the tampa southern railroad was a subsidiary of the atlantic coast line railroad originally running from uceta yard in tampa south to palmetto , bradenton , and sarasota with a later extension southeast to fort ogden in the peace river valley built shortly after .

it was one of many rail lines built during the florida land boom of the 1920s .

most of the remaining trackage ( between tampa and bradenton ) now serves as csx transportation 's palmetto subdivision .

another short portion just east of sarasota also remains that now serves as seminole gulf railway 's matoaka branch .

tampa southern railroad

the florida southern railroad was part the plant railroad system . henry plant took his railroad to tampa and beyond . he aided the development of tampa as a major port .
the tampa southern railroad started operations in 1917 and stopped service in 1982 for a total period of operations of 65 years .
south florida railroad’s port tampa facilities . from the university of south florida special collections .
( the florida southern became the southern division of the plant system in 1895 . )
the atlantic coast line bought florida southern and both atlantic coast line and tampa northern serviced the brooksville depot .
henry plant took over the jacksonville , tampa , and key west railroad and expanded into tampa to connect with his steamboat liners running from cuba and other destinations .
new york central - santa fe and perhaps pennsylvania railroad and southern pacific or union pacific .
next , plant obtained a florida charter for the new live oak tampa & rowland ' s bluff railroad to extend the plant line below live oak to new branford . plant then obtained a charter for the live oak tampa & charlotte harbor railroad to extend the line from new branford to tampa .
the florida gulf coast railroad museum is now known as the florida railroad museum .
located between tampa , fl and bradenton , fl ( 34 . 2 miles )
next came the jacksonville tampa & key west railway which was constructing a standard gauge railroad between tampa and jacksonville and already had grading at jacksonville , tampa and bartow . plant made them a deal where they would have exclusive territory between jacksonville and sanford if they too would give up on building to tampa . also plant not only purchased their incomplete grades at tampa and bartow , he also transferred the jacksonville tampa & key west’s charter in which the south florida would also receive their very liberal land grants , but the south florida only had six months to complete seventy - four miles of railroad through the tropical wilderness of central florida .
the acl florida mainline ran from jacksonville to tampa via sanford , lakeland and plant city .
the seaboard air line based in richmond , va . was a competitor of acl and came to tampa in 1902 running tracks through ocala and plant city before turning west toward tampa .
the east and west coast railway was one of two railroad lines running from the bradenton area to the peace river valley . the other was the southern extension of the atlantic coast line ' s tampa southern railroad which ran from sarasota to southfort ( near fort ogden ) in a parallel trajectory to the east and west coast railway .
south florida railroad double daily connections with jacksonville . north and south via peoples line steamers , jack . , tampa & key west r ' y . , and fast mail trains of the savannah , florida and western r ' y . daily excursions on tampa bay & manatee river . tri - weekly steamers to key west . morgan line steamers to new orleans , key west and havana from tampa bay by south florida railroad
the jacksonville , tampa & key west railway had obtained a charter in 1881 to build a line along the st . johns river from jacksonville to sanford . they also held a charter to build an extension between kissimmee and tampa bay . when the jacksonville , tampa & key west railway needed further financing to finish the sanford line , henry plant agreed to assist in exchange for their charter to tampa bay . the jacksonville , tampa & key west railway finally reached sanford via green cove springs , palatka and deland in 1886 .
during the early 1900’s large sawmills often built railroads to carry their lumber . the aripeka sawmill owned and operated the brooksville and hudson railroad . in 1911 it was bought by the tampa northern railroad , with tracks running from tampa to fivay in pasco , to wiscon , tooke lake , centralia and brooksville in hernando county .
in 1869 , a group of baltimore capitalists purchased several small railroad companies scattered throughout north carolina , south carolina , and virginia such as the petersburg railroad , the richmond and petersburg railroad , and the wilmington and weldon railroad . the new owners allowed the various railroad companies to retain their previous names ; yet these railroad companies remained independent in name only . the new owners unified these railroad companies under one management and established the wilmington and weldon railroad as the administrative center for this new railroad network .
tampa could soon add another commercial flight to havana . southwest airlines , which has provided one daily flight between tampa international airport and havanas jose marti international airport since december 2016 , is among three commercial airlines . . .
