Florida Midland Railway (defunct) explained

Railroad Name:Florida Midland Railway
Locale:Central Florida
Successor Line:Plant System
Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad

The Florida Midland Railway Company was incorporated under the general incorporation laws of Florida, and surveyed a line from Lake Jessup, in Orange County, to Leesburg, in Lake County.

History

The company was reincorporated on February 10, 1885; only had been graded. The new owners were E. W. Henck, S. M. Breuster, Carl Cushing, A. Menser and C. E. Munson of Florida, and Edward Page, Charles W. Morris and Cyrus Carpenter of Boston, Massachusetts.

The line was extended

Land grants were promised, as long as part of the railroad was completed within a year.

Florida state law chapter 3795, approved June 2, 1887, expanded the area from which land grants could be chosen, and extended the deadline to June 1, 1888.

The line actually built was rather different, running from Clifton on Lake Jesup west to Apopka, but then turning south to Kissimmee.

The railroad's track was while it was independent, but when it was taken over by the Plant System in the late 1890s, all track north of the narrow gauge section of the Sanford and St. Petersburg Railroad (also taken over by the Plant System) was abandoned and the remaining trackage from Clarcona to Kissimmee was converted to narrow gauge. The two narrow gauge lines were run in conjunction with one another, allowing the usage of the same narrow gauge equipment on both lines.[1] The Plant System became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad system in 1902.

Current conditions

right|thumb|200px|Abandoned Florida Midland RR Right of way in Ocoee FloridaFrom Clifton to Apopka, the railroad has been abandoned for over 100 years. Virtually no trace of this section remains, but parts of the right-of-way were used to construct SR 434.

From Apopka to Clarcona, the right-of-way is used for the West Orange Trail.

From Clarcona to Ocoee, the right-of-way is currently owned by CSX Transportation and run by the Florida Central Railroad.

From Ocoee to Kissimmee, the railroad is abandoned, and some elements remain.

Historic stations

These are listed from north to south.

Milepost[2] City/LocationStationConnections and notes
Cliftonjunction with Sanford and Indian River Railroad (ACL)
LongwoodLongwoodjunction with South Florida Railroad (ACL)
Palm Springsjunction with Orange Belt Railway (ACL)
Altamonte SpringsAltamonte
Lake Brantley
Fitzville
ApopkaEast Apopkajunction with Apopka and Clay Spring Railway
AVB 841.1Apopkajunction with Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad Orlando Division (SAL)
AVB 837.5Clarconajunction with Orange Belt Railway (ACL)
Villa Nova
AVB 832.6OcoeeOcoee, FloridaOcoeejunction with Tavares & Gulf Railroad (SAL)
Minorville
AVB 829.1Gotha
AVB 825.7WindermereWindermere
AVB 822.0Doctor Phillipspreviously known as Harperville
AVB 818.5Vinelandpreviously known as Orange Center, also Englewood
Molanes
AVB 812.3Shingle Creek
AVB 808.0Kissimmeejunction with South Florida Railroad (ACL)

See also

Notes and References

  1. http://www.taplines.net/March/obstory1.htm History of the Orange Belt Railway
  2. http://www.multimodalways.org/docs/railroads/companies/SCL/SCL%20ETTs/SCL%20Jville%20%26%20Tampa%20Divs%20ETT%20%238%2010-30-1977.pdf Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Jacksonville Division and Tampa Division Timetable (1977)