The Plant City, Arcadia, and Gulf Railroad was a railroad line that once operated from Plant City, Florida, south to Welcome, a distance of about 13 miles. The line remains in service today and is owned by CSX Transportation, which it operates as their Plant City Subdivision.[1][2]
Plant City, Arcadia, and Gulf Railroad
Route (click to enlarge)
Overview
Dates of operation
1898–1905
Successor
Seaboard Air Line Railroad Seaboard Coast Line Railroad CSX Transportation
The Seaboard Air Line bought the Plant City, Arcadia, and Gulf Railroad in 1905 and rebuilt it. The line notably served Coronet Industries phosphate processing plant. Seaboard would also build a line from just south of Keysville (at a point which would then be known as Welcome Junction) east to Mulberry and Bartow in 1912. This line would be extended to Lake Wales by 1916. Track south of Welcome Junction to Welcome is now abandoned.
In 1925, Seaboard built the Valrico Cutoff which connected the line at Welcome Junction with the Seaboard main line (CSX's S Line) at Valrico. This connection provided a shorter route from the Bone Valley to Tampa. The Valrico Cutoff and track east of Welcome Junction became Seaboard's Valrico Subdivision.
From 1926 to 1952, the Seaboard would designate the former Plant City, Arcadia, and Gulf Railroad as the northernmost segment of their Fort Myers Subdivision (which would overlap the Valrico Subdivision from Welcome Junction a short distance to Edison Junction, where Seaboard's track continued south and connected to Fort Myers at the time).[4]
By 1940, the line would be used by Seaboard's local passenger trains to Boca Grande as well as their Cross Florida Limited (which ran from Tampa to Miami).[4]
After abandonment of Seaboard's track to Fort Myers, the line was considered a spur of the Valrico Subdivision.[5]
Through many mergers, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad network became part of CSX Transportation in 1980.[6] Today, the former Plant City, Arcadia, and Gulf Railroad operates as CSX's Plant City Subdivision and still runs from Plant City to Welcome Junction.[2]
At the north end, the Plant City Subdivision connects with CSX's S Line (former Seaboard main line) just south of Plant City Interlocking (where the S Line and A Line cross). The junction with the S Line towards Tampa is still known today as Lake Wales Junction (which references that this was once the Seaboard Air Line's access to Lake Wales despite the fact that the track no longer continues there). The Plant City Subdivision’s connection to the S Line in the northbound direction (which was relocated north of the A Line in the 1990s) is known as Sandler Junction.
For the most part, the Plant City Subdivision is only used for local freight today. While trains once could run the line at 40 miles per hour, its speed limit has been reduced to 25 miles per hour to reduce maintenance costs.
^"Florida Logging Railroads". Florida Railroad History Website - Fernandina & Cedar Key. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
^ abSeaboard Air Line Railway South Florida Division Timetable (1940)
^Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Jacksonville Division and Tampa Division Timetable (1977)
^Turner, Gregg (2003). A Short History of Florida Railroads. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN978-0-7385-2421-4.
^"Florida Railroad: Passenger Stations & Stops" (PDF). Jim Fergusson's Railway and Tramway Station Lists. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
August 29, 2023
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The Plant City Arcadia and Gulf Railroad was a railroad line that once operated from Plant City Florida south to Welcome a distance of about 13 miles The line remains in service today and is owned by CSX Transportation which it operates as their Plant City Subdivision 1 2 Plant City Arcadia and Gulf RailroadRoute click to enlarge OverviewDates of operation1898 1905SuccessorSeaboard Air Line RailroadSeaboard Coast Line RailroadCSX TransportationTechnicalTrack gauge4 ft 8 1 2 in 1 435 mm standard gaugeLength11 4 miles Contents 1 History 2 Current operations 3 Historic Stations 4 See also 5 ReferencesHistory EditThe Plant City Arcadia and Gulf Railroad was first built as a logging railroad in 1898 by the Warnell Lumber amp Veneer Company 3 It connected to the Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad in Plant City which would become the main line of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1900 The Seaboard Air Line bought the Plant City Arcadia and Gulf Railroad in 1905 and rebuilt it The line notably served Coronet Industries phosphate processing plant Seaboard would also build a line from just south of Keysville at a point which would then be known as Welcome Junction east to Mulberry and Bartow in 1912 This line would be extended to Lake Wales by 1916 Track south of Welcome Junction to Welcome is now abandoned In 1925 Seaboard built the Valrico Cutoff which connected the line at Welcome Junction with the Seaboard main line CSX s S Line at Valrico This connection provided a shorter route from the Bone Valley to Tampa The Valrico Cutoff and track east of Welcome Junction became Seaboard s Valrico Subdivision From 1926 to 1952 the Seaboard would designate the former Plant City Arcadia and Gulf Railroad as the northernmost segment of their Fort Myers Subdivision which would overlap the Valrico Subdivision from Welcome Junction a short distance to Edison Junction where Seaboard s track continued south and connected to Fort Myers at the time 4 By 1940 the line would be used by Seaboard s local passenger trains to Boca Grande as well as their Cross Florida Limited which ran from Tampa to Miami 4 After abandonment of Seaboard s track to Fort Myers the line was considered a spur of the Valrico Subdivision 5 Current operations EditvtePlant City SubdivisionLegend CSX S Line Yeoman Subdivision CSX A Line Lakeland Subdivision CSX S Line Yeoman Subdivision SV 823 1 Plant City SV 825 6 Coronet SV 829 5 Hopewell SV 834 2 Welcome Junction CSX Valrico Subdivision Welcome abandoned Through many mergers the Seaboard Air Line Railroad network became part of CSX Transportation in 1980 6 Today the former Plant City Arcadia and Gulf Railroad operates as CSX s Plant City Subdivision and still runs from Plant City to Welcome Junction 2 At the north end the Plant City Subdivision connects with CSX s S Line former Seaboard main line just south of Plant City Interlocking where the S Line and A Line cross The junction with the S Line towards Tampa is still known today as Lake Wales Junction which references that this was once the Seaboard Air Line s access to Lake Wales despite the fact that the track no longer continues there The Plant City Subdivision s connection to the S Line in the northbound direction which was relocated north of the A Line in the 1990s is known as Sandler Junction For the most part the Plant City Subdivision is only used for local freight today While trains once could run the line at 40 miles per hour its speed limit has been reduced to 25 miles per hour to reduce maintenance costs Historic Stations EditMilepost City Location Station 7 Connections and notesSV 823 1 Plant City Plant City later known as Lake Wales Junctionjunction with Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad Tampa Division SAL SV 825 6 Coronet JunctionSVA 827 1 Coronet located on a spur from Coronet JunctionSV 827 3 TrapnellSV 829 5 Hopewell HopewellSV 831 6 Alafia AlafiaSV 833 5 Keysville KeysvilleSV 834 2 Welcome Junction junction with Seaboard Air Line Railroad Valrico SubdivisionWelcomeSee also EditList of CSX Transportation linesReferences Edit CSX Plant City Sub a b CSX Jacksonville Division Timetable Florida Logging Railroads Florida Railroad History Website Fernandina amp Cedar Key Retrieved 11 January 2021 a b Seaboard Air Line Railway South Florida Division Timetable 1940 Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Jacksonville Division and Tampa Division Timetable 1977 Turner Gregg 2003 A Short History of Florida Railroads Arcadia Publishing ISBN 978 0 7385 2421 4 Florida Railroad Passenger Stations amp Stops PDF Jim Fergusson s Railway and Tramway Station Lists Retrieved 5 June 2020 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Plant City Arcadia and Gulf Railroad amp oldid 1171851685, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