as the merger was considered the southern railway petitioned the icc for three concessions : 1 ) southern already had trackage rights from hardeeville to savannah and asked for one of the two parallel lines between savannah and jacksonville ; 2 ) a line between jacksonville and tampa through central florida and 3 ) a line from tampa to the florida / georgia border . the icc said no . why ?
norfolk southern has already rejected two cash and stock offers from the canadian railroad , saying regulators wouldn’t approve the deal and investors would be better off if the norfolk , virginia , railroad remained independent .
south florida railroad double daily connections with jacksonville . north and south via peoples line steamers , jack . , tampa & key west r ' y . , and fast mail trains of the savannah , florida and western r ' y . daily excursions on tampa bay & manatee river . tri - weekly steamers to key west . morgan line steamers to new orleans , key west and havana from tampa bay
1889 - 90 - c & s ; renamed norfolk and southern railroad and opens line from hampton roads to connect with w & w . ;
by march of 1884 , the waycross & florida , east florida , live oak tampa & rowland ' s bluff , and live oak tampa & charlotte harbor railroads were all absorbed into plant ' s savannah florida & western railway .
reed bought tropical florida railroad in january 1881 . intended to eventually go all the way from ocala to tampa , by june of 1882 it had only been built to wildwood .
the tampa southern railroad , a subsidiary of the atlantic coast line , was organized in 1917 . by 1920 , the tampa southern had constructed a line from bradenton to sarasota . the line was extended to the fruitville area in december 1924 , and a freight platform was used as a temporary depot until a permanent one was completed at sarasota ' s main street and school avenue in october 1925 . that depot would continued to support passenger operations until may 1 , 1971 .
“most of the synergies come from improving the norfolk southern railroad , and those happen regardless of whether the merger is ultimately approved , ” ackman said .
henry plant took over the jacksonville , tampa and key west railroad and expanded into tampa to connect with his steamship lines running to cuba and other destinations . he also built hotels and key locations along this line in the 1890s . in 1900 , henry plant died and his railroad interests were soon purchased by the atlantic coast line , along with several other acquisitions in virginia , the carolinas and georgia . the atlantic coast line made tampa its major destination on the west coast with maintenance shops , yards and shipping facilities located there . the acl florida main line ran from jacksonville to tampa via orlando , lakeland and plant city .
family using a railroad car of the tavares and gulf railroad as a home : tavares , florida ( ca . 191 _ )
the international railway that had constructed some grade in tampa and jacksonville was simply bought off and they just disappeared from the scene . this may have been part of the deal with the jacksonville tampa & key west as both roads were being constructed side by side .
tampa of 1883 was a town in decline , steadily losing population and in need of a railroad . situated on the best harbor on the gulf coast , the first railroad there would reap vast riches from the potential growth of the port and would have control of shipping on the gulf of mexico to the west indies within their grasp . also there was the reward of vast amounts of land being offered by the state of florida and hamilton disston for the first railroad to enter tampa .
march 12 , 2007 - piketon , oh - a railroad worker was struck and killed by a train monday in pike county in southern ohio , authorities said . the victim was an employee of norfolk southern railway , pike county sheriff larry travis said in a statement . the batavia man was struck by a northbound norfolk southern train while he was working on a piece of equipment , travis said .
access railroad property for digging , surveys , drilling , soil sampling and monitoring . permissions and right of entry permits are required before entering railroad property .
the tampa southern railroad , an acl subsidiary , entered sarasota in may 1924 . the first passenger train arrived in december 1924 at the freight and temporary passenger station north of fruitville road . tracks were placed to serve the ringling bros . and barnum & bailey circus winter quarters in 1927 and payne terminal on sarasota bay in 1928 .
has been identified as kyle liebold , norfolk southern railway spokeswoman susan terpay said sunday ( feb . 20 ) . terpay said the 25 - year - old norfolk southern employee died after being struck by a company train .
r . j . corman has deployed storm teams for norfolk southern in north carolina and south carolina . the company said about 95 workers and equipment were used to help norfolk southern repair rail lines damaged in the flooding .
tampa southern railroad only operated in 1 state which is indicative of smaller lines , or in some cases lines in larger states . many one state railroads are short line railroads that didn ' t have large areas of coverage or large promotional budgets so items from them are likely to be somewhat rare and could be worth more if the railroad didn ' t exist for long or if it didn ' t produce many collectible items .
