GS&F/ACL FEC Question

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ACL HS Members:

THe GS&F HS needs your assistance to Bob Lowry's question. I would appreciate you helping him out.

Mark Mosely GS&F RR HS Chairman

In the early 1900s this line connected to the FEC by a bridge over the St. Johns. The bridge was abandoned, then eventually Lake City-Palatka trackage was abandoned by NS in favor of trackage rights over CSX to the Palatka mills. But here's the question. I wonder if GS&F, or NS, or even FEC, ever considered using this line/route to bypass Jacksonville. Run through freights Miami-Valdosta and points north by veering off at Bunnell via Palatka-Lake City-Valdosta. Reduces mileage and train-handling time in Jax. Yes I know, upgrading the line and rebuilding the St. Johns bridge would cost plenty, but its an intriguing route.

-- bob lowry (rlowry98@aol.com), February 01, 2002

-- Mark S. Mosely (MOSEGSF@aol.com), February 06, 2002

Answers

It woun't ever happen. FEC directly and quickly transfers whole trains to NS's Simpson yard (more numerous than you would think) and that the dollars to build (not rebuild, as it has been gone for many years)their line to Palatka would not yield monetary incentives.

Bob

-- Bob Arnold (arnoldrj@forscom.army.mil), March 16, 2002.


"Yes I know, upgrading the line and rebuilding the St. Johns bridge would cost plenty, but its an intriguing route"

I dont think decreasing any freight time through jacksonville would be worth the expense in re-building this line

-- troy nolen (tnolen12@tampabay.rr.com), February 06, 2002.


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