Nostalgia & History > NS (ex Sou nee GS&F) Main line from Palatka to Hampton,

The NS in the mid to late 80's obtained trackage rights over CSX from Jacksonville so the NS abandoned there line from just south of Lake City to Palatka, FL with the exsetson of a mile of track near Palatka. Over the last two years I have walked the old row from Palatka to Hampton.

MP. 285 Start/Finish of main line Cypress Mill on Riverfront
MP. 284.1 Jct Branch to Union Station, Riverfront Station, & Jct/crossover with ACL
MP. 285-285.5 Track still in place but unused.
MP. 283 Turnaround Wye
MP. 282 Jct with GP branch, 5 track yard, ADM siding, & Propane siding
MP. 282.5-281.5 All tracks are still in place along with the yard office
MP. 280 Springside
MP. 278.2 Wood bridge over Rice Creek (still in place)
MP. 274 Carraway
MP. 268.5 Florahome
MP. 267 Wood bridge over creek now replaced by a steel bridge for peds.
MP. 266 Grandin
MP. 264 3 track yard & jct with sand plant branch
MP. 262 Putman Hall
MP. 260 Lake Geneve
MP. 255 Keystone Height's
MP. 250 Theressa Wye/Jct with Camp Blanding branch
MP. 247 Wood bridge over creek (have gone)
MP. 245 Hampton Jct/crossover with SCL.
They are turning the row into a paved trail which will be called the Palatka-Lake Butler State Rail/trail
From MP. 254-274, & from MP. 283-284.5 is done.
MP. 254-253 work is on going it turn it into the trail.

Photos
1. Palatka Yard office
2. Start of Palatka yard on the westside.
3. Main line looking toared Palatka



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/14 17:17 by Dewman45.

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And as unlikely as it may seem today, Hampton was once a significant interchange point between Southern/GS&F and the SAL -- not only freight but also a passenger train, the Suwannee River Special. But the interchange didn't last long, and by 1948 the only passenger service on the GS&F into Palatka was a mixed train originating/terminating at Valdosta.

Now there's some history.

Just following the Google Maps, it looks like NS still operates south from the junction with the Jacksonville line at Valdosta through Jasper to Lake City and Watertown, FL.

Here's an aerial photo of Hampton, FL. The ex-Seaboard current CSX "S" Line is the diagonal northeast-southwest line. The former Georgia, Southern & Florida (GS&F, Southern subsidiary) curves in from the northwest, crossed the ex-SAL and curved to the southeast. You can see its remnants in the aerial photo. http://goo.gl/maps/Q54vr



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/29/14 15:30 by knotch8.

ctillnc Wrote:
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> And as unlikely as it may seem today, Hampton was
> once a significant interchange point between
> Southern/GS&F and the SAL -- not only freight but
> also a passenger train, the Suwannee River
> Special. But the interchange didn't last long, and
> by 1948 the only passenger service on the GS&F
> into Palatka was a mixed train
> originating/terminating at Valdosta.

The seasonal Florida Sunbeam ran as far as the SAL connection at Hampton until spring 1949. The New Royal Palm streamliner replacement starting in late 1949 ran via Jacksonville, Florida

Good history here.

Other Florida streamliners have bypassed Jacksonville. Anyone want to comment on which ones?

One was the Southland, which used the Perry cutoff (now partly abandoned) on the west side. Some SAL passenger trains took the Gross cutoff to avoid Jax. And if you go back far enough -- prior to streamliners, I suspect -- ACL ran passenger trains Jesup-Waycross-Dupont-Florida.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/30/14 07:23 by ctillnc.

I knew about the Southland and SAL trains, but didn't know about the ACL round-about routing.

I know that SAL ran the Silver Star in the Winter season via the Gross cut-off to cut its running time and to compete in running time with ACL's seasonal Florida Special. During periods when the Florida Special didn't run, the Silver Star ran via Jacksonville as normal.

Florida Special had a 24-hour schedule when it ran ACL-FEC, but it couldn't make that schedule with the reroute down ACL's Orlando line to Auburndale, then on SAL Auburndale-Miami.

However, when ACL and SAL merged to create Seaboard Coast Line (a redundant name), the Florida Special was able to return to a 24-hour schedule, operating ACL Richmond-Savannah, then SAL Savannah-Gross-Baldwin and continuing on ex-SAL track to Miami. Much faster than the ACL route Jacksonville-Auburndale. Amtrak operated the Florida Special during its first Winter of 1971-1972, and then it was dropped, and I don't believe that a scheduled passenger train has operated regularly via the Gross Cut-Off since then.