( the plant - controlled jacksonville , tampa & key west railway continued to operate independently until the plant system was merged into the acl in 1902 . )
csx is committed to being the safest and most progressive railroad in north america .
norfolk southern rejected canadian pacific’s latest takeover offer less than an hour after it was announced tuesday , but the canadian railroad now appears ready to take its case directly to the shareholders of its rival .
but canadian pacific officials are meeting privately with norfolk southern shareholders to address their questions , and harrison said his railroad will consider pursuing a hostile takeover so shareholders can decide whether to pursue the deal .
the new bid also promises that norfolk southern shareholders could get the cash next spring before federal regulators complete their review .
besides csx , the other large railroads are norfolk southern , union pacific , bnsf , canadian pacific and canadian national .
but not much of this line was built before plant realized that another railroad , the florida southern railway , was already chartered to build a line along a similar route . plant immediately began negotiating with the florida southern investors so that their routes would not compete . an agreement was reached in december of 1883 for the florida southern to give up its charter to build north of gainesville ( and the plant system would not build south of gainesville ) in exchange for plant ' s financial assistance to the florida southern to build their planned route to charlotte harbor .
tampa southern railroad operated after 1940 which means that many of the most common items you might find will not be especially valuable , these include items like timetables , pinbacks , menus , and other promotional items given out by the railroad . these items tend to be quite common on the market today and typically will be worth only a couple dollars . if a railroad antique is dated 1940 or later , chances are that unless it is a very unique item , it will not be worth much if you want to sell .
the seaboard air line , based in richmond , va , was a competitor of the acl and came to tampa in 1902 , running tracks through ocala and plant city before turning west toward tampa . seaboard began building branch lines just after the turn of the century to st . petersburg , bradenton , sarasota and venice .
when working within the railroad right of way or for personal use of grade crossings applicants are required to obtain and provide proof of railroad protective liability insurance . insurance requirements
in 1967 the two big railroads , atlantic coast line and seaboard merged and called the new railroad , seaboard coast line . ( scl ) in 1980 another merger of several railroads caused the formation of the csx railroad , the largest railroad system in the united states . the vacant brooksville train depot became the property of the csx railroad .
october 19 , 2007 - scioto county , oh - a norfolk southern electrician was killed at a workstation by undetermined causes .
gulf , florida , and alabama railroad company engine number 8 ( ca . 1920 )
atlantic coast line railroad company police department employment records , 1922 - 1929 , including applications , railroad passes , and correspondence concerning current and past employees at waycross , ga .
charleston and northern railroad to prevent it from being used by a competitor . the short
1835 - 40 - wilmington & raleigh railroad constructed to weldon in northeastern north carolina .
georgia ' s railroad history & heritage . copyright , steve storey . ( ss )
lease railroad - or industry - owned track for railcar service and / or storage .
to comply with the terms of the agreement between the south florida and the florida southern , the south florida finished the construction of the 57 mile pemberton’s ferry branch in may of 1886 . this branch began in bartow , running due north to lakeland where it crossed the south florida mainline and from there ran north to pemberton’s ferry where it interchanged with the florida southern which had just reached that point . the florida southern held trackage rights over the pemberton’s ferry branch to reach its charlotte harbor division at bartow . from there the florida southern ran south to punta gorda crossing the yet to be discovered bonevalley phosphate mining district . this branch held out the longest as a narrow gauge branch but pressure to interchange phosphate cars bound for tampa bay forced both the south florida and the florida southern to standard gauge south of pemberton’s ferry on august 7 , 1891 ending the narrow gauge south florida railroad .
norfolk southern officials said they doubt whether the surface transportation board would approve this merger . so the railroad consulted two former stb commissioners who predicted concerns about competition and the structure of the proposal would doom this deal .
four forward thinking business leaders in the tiny town of brooksville were eager to bring the railroad to their area . they formed the brooksville railroad association and the brooksville telegraph company .
