converted to standard gauge on September 22.

In 1893 the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway (Plant System) directly acquired the South Florida. In 1902 the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad acquired the Plant System, and in 1967 the ACL merged into the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. The line eventually passed to CSX, and now operates as part of one of its two main lines in the area, known as the "A" Line.

In 2011, CSX sold the line from Poinciana north (as well as part of the former Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway) to the Florida Department of Transportation. This state-owned segment is now known as the Central Florida Rail Corridor, which makes up a vast majority of the track that the SunRail commuter rail service operates on. SunRail began operation on May 1, 2014 from Sand Lake Road north to DeBary and extended service south to Poinciana on July 30, 2018. SunRail also revived passenger service to the South Florida Railroad's historic Church Street Station in Downtown Orlando.

Branches

South Florida Railroad
Central Florida Rail Corridor Carters/Lakeland/Tampa Terminal Subdivisions (CSX)
Central Florida Rail Corridor (former Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway) A 766.3 Sanford CSX Aloma Spur (former Sanford and Indian River Railroad) former Sanford and Lake Eustis Railroad former Florida Midland Railway A 778.4 Longwood former Apopka branch A 785.6 Winter Park Florida Central Railroad former Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad (SAL) to Oviedo A 790.4 Orlando A 794.6 Pine Castle Taft Yard Orlando Utilities Commission Spur A 798.4 Taft Florida's Turnpike former Narcoossee branch former Florida Midland Railway A 808.0 Kissimmee Central Florida Rail Corridor Carters Subdivision (CSX) A 824.8 Davenport A 829.4 Haines City former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad to Everglades City A 835.6 Lake Alfred former Bartow branch A 839.7 Auburndale CSX Auburndale Subdivision McDonald Connection Park Spur former Pemberton Ferry branch south to Bartow AX 855.3 Eaton Park CSX CH Subdivision A 851.8 Lakeland CSX Vitis Subdivision Carters Subdivision Lakeland Subdivision I-4 AR 848.0 Stokes AR 836.8 Vitis to Dade City (former Pemberton Ferry Branch north) CSX Bone Valley Subdivision CSX Plant City Subdivision CSX S Line (Yeoman Subdivision) A 861.1 Plant City A 873.5 Mango Lakeland Subdivision Tampa Terminal Subdivision I-75 Uceta Yard former Tampa and Thonotosassa Railroad (ACL) to Zephyrhills Neve Spur I-4 / SR 618 (Selmon Expressway Connector) TN Tower CSX Clearwater Subdivision TECO Line Streetcar A 881.7 Tampa Tampa Terminal Subdivision Port Tampa Spur Hillsborough River A 890.0 Port Tampa

Lake Charm

The Sanford and Indian River Railroad was chartered in 1881 to run from Sanford southeast to Oviedo and Lake Charm. The South Florida leased it in 1883, and it was standard gauged on September 21, 1886. Today, the route is still in service as CSX's Aloma Spur from Sanford to Winter Springs. The Cross Seminole Trail runs along the former right of way from Winter Springs to Oviedo.^[1]

Apopka

The Apopka Branch was part of the original charter, running from Mayo on the mainline west to the Withlacoochee River via Apopka. The line was never opened by the South Florida, instead partially opening as the Apopka and Atlantic Railroad. It was never a success.

Narcoossee

The St. Cloud and Sugar Belt Railway was incorporated in 1888 to connect Kissimmee to St. Cloud and Narcoossee. It was immediately operated by the South Florida, and was merged into it in 1893. Neptune Road runs along some of the former right of way.^[2]

Bartow

The charter specified that the railroad must pass through Bartow; thus the Bartow Branch was built from the mainline at Lake Alfred (Bartow Junction) southwest to Bartow. It opened in 1884 and was standard gauged on September 23, 1886.

Part of the Bartow branch remains today from Winter Haven south to Gordonville (just northeast of Bartow). This segment 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.^[3]

Pemberton Ferry

Part of the agreement worked out by Henry Plant between the South Florida and the Florida Southern Railway specified that the South Florida would build the north-south Pemberton Ferry Branch. This branch began at a junction with the Florida Southern at Pemberton Ferry (known today as Croom), running south-southeast across the mainline at Lakeland to Bartow. South of Bartow, the Florida Southern continued to Punta Gorda, using trackage rights over the branch. Once the Bone Valley phosphate district was discovered near Lakeland, pressure increased to standard-gauge the line, and that was done on August 7, 1891.^[4]

After the Plant System bought the South Florida, an extension was built north from Pemberton Ferry to Inverness, where the Plant System's Silver Springs, Ocala and Gulf Railroad continued north.

The branch is still in service from the mainline north to Lacoochee and south of the mainline to Eaton Park. The abandoned segment north of Lacoochee is now part of the Withlacoochee State Trail (which also continues up the abandoned extension to Inverness).^[5] The Fort Fraser Trail today runs along the former right-of way from Eaton Park south to Bartow.

Current operations

The South Florida Railroad main line remains in service and is today the southernmost segment of CSX's A Line and the Central Florida Rail Corridor. CSX has further divided the South Florida Railroad segment of the A Line into the Carters Subdivision from Poinciana to South Lakeland, the Lakeland Subdivision from South Lakeland to Mango, and the Tampa Terminal Subdivision from Mango to Tampa Union Station. From Union Station south to the port, the line is known as the Port Tampa Spur. Prior to the sale of the north end of the line to FDOT, the line was part of CSX's Sanford Subdivision from Auburndale north. Since the sale, CSX only operates local freight on the Central Florida Rail Corridor along with Taft Yard in Pine Castle. All through freight now uses the adjacent S Line. The Florida Central Railroad, which connects to the Central Florida Rail Corridor in Downtown Orlando, also has freight trackage rights from its connection south to Taft Yard.^[6]

The former Pemberton Ferry branch's segment north of the main line is still in service under CSX as far north as Lacoochee (just north of Dade City). The remaining line is predominantly CSX's Vitis Subdivision from Lakeland to Vitis Junction (the junction with the former Tampa and Thonotosassa Railroad). North of Vitis Junction, the line is part of the Wildwood Subdivision (which is unofficially considered to be part of the CSX S Line even though it is a short detour of an abandoned segment of the original S Line).^[7][8] The segment of the Pemberton Ferry branch south of the main line is now CSX's CH Subdivision which now ends near Eaton Park.^[8]

In addition to SunRail, Amtrak operates passenger service on the line and uses it to reach Tampa Union Station. Amtrak's Miami-bound trains also travel the line to Auburndale and turn south on to the Auburndale Subdivsion.

References

External links

• Tap Lines - The South Florida Railroad
• List of coordinates of the Sanford and Indian River Railroad