Atlantic, Suwannee River and Gulf Railway
The Atlantic, Suwannee River and Gulf Railroad Company was a railroad that ran westward from Starke, Florida, eventually terminating at Wannee, Florida, on the Suwannee River. It was later absorbed by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad becoming their Wannee Subdivision.<ref name="SAL">Seaboard Air Line Railroad North Florida Division Timetable (1951)</ref>
Route description
The Atlantic, Suwannee River and Gulf Railway began in Starke at Wannee Junction, a junction with the Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad (which later became the Seaboard Air Line Railroad's main line). From Starke, the line ran west to Sampson City, where it crossed the Georgia Southern and Florida Railway. Beyond Sampson City, the Atlantic, Suwannee River and Gulf Railway continued west through Brooker, La Crosse, and Hainesworth. In Hainesworth, it crossed the Jacksonville and Southwestern Railroad.
From Hainesworth, the Atlantic, Suwannee River and Gulf Railway then paralleled the Jacksonville and Southwestern Railroad west four miles to Alachua. Beyond Alachua, the Atlantic, Suwannee River and Gulf Railway continued west to Buda where it crossed a branch of the Live Oak, Tampa and Charlotte Harbor Railroad (which later became the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's DuPont—Lakeland Line).
Beyond Buda, it ran southwest to Bell before coming to its terminus at Wannee on the Suwannee River.<ref name="Ferguson FL">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
History
Construction and early years
The Starke to Wannee rail line was initiated in 1891 with the incorporation of the Starke and Sampson City Railway Company. The company failed after grading the right-of-way from Starke to Sampson City, and in 1892 transferred the right-of-way to the Ambler Lumber Co.Template:SfnTemplate:Efn
The Atlantic, Suwannee River and Gulf Railroad (ASR&G) was incorporated under the general incorporation laws of Florida in 1893.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Shortly after incorporation, the company purchased the graded right-of-way between Starke and Sampson City from the Ambler Lumber Company and contracted with the Atlantic Lumber Company (successor to the Ambler Lumber Company) to lay the track. The track from Starke reached Sampson City in August, 1863, and LaCrosse in March, 1894. After a pause, The track reached Alachua in July, 1896, and Buda, between High Springs and Newberry, in July, 1897. The Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad (FC&PR) leased the ASR&G in 1899, and contracted with the Atlantic Lumber Company to extend the line to Wannee, a distance of Template:Convert. With completion of the Wannee extension in 1902 the line was Template:Convert long. The completed line was standard gauge and single-track.
The ASR&GR under FC&PR control operated the line from Starke to Buda, and the Atlantic Lumber Company operated the line from Buda to Wannee. From its founding, the ASR&GR had served primarily to feed timber and lumber to the FC&PR.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Seaboard Air Line Railroad
Template:Infobox rail line The Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad was acquired by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) in the early 1900s. Operation of both the FC&PR and the ASR&GR was taken over by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in July, 1900, and both were formally adsorbed by the SAL in June, 1903.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The Seaboard Air Line would eventually designate the line as the Wannee Subdivision. For much of its history, the Seaboard Air Line would operate mixed train service (with both passengers and freight) on the Wannee Subdivision.<ref name="SAL"/> After taking over the line, Seaboard built a spur from the line at Buda south to Norwills, which was located just west of Newberry.Template:Sfn
The Seaboard Air Line removed the track between Wannee and Bell in the 1930s.Template:Sfn Despite the removal of track from Wannee, the line was still known as the Wannee Subdivision.<ref name="SAL"/>
Mergers and consolidation
Much of the line west of Brooker was abandoned after the Seaboard Air Line merged with its competitor, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, in 1967. The track from Buda to Bell would remain as a spur of the West Coast Subdivision (an ex-ACL line) until the 1980s.<ref name="SCL 1977">Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Jacksonville Division and Tampa Division Timetable (1977)</ref>
The Seaboard Coast Line became CSX Transportation in the 1980s. In the 1990s, CSX rebuilt a short segment of the Atlantic, Suwannee River and Gulf Railway to Hainesworth to reconnect with the remains of the former Jacksonville and Southwestern Railroad, which had just been severed from its system. This segment is now CSX Transportation's Brooker Subdivision and is still in service. The line's connection with the CSX S Line is still known as Wannee Junction.<ref name="CSX">CSX Jacksonville Division Timetable</ref>
Historic stations
| MilepostTemplate:Efn | City/Location | Station<ref name="Ferguson FL" /><ref name="SAL 1926"/> | Connections and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SN 679.0 | Starke | Wannee Junction | junction with Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad Southern Division (SAL) |
| SN 685.6 | Sampson City | Sampson City | junction with:Template:Bulleted list |
| Wainright's | |||
| SN 689.5 | Clayno | ||
| Atlantic | |||
| SN 693.7 | Brooker | Brooker | |
| SN 696.0 | Darby | ||
| SN 699.0 | La Crosse | La Crosse | |
| Getzens | |||
| SN 702.3 | Hainesworth | junction with Jacksonville and Southwestern Railroad (ACL) | |
| Alachua | Burnett's Lake | junction with Live Oak, Tampa and Charlotte Harbor Railroad (ACL) | |
| SN 706.5 | Alachua | ||
| Hodges | |||
| SN 711.9 | Arno | ||
| SN 715.2 | Buda | junction with: Template:Bulleted list | |
| SN 720.3 | Neals | Neals | |
| SN 725.5 | Williford | Williford | |
| Harvard | |||
| SN 730.3 | Bell | Bell | |
| SN 733.2 | Curtis | Curtis | |
| SN 735.7 | Wannee | Wannee |
| MilepostTemplate:Efn | City/Location | Station<ref name="Ferguson FL" /><ref name="SAL 1926"/> | Connections and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| (S)NA 715.2 | Buda | junction with main line | |
| (S)NA 717.2 | Mutual | ||
| Template:Nowrap | Thames | located on a spur | |
| (S)NA 720.8 | Vanespen | ||
| (S)NA 723.6 | Fleetnor | ||
| (S)NA 724.1 | Camp Mines | ||
| (S)NA 724.7 | Norwills |