by the late 1970s , the scl petitioned the icc to remove some lines in southwest florida . with phosphate traffic mainly going to the new rockport facility near tampa , the
in the twentieth century , the railroads of central florida would be dominated for over 60 years by two great railroad companies , the atlantic coast line ( acl ) and the seaboard air line ( sal ) railroad . except for a rail line from fernandina to cedar key , central florida had to wait some 20 years after the civil war before rail service was again extended south from northern florida . the map below is a snapshot of railroad progress up to the end of the year 1886 . edward reed ' s peninsular railroad system ( green lines on the map ) , turned several pre - war northern florida railroad companies into a single railroad system , then began expanding them southward . the rival plant system ( red lines on map ) would grow from a short georgia railroad extension into florida into a mighty railroad empire that would be the first to win the race to tampa .
the goal of this new giant railroad was to eliminate redundant facilities and offer new services .
fiber optic wire lines and cable crossings that go over , under and on railroad property .
florida central & peninsular r . r . columbia , savannah , jacksonville , ocala , tampa and the new florida short line . time folder north and northeast december 25 , 1893
the south florida was soon merged into the plant system of railroads along with the florida southern and was included in the purchase of the plant system by the atlantic coast line . almost all of the south florida survives as csx still uses the mainline from sanford to tampa . only a small part of the bartow branch survives in the winter haven area operated by the florida midland railroad . csx still operates a little of the pemberton ferry branch between lakeland and dade city . most of the florida southern has been abandoned in recent years .
construction on the grade began on the first of june 1882 with 200 men laboring on the line west of kissimmee . john c . reynolds was the locating engineer . on the tampa end the railroad purchased fifteen miles of grade from the jacksonville tampa & key west and shipped from cedar key 168 men and one locomotive , the “herald” . by the end of the month 25 miles had been graded from kissimmee , which reach lowry lake in polk count
harrison said he still hopes norfolk southern officials will sit down to negotiate so they can find a way to address both railroads’ concerns .
wimauma is located on this route , just north of willow . a railroad depot was constructed there in 1903 . the railroad depot in wimauma served as a passenger stop until 1968 . the railroad tracks were removed in 1984 and the station had already been razed years before that .
( finally , by 1888 , investor w . bayard cutting would reorganize the florida railway & navigation company into the florida central & peninsular railroad . and tampa would finally be reached from plant city in 1890 , six years after the arrival of the plant system there . )
one of florida southern ' s first locomotives at gainesville , florida in 1881 . this is said to be number 2 and was one of the brooks moguls purchased from the emmelton & shippensville railroad in pennsylvania . university of florida .
“canadian pacific’s revised , reduced proposal is not only less than what the norfolk southern board has already found to be grossly inadequate , it is even more uncertain and risky given the decrease in the cash consideration , ” norfolk southern chairman , ceo and president jim squires said .
a 41 - mile tampa southern line ,
the fort ogden extension ,
was constructed in 1925 - 1926 from sarasota south - easterly to a junction at southfort on the lakeland - naples line of the atlantic coast line . a pair of daily passenger trains operated between tampa - sarasota - fort myers - naples . the cars on these trains consisted of a dining car , coaches , chicago - fort myers pullman sleeper off the dixie limited , and new york - naples pullman sleeper off the palmetto .
operated by a syndicate of new england investors , the florida southern railway built a railroad between lake city and palatka and gainesville via hawthorne and rochelle , opening the branch in october 1881 . after reaching its aforementioned agreement with the plant system , the florida southern sold a controlling interest to plant to finance its new railroad line down to charlotte harbor . ( phosphate deposits were discovered there in 1881 , although it is not known if the railroad investors were yet aware of it . ) meanwhile , the florida southern completed its rail line construction below rochelle to ocala and leesburg , then extended the line to croom in 1884 and to brooksville in january of 1885 . after the extension of the line from croom via lakeland to bartow was accomplished by the south florida railroad ( as described later ) , the
1900 - acl of va absorbs other state organizations and becomes the atlantic coast line railroad company .
1904 - the jacksonville and southwestern railroad purchased , running from jacksonville , florida southwest to newberry .
the size of the railroad was reduced and the workforce was cut through labor buyouts and furloughs .
railroads like tampa southern railroad that were started after 1900 will not have as many valuable collectibles or antiques as older lines . railroads from this period tend to have more items left so collectors have a much easier time finding items like passes , timetables , and manuals . the types of items that will be valuable are typically unique or significant items like builder ' s plates , daters , sealers , signs , and rarer lanterns .
the south florida railroad , operated by another syndicate of investors from new england , was building a line from sanford to orlando , reaching orlando via longwood , maitland and winter park in december 1880 . the line was extended to kissimmee in march of 1882 . strapped for cash , the south florida railroad sold a 60 percent interest to plant ' s investment company . plant was ready to find a way to extend the south florida line toward tampa bay , and engaged the jacksonville , tampa & key west railway as described above . meanwhile , at the urging of hamilton disston who owned lands nearby , the south florida railroad extended its line from orlando to kissimmee in 1882 .
the oldest constituent railroad to become part of the atlantic coast line was the petersburg railroad . the petersburg railroad was chartered by the virginia general assembly on 10 february 1830 and it opened for operation in 1833 . the petersburg railroad connected petersburg , va . , to weldon , n . c . , which had the effect of increasing trade between petersburg and north carolina ' s roanoke river country .
the prr would have ended up being controlled and merged into the n & w and southern railway in the 1960 ' s to keep operating .
in the panhandle , seaboard built a line west from jacksonville to river junction in chattahoochee where it connected with the louisville and nashville railroad west through pensacola into alabama . also the southern railway system , pushed south from valdosta , georgia into jacksonville .
parrish is located on this route and today the florida railroad museum operates from parrish north to willow .
turner , gregg m . , a journey into florida railroad history , university press of florida , 2008
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j florida east coast railway reorganization , index
the idea of railroad mergers is on investors ' minds this week because of several reports that csx rejected a merger offer from canadian pacific railroad last week . both railroads have declined to comment on those reports .
the town failed with the onset of the great depression as the price of lumber dropped and the business moved to tampa in 1937 . the business ' s steam engine is now on display at the robbins manufacturing co . , located in tampa on nebraska avenue . a railroad single truss bridge crossing the little manatee river built in 1913 by the seaboard air line railroad company remains , as do the bare foundations of some of the old buildings . the railroad bridge needs repair before it can be used again and some of the rails leading to it on the south side have been removed , so that trains can not currently travel across it . on the north side of the railroad bridge , at about saffold road , all of the rails have been removed from the rest of this route north to durant . this abandonment occurred in 1986 .
another factor , some analysts say , is a wave of mergers among railroad companies that has hindered competition .
1855 - w & r ; name changed to wilmington and weldon railroad ( w & w ; ) .
1912 - acl bought the conway coast and western railroad giving it access to myrtle beach , south carolina .
the florida railroad museum operates on a six mile railroad line between parrish and willow . the organization is working to restore some of the old sites at willow , such as maintenance facilities . this railroad line that the florida railroad museum uses is a very small part of a 55 mile route that was built south from durant to manatee county and into sarasota with construction starting in 1895 . it was first incorporated in 1902 as the united states & west indies railroad and steamship company . it became the florida west shore railway before being engulfed into the seaboard air line railroad company . the rail is 85 lb and jointed . it is class i track .
trucks hauled freight and automobiles took the place of passenger train cars . railroads fought back with piggy back flat cars that hauled the loaded trucks . railroads offered special excursion train rides . school groups rode the train from brooksville to tampa for day long field trips . the railroad offered vacation packages to south florida to brooksville travelers .
canadian pacific officials are meeting privately with norfolk southern shareholders after its latest merger offer was quickly rejected , and one board member says a hostile takeover is possible .
1898 - acl of virginia organized , as the merger of the petersburg railroad and the r & p . ;
pipelines that go over , under and on railroad property may include natural gas , petroleum , water and sewer .
when plant found out that the tampa bay charter was due to expire at the end of january , 1884 , he sped up the south florida ' s construction of the line to tampa via lakeland and plant city . the line opened just days before the charter expiration . the south florida railway built a line from croom to bartow in 1885 , and also added an extension of its line from lake alfred down to bartow in 1885 .
marathon , tx - 7 / 25 / 94
head - on - collision between two southern pacific trains
. engineers , f . h .
rick
bonnell , 56 yrs . old at time of death , employed with southern pacific - eastern lines since april 1 , 1963 . member of division 566 . milby e . winn , 59 yrs . old at time of death , employed with southern pacific - eastern lines since may 1 , 1974 . member of division 566 .
