Orange Ridge, DeLand and Atlantic Railroad

The Orange Ridge, DeLand and Atlantic Railroad was a railroad in Central Florida, United States, linking DeLand with the main line of the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway (now the CSX Sanford Subdivision). It connected with the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West main line 2 miles (3.2 km) from DeLand Landing at DeLand Junction.^[1][2] The line is still operated by CSX as their DeLand Spur.

Southbound Florida State Road 15A approaching the DeLand Spur, built by the Orange Ridge, DeLand and Atlantic Railroad.

History

Florida state law chapter 3332, approved 1880, incorporated the Orange Ridge, DeLand and Atlantic Railroad Company.^[3]

Florida state law chapter 3646, approved February 16, 1885, extended the time limit for completion to January 1, 1888.

The railroad was reincorporated in 1886 as the Deland and St. Johns River Railroad Company and converted to 5-foot gauge to match the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway.^[4]

The Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway acquired the line in 1890, which became part of the Plant System in 1899. The Plant System became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad eventually became part of CSX Transportation in the 1980s.^[5]

Historic stations

Milepost	City/Location	Station	Connections and notes
ASE 750.0		Deland Junction	junction with Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway Main Line (ACL)
ASE 753.2	Deland	Deland

References

1. The Volusia Community, DeLand, Florida
2. Daytona Beach News-Journal, Steamboats, trains helped open the way, April 6, 2001
3. DeLand Historical Trail
4. Pettengill, George W. Jr. (1998) [1952]. The Story of the Florida Railroads 1834–1903. Bulletin of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Inc. Vol. 86 (Reprint ed.). Jacksonville, Florida: The Southeast Chapter of The Railway & Locomotive Historical Society, Inc. pp. 80–82.
5. Turner, Gregg (2003). A Short History of Florida Railroads. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-2421-4.