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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.

Construction

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.

The Atlantic, Suwannee River and Gulf Railroad (ASR&G) was incorporated under the general incorporation laws of Florida in 1893. 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 22 miles (35 km). With completion of the Wannee extension in 1902 the line was 57 miles (92 km) 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. 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. From its founding until its absorption by the SAL, the ASR&GR had served primarily to feed timber and lumber to the FC&PR.

Later history

The Seaboard Air Line removed the track between Wannee and Bell in the 1930s. 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.

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.

Historic stations

Notes

1. Pettengill has "Simpson City" throughout, which appears to be a misprint for "Sampson City". Prince lists Sampson City as the first station on the line west of Starke. Sampson City was the northern terminal point for the Gainesville and Gulf Railroad, and was also served by the Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad.

References

1. Pettengill 1952, p. 57.
2. ^ Prince 1969, p. 79.
3. Turner 2008, p. 178.
4. Watkins 1975, p. 456.
5. Mulligan 2008, p. 63.
6. Pettengill 1952, pp. 57–58.
7. Interstate Commerce Commission 1932, p. 559.
8. Turner 2003, p. 133.
9. Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Jacksonville Division and Tampa Division Timetable (1977)
10. CSX Jacksonville Division Timetable
11. Florida Railroads, Passenger Stations and Stops
12. Seaboard Air Line Railroad North Florida Division Timetable (1949)

Sources

• Interstate Commerce Commission (April–May 1932). Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Interstate Commerce Commission Reports. Vol. 35, Valuation Reports. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. pp. 558–562.
• Mulligan, M. (2008). Railroad Depots of Central Florida. Images of rail. Arcadia Pub. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-7385-5390-0. Retrieved May 18, 2018.
• Pettengill, George W. Jr. (July 1952). "The Story of the Florida Railroads". Railway and Locomotive Historical Society Bulletin. 86. Boston, Mass.: Railway and Locomotive Historical Society: 1–133. JSTOR 43517668.
• Prince, R.E. (1969). Seaboard Air Line Railway: Steam Boats, Locomotives, and History. Steam Boats, Locomotives, and History Series. Indiana University Press. p. 79. ISBN 978-0-253-33695-8. Retrieved May 18, 2018. The ATLANTIC, SUWANNEE RIVER & GULF RY began construction in 1893 and passed westward through Sampson City, Burnetts Lake, and Alachua, to be completed 36 miles as far as Buda in 1897. On September 14, 1899 the company ...
• Turner, Gregg (2003). A Short History of Florida Railroads. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-2421-4.
• Turner, Gregg M. (2008). A Journey into Florida Railroad History. University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-4194-0. OCLC 960180796.
• Watkins, Caroline (1975). "Some Early Railroads in Alachua County". The Florida Historical Quarterly. 53 (4): 450–459. ISSN 0015-4113. JSTOR 30150300.

• Defunct Florida railroads
• Predecessors of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad
• Railway companies established in 1893
• Railway companies disestablished in 1909
• 1893 establishments in Florida
• American companies established in 1893