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 12 december 1950
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 22 january 1951
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 7 february 1954
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 19 july 1954
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 2 september 1954
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 16 december 1954
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 30 september 1954
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 8 october 1954
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 11 march 1955
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 27 april 1955
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 28 june 1955
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 23 july 1955
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 8 august 1955
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 12 october 1955
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 9 january 1956
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 11 january 1956
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 5 june 1956
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 4 september 1956
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 1 may 1957
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 24 june 1957
florida central & peninsular r . r . columbia , savannah , jacksonville , ocala , tampa and the new florida short line . time folder north and northeast december 25 , 1893 by florida central and peninsular r . r .
the addition of 2013 ( acc . 101878 ) consists of atlantic coast line railroad company police department employment records , 1922 - 1929 , including job applications , railroad passes , and correspondence concerning current and past employees at waycross , ga .
1926 - acl gained control of the atlanta , birmingham & coast railroad . ab & c ; retains separate identity .
february 11 , 2003 – flat rock , mi - illinois central railroad ( subsidiary of canadian national railroad ) - 57 years - old brakeman with 31 years of service was fatally injured when struck by rail cars during a shoving movement .
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson , 19 december 1955
did the acl moves its headquarters from wilmington to jacksonville before the merger with the sal ? whenever my mother mentioned writing for a pass , she always spoke of writing to wilmington ( my father worked in the tampa shops ) .
remember the context of time we are talking about . this all happened during the same era that southern was fighting the big john hopper car case essentially poking the icc in the eye . acl was a huge corporation headquartered in florida and tallahassee did not want to cross them . the city of tampa did put up a fight but could not overcome federal and state hubris . the argument was made that there was nor would ever be enough traffic in central florida , specifically west - central florida , to justify two railroads . but the trackage requisition by southern would not have been a gift ; they would have to buy it . if the traffic didn ' t pan out then southern would have been stuck with the losses and the petitions for abandonment .
the race was now on with the florida transit and peninsular to be the first road in tampa and to acquire the best port facilities on the bay . additional land grants from the state and from hamilton disston were also at stake .
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge louie w . strum 2 march 1950
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge louie w . strum 28 june 1950
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge louie w . strum 22 june 1951
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge louie w . strum 11 september 1951
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge louie w . strum 4 february 1952
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge louie w . strum 5 february 1952
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge louie w . strum 6 february 1952
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge louie w . strum 8 august 1952
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge louie w . strum 31 october 1952
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge louie w . strum 7 april 1954
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge louie w . strum 21 june 1954
the milwaukee road should have had to have been merged into another railroad by 1975 , before the maintenance dropped - off .
knox , in - 9 / 17 / 91
norfolk southern head - on - collision and derailment
. engineer of train 277 , richard a . marks , 40 yrs . old at time of death , employed with norfolk southern since august 1 , 1972 . he was a delegate in the 1991 convention and chairman of the credentials committee . at his time of departure , he was also local c hairman of division 537 in fort wayne , in . he was married , and the father of two ( 2 ) children . his son , c . w . marks is currently an engineer with norfolk southern railroad and a member of division 537 .
during the civil war , a railroad branch was constructed between live oak , florida and dupont , georgia to move confederate soldiers and supplies northward from florida . rails from the old florida railroad were taken up and used to build the live oak line . the confederacy damaged other rail lines to slow the advance of union forces , and other railroad infrastructures around jacksonville were damaged by union forces in the fighting . just 38 percent of the 155 - mile fernandina to cedar key railroad survived the war intact .
in 1882 , reed bought the old florida central railroad that extended from jacksonville to lake city , and purchased the jacksonville pensacola & mobile railroad that extended westward from lake city to chatahoochee , combining both lines into the renamed florida central & western rr .
rail laying began on both ends with over 1500 men at work in august . three schooners arrived in tampa over the newly completed dock with seventeen miles of rail along with one locomotive , number 6 “e . b . haskell” a baldwin built 4 - 4 - 0 , some cars and construction equipment . all material to tampa passed through the florida transit & peninsular’s port of cedar key , greatly benefiting their biggest competitor . on the kissimmee end all material arrived by boat at sanford and was loaded on special trains bound for the construction site . it was reported by the tampa guardian on september 29 , 1883 that ten carloads of rail left sanford on a special train , which was preceded by the regular freight of 16 cars .
