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Florida
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1837 <!--opening of the earliest predecessor-->
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1900 <!--taken over by the SAL-->
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The was the final name of a system of railroads throughout
Florida , becoming part of the
Seaboard Air Line Railway in
1900 . The system, including some of the first railroads in Florida, stretched from
Jacksonville west through
Tallahassee and south to
Tampa .
map]]
The
Tallahassee Rail Road was first organized in
1832 as the
Leon Railway , changing its name in
1834 . It opened in
1837 , connecting
Tallahassee to the
Gulf Of Mexico port of
St. Marks . This was the second
Steam Railroad in Florida, opening just a year after the
Lake Wimico And St. Joseph Canal And Railroad .
The
Florida, Atlantic And Gulf Central Railroad was chartered
January 24 ,
1851 to build west from
Jacksonville , and construction began in
1857 . The
Pensacola And Georgia Railroad was chartered
January 8 ,
1852 to built east from
Pensacola , but started at
Tallahassee . The two lines met at
Lake City in
1860 , and the latter also built from Tallahassee west to four miles (6 km) short of
Quincy , stopping in
1863 in the middle of the
American Civil War .
In
1855 the Pensacola and Georgia bought the Tallahassee. In
1869 the two merged to form the
Jacksonville, Pensacola And Mobile Railroad , which obtained
Trackage Rights over the
Florida Central Railroad , the
1868 reorganization of the Florida, Atlantic and Gulf. The railroad eventually was built west to
Chattahoochee , a major junction with the
Pensacola And Atlantic Railroad continuing west and the
Chattahoochee And East Pass Railroad running northeast. In
1882 the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile was reorganized as the
Florida Central And Western Railroad , absorbing the Florida Central in
1884 .
The
Florida Railroad was incorporated
January 8 ,
1853 to build a line across the state, from
Fernandina (north of
Jacksonville ) southwest to
Cedar Key . The first train ran in
1861 , but the line failed and the company was reorganized in
1866 . In
1872 it was reorganized again as the
Atlantic, Gulf And West India Transit Company . The
Florida Transit Railroad was the result of another reorganization in
1881 .
On
January 3 ,
1883 the Florida Transit merged with two unbuilt companies, the
Peninsula Railroad and
Tropical Florida Railroad , organized to build lines respectively from the Florida Transit at
Waldo to
Ocala and beyond to
Tampa . This new company was named the . On
January 9 ,
1885 , that company merged with the
Florida Central And Western Railroad to form the '''Florida Railway and Navigation Company'''. Also included in that consolidation were the
Fernandina And Jacksonville Railroad , a connection in the
Jacksonville area, and the
Leesburg And Indian River Railroad , a line being built across central Florida (see
Below for more on these).
On
May 1 ,
1889 the company was reorganized again, as the , and on
January 16 ,
1893 the final reorganization produced the '''Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad''', along with a merger of the
Florida Northern Railroad (a line north of Jacksonville). The
Seaboard Air Line Railway leased the FC&P on
July 1 ,
1900 , and the latter was merged into the former on
August 15 ,
1903 .
map (also showing the
Richmond And Danville Railroad )]]
In addition to the two main lines - Jacksonville to Chattahoochee (Western Division) and Fernandina to Cedar Key (Southern Division) - and the original line from Tallahassee to St. Marks, the FC&P had many other lines.
The FC&P also bought the
Santa Fe Canal in
1892 .
A branch was planned but never built to
Brooksville .
;Tampa Division
The Tampa Division ran from the Fernandina-Cedar Key line at
Waldo south to
Tampa . This had been chartered as the
Peninsula Railroad north of and the
Tropical Florida Railroad south of
Ocala .
;Northern Division
The
Fernandina And Jacksonville Railroad was organized in
1874 and opened in
1881 , connecting
Jacksonville north to the Southern Division at
Yulee . It was consolidated into the Florida Railway and Navigation Company in
1885 .
The
South Bound Railroad was organized in
1887 and completed in
1891 , connecting
Columbia, South Carolina to
Savannah, Georgia . The FC&P leased it in
1893 . In
1892 the
Florida Northern Railroad was chartered by the FC&P to continue the
Fernandina And Jacksonville Railroad north into
Georgia , where the FC&P would continue the line to Savannah. This opened in
1894 , forming a continuous line from Jacksonville to Columbia. In
1899 and
1900 , the South Bound Railroad was extended north to
Camden, South Carolina to meet the
Seaboard Air Line Railway 's
Chesterfield And Kershaw Railroad .
At some point, a cutoff was built from the Northern Division near the
Florida /
Georgia state line southwest to the Southern Division at
Callahan .
;Orlando Division
The
Leesburg And Indian River Railroad was incorporated in
1884 and merged into the Florida Railway and Navigation Company in
1885 . It built a line from the Tampa Division at
Wildwood east to
Tavares , with plans to continue east to
Titusville . That extension was not built, but pieces were built by other companies.
The
Tavares, Orlando And Atlantic Railroad was incorporated in
1883 , and built a line continuing from Tavares to
Orlando . The FC&P leased it in
1891 .
The
Orlando And Winter Park Railway was incorporated in
1886 and built a line from Orlando to
Winter Park . The
Osceola And Lake Jesup Railway , incorporated
1888 , continued the line past
Oviedo to
Lake Charm . In
1891 the two companies merged into the
East Florida And Atlantic Railroad , which was leased by the FC&P in
1892 .
;Monticello
The
Monticello Branch ran from the Western Division at
Drifton north to
Monticello .
;Amelia Beach
The
Fernandina And Amelia Beach Railway was organized in
1883 to run from
Fernandina at the end of the Southern Division south to
Amelia Beach . The FC&P leased it in
1891 , and it was abandoned around
1900 .
;Wannee
;Early Bird
;Silver Springs
The short
Silver Springs Branch from
Ocala east to
Silver Springs was built along with the Tampa Division.
;Lake Weir
The
Lake Weir Branch ran from
Summerfield east to
South Lake Weir , and was built along with the Tampa Division.
;Sumterville
The short
Sumterville Branch from
Sumterville Junction to
Sumterville was built with the Tampa Division.
;Whitehall
For station listings on the branches, see the individual articles. For the main lines, see the following articles:
