The line from West Lake Wales to Frostproