The Jacksonville & Southwestern Railroad (J&SW) was a railroad that served Florida from 1899 to 1904. It was purchased by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1904. The Atlantic Coast Line would extend the line further west and it would become their Jacksonville—Wilcox Line. Some of the original right-of-way was converted to a recreational path in the rails to trails program in the 1990s.
History Construction and Early Years
The railroad was built by Wellington W. Cummer from his sawmill at Milldale, on the St. Johns River north of the then city limits of Jacksonville, Florida, to access timber lands near Newberry, Florida.Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, Richard E. Prince, published by Richard E. Prince, Green River, Wyoming, 1974 printing; p.107 Chartered on March 11, 1899,Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States, 1903 Edition, Poor's Railroad Manual Co., New York, N. Y., p. 280 by November 1899 it was complete to Lake Butler, where connection was made with the Georgia Southern & Florida Railway (GS&F), and the terminus of Newberry was reached a month later. The company was closely held by the Cummer family at first: The original officers were W. W. Cummer of Jacksonville, President; Jacob Cummer, of Cadillac, Michigan, Vice-President; Arthur G. Cummer, Treasurer; and Waldo E. Cummer, Secretary. General manager of construction was George L. Davis."The Florida Times-Union and Citizen, Jacksonville, Florida; May 1, 1899 An agreement with the new Atlantic, Valdosta & Western Railway (AV&W) allowed the use of their line from the junction at Grand Crossing near the Jacksonville city limits to a station adjacent to the AV&W depot at Catherine and East Bay streets. Excursions were run for Jacksonville's Gala Week in November, regular daily service began a month later. By then the president was James M. Barnett of Grand Rapids; Jacob Cummer as First Vice-President; W. W. Cummer Second Vice-President; Harvey Hollister of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Treasurer; Arthur G. Cummer, Secretary. Waldo E. Cummer was named Superintendent, and George L. Davis remained as Superintendent of construction."The Florida Times-Union and Citizen, Jacksonville, Florida; November 11, 1899
The road operated a round trip daily, leaving Newberry around 6 a.m. and arriving in Jacksonville four and a half hours later; the return left around 5 p.m. for a late evening arrival in Newberry. A close connection was made with GS&F trains at Lake Butler and package cars ran through via Lake Butler to Lake City and Gainesville."The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Florida; Timetable published January 5, 1903 The J&SW had many connections: In addition to the AV&W and the GS&F, it connected with the Florida Central & Peninsular Railroad at Jacksonville, Baldwin and Deep Creek Junction; the Plant System's Savannah, Florida & Western Railway at Grand Crossing; and the Atlantic, Suwannee River & Gulf Railway at Hainesworth.
The J&SW was built primarily to serve the Cummer mills, and though it crossed some valuable phosphate lands, the Cummers did little to develop that traffic. On July 1, 1903, C. W. Chase, President of the H. F. Dutton & Co., a Gainesville-based phosphate mining company, bought the J&SW and became its president. E. S. Spencer, the road's traffic manager, was named general manager."The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Florida; July 5, 1903 Within a month Chase announced that construction was to begin on a large phosphate port at Milldale. The road was extended a few miles west of Newberry to reach the Dutton mine."The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Florida; July 30, 1903
Atlantic Coast Line ownership
The Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) expressed interest in the J&SW, and bought the railroad outright as soon as the Florida Railroad Commission approved the purchase on July 28, 1904."The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Florida; July 29, 1904 The daily train continued to use the Catherine Street station for several months before being switched over to the Jacksonville Union Terminal on West Bay Street. The ACL extended the line west to Wilcox in 1907 and beyond to Cross City and Perry by 1909, where it would eventually connect with ACL's historic Perry Cutoff. By then, the line was designated at the Jacksonville–Wilcox Line (SG Line).Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Southern Division Timetable (1949)
Eventually, the line became the main route for the Atlantic Coast Line's passenger trains running from Jacksonville to St. Petersburg. By 1949, the West Coast Champion and a local passenger train were running the line daily between Jacksonville and Burnett's Lake, where they turned south to St. Petersburg. At the same time, mixed train service (consisting of both passengers and freight) ran six days a week from Burnett's Lake to Newberry and Wilcox.
Later years In 1967, the Atlantic Coast Line merged with its rival, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. The merged company was named the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. After the merger, a daily local passenger train and a local freight train that ran six days a week were still using the line.Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Jacksonville Division Timetable (1969) However, passenger service ended on May 1, 1971, with the advent of Amtrak.
By 1972, the line was abandoned between Mattox and a point just west of Grand Crossing in Jacksonville. The line from Mattox south to Hainesworth remained until the mid to late 1980s and operated as Seaboard Coast Line Railroad's Ocala, Gainesville, and Wilcox Subdivisions.Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Jacksonville Division and Tampa Division Timetable (1977)Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Jacksonville Division and Tampa Division Timetable (1982)
Current conditions
Parts of the line are still active and are operated by CSX Transportation. Track from just west of Jacksonville near Duval Yard east to Panama Park is still in service. This track from Grand Crossing to Panama Park is now part of CSX's Kingsland Subdivision. At the other end, track from Hainesworth to Newberry is now part of CSX's Brooker Subdivision.CSX Jacksonville Division Timetable
In 1993, CSX sold 14 miles of the unused right of way between Imeson Road (about three miles west of Grand Crossing) and County Road 121 near Baldwin to the Florida Department of Natural Resources to become the Jacksonville-Baldwin Rail Trail."The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville, Florida; March 1, 1993
Historic stations OriginalMilepostSystemMilepostCity/LocationStationConnections and notes0.0ASJ 644.8JacksonvilleMilldalejunction with Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad Northern Division (SAL)4.8A 640.0Grand Crossingjunction with:A 642.8JacksonvilleLocated on a spur parallel to Atlantic, Valdosta and Western Railway.Service later relocated to Jacksonville Union Terminal.10.5ASG 645.3Cambon20.4ASG 655.2BaldwinBaldwinjunction with Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad Southern Division (SAL)25.0ASG 659.8Mattoxjunction with Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad Western Division (SAL)28.0ASG 662.8McPherson30.0ASG 664.8Griffing38.0ASG 672.8Cummer42.0ASG 676.8BrittRaifordBradford Farms Junctionjunction with Bradford Farms Railroad, a prison railroad spur46.0ASG 681.0Raiford48.0ASG 683.0Stewarts50.4ASG 685.4Varnes54.0ASG 688.8Lake ButlerLake Butlerjunction with Georgia Southern & Florida Railway (SOU)59.5ASG 693.5DukesDukes62.2ASG 696.2WorthingtonWorthington65.0ASG 700.0Santa Fe69.5ASG 704.5HainesworthHainesworthoriginally spelled Haynesworthjunction with Atlantic, Suwannee River and Gulf Railway (SAL)72.0ASG 707.6AlachuaBurnett's Lakejunction with Live Oak, Tampa and Charlotte Harbor Railroad (ACL)74.0ASG 708.8Alachua78.5ASG 713.3CadillacCadillac80.0ASG 717.3HaileHaile84.8ASG 719.1Komoka86.3ASG 720.6NewberryNewberryjunction with Live Oak, Tampa and Charlotte Harbor Railroad (ACL)Western Extension (built by ACL)NewberryBarrs CrossingTylerTylerASG 734.1TrentonTrentonLottievilleLottievilleASG 741.9WilcoxWilcox For stations west of Wilcox, see Perry Cutoff
References