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j deposition of mr . e . n . claughton , 10 november 1948
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge louie w . strum , 21 june 1954
they paid $ 20 , 000 to the florida southern railroad to lay track twelve miles from the main line at croom , to brooksville . bonds were sold and the train depot built in 1885 . the building still stands today . w . s . hancock and frank saxon became officers of the telegraph company .
over the past decade , the four big railroad companies have spent fortunes on maintaining and improving their infrastructure . csx spent almost $ 19 billion between 2003 and 2013 , according to sec filings . union pacific spent $ 28 . 5 billion , bnsf $ 29 . 8 billion and norfolk southern $ 16 billion .
finally on january 20 , 1884 just five days before the charter was to expire , the last spike was hammered down at saddle creek , five miles east of lakeland . regular train service was established on january 25th by a special train carrying officials to a special celebration at tampa . here the future of the south florida railroad’s future was assured , as tampa became a major city and port beating out the florida transit & peninsular and grabbing the best terminal facilities in the area . the mainline would survive as a narrow gauge for two more years but when the standard gauge jacksonville tampa and key west finally completed their line from jacksonville to sanford on february 20 , 1886 forcing plant to prepare for the day to standard gauge his line later on in the year . this was finished on september 21st on the sanford & indian river and on the 22nd for the mainline .
( the south florida railroad finally became a part of the plant system ' s savanna florida & western railway in 1893 . )
1902 - acl absorbed the plant system stretching from charleston , south carolina southwest via savannah , georgia to waycross , with lines branching to albany , georgia , montgomery , alabama , and many points in florida ( including the main line to tampa ) .
> u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge dozier a . devane , 13 december 1949
definitely , rock island - milwaukee road - southern pacific would have been a great merger , in my humble opinion . possibly add in the d & rgw as a complete central corridor .
correspondence , memos , contracts , financial statements , meeting reports , and meeting agenda detailing relations between the atlantic coast line railroad and other organizations . most of these organizations were independent companies that shared track and other joint operations with the atlantic coast line . a few companies , such as the clinchfield railroad company and the georgia railroad company , were wholly owned subsidiaries of the atlantic coast line .
during the 1840s and 1850s , railroad companies experienced unprecedented growth and they enjoyed tremendous economic success . by the time of the civil war , rail had displaced water as the primary means of transportation in america . however , during the final two years of the civil war , federal forces sabotaged railroads throughout the south ; they destroyed bridges , water stations , and railroad cars . southern rails deteriorated and fell into a state of disrepair during the late - 1860s .
interchanges : csx ( cottondale , fla . and dothan , ala . ) ; hilton & albany railroad ( hilton , ga . )
the florida southern railway went into receivership on march 19 , 1890 and when it emerged in 1892 it was reorganized as the florida southern railroad with henry plant listed as one of the directors . the charlotte harbor division had a separate bond issue and operated on its own during the receivership , standard gauging its line in 1891 and purchasing its own standard gauge locomotives . a severe freeze in 1895 destroyed the citrus industry in north & central florida which in turn forced the stockholders and bondholder to pass control of the florida southern to the plant system on january 1st , 1896 . plant standard gauged the railroad on july 11 , 1896 and coordinated operations with the rest of the plant system . the equipment was stored in gainesville and palatka and the best was put up for sale . most of the locomotives were sold to the lumber industries through out the southeast .
january 14 , 2004 - kankakee , il - a railroad worker was killed when a freight train car ran over him wednesday in kankakee . steven hall , 40 , of morocco , ind . , was pronounced dead at the scene at 12 : 10 p . m .
he died instantly ,
said chief deputy coroner bob gessner of the kankakee county coroner ' s office . hall was killed in the railroad yard at 1709 w . route 17 , police said . hall , a switchman for the norfolk southern railroad , was run over by the last car of a train , gessner indicated .
tampa  teco peoples gas was named the most trusted utility in the country , according to a recent report by market studies international . the report ranks utilities based on votes by their customers .
our team members work hard each and every day to p . . .
with a line into florida , plant sought a shorter route to the important railroad center of jacksonville . plant obtained a georgia charter for the new waycross & florida railroad to build from waycross to the florida line , and obtained a florida charter for the new east florida railroad to continue the same line from the georgia border to jacksonville . known as the waycross short line , this shortcut was completed in april of 1881 .
august 30 , 2008 - newport news , va - employee was walking backward , while pulling a cutlever that opened the knuckle in the middle of a railroad car . employee fell underneath the railroad car ' s wheel and sustained unspecified , seriousinjuries . he died at a local hospital .
by october on the tampa end material trains were running two miles out but delays set in when local sawmills could not keep up with the demand for ties , but to keep the men busy a 15 , 000 gallon water tank was constructed at tampa near government spring . during that month on the kissimmee end there was a delay caused by heavy trestle at reedy creek . also in october two more locomotives arrived at sanford , the number 7 “r . m . pulsifer” and the number 8 “h . b . plant” both were built new by mason and were 0 - 4 - 4 boogies . also arriving were twenty flat cars , 100 tons of rail and 100 workers . by the end of the month 32 miles have been graded on the kissimmee end and 28 miles on the tampa end leaving only a 13 mile gap .
want to make your donation tax deductible ? make it to our sister organization , the railroad workers education and legal defense foundation ( rwf ) .
today csx operates 1700 miles of track in florida nearly 60 % of the total . the rest is owed by florida east railroad , the pinsly system , and norfolk southern . csx has sold 142 miles of track to the state of florida to create commuter lines for trirail in south florida and sunrail in the orlando area . the railroad industry continues to reinvent itself and now amazingly seems to be the wave of the future with the growth of intermodal service and the importance of fuel efficient transportation .
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge s . h . sibley vol . ii , pages 440 - 749
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge s . h . sibley vol . iii , pages 760 - 1049
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 30 january 1956 , vol i : pages 1 - 95
u . s . district court , southern district of florida , jacksonville division , case no . 4827 - j transcript of proceedings before judge bryan simpson 30 january 1956 , vol ii : pages 96 - 151
norfolk southern took less than an hour to reject the latest takeover offer , which it’s leader called “ . . . even more uncertain and risky . . . ” than the initial bid from canadian pacific .
the area at willow is believed to have included a sawmill , turpentine still , robbins family home , church , general store , worker housing with garden plots , a house of prostitution , and a post office constructed in 1889 . the town failed with the onset of the great depression as the price of lumber dropped and the business moved to tampa . the business ' s steam engine used to move lumber to market is reportedly on display at the robbins tampa store . a railroad truss bridge crossing the little manatee river built in 1913 remains , as do foundations of some of the old buildings . the railroad bridge needs repair before it can be used again and some of the rails leading to it on the south side have been removed , so that trains can not currently travel across it . on the north side of the railroad bridge , at about saffold road , all of the rails have been removed from the rest of this route north to durant . this abandonment occurred in 1986 .
the second constituent railroad that was later integrated into the atlantic coast line was the richmond and petersburg railroad . the richmond and petersburg railroad , chartered on 14 march 1836 , built a rail network that connected richmond , va . , to petersburg , va . , effectively connecting the james and appomattox rivers . the richmond and petersburg railroad is considered the
corporate progenitor
of the atlantic coast line because the atlantic coast line operated under the richmond and petersburg ' s charter until 13 may 1946 . after may 1946 , the atlantic coast line conformed with general corporate laws of virginia .
henry b . plant of connecticut and his plant investment company ( pico ) entered the florida railroad picture in 1879 by purchasing georgia ' s atlantic & gulf railroad in 1879 . the line included the rail link ( red line on map ) from dupont to live oak that was developed during the civil war . pico then purchased the savannah & charleston railroad . plant combined the two railroads into his newly created savannah florida & western railway .
st . petersburg  in the past few years , the tampa bay area has seen a blockbuster number of big new houses . now , it could get its first tiny - house community . st . petersburgs development review commission will consider plans wednesday for six teensy ho . . .
given my druthers ( and a big heap of hindsight ) the sal would have wound up under the southern banner and acl would have gotten the central of georgia . after that the l & n , which was already in the acl camp , would have gotten its share of the chicago & eastern illinois and southern the monon . it ' s not perfect but would have yielded a better balance than what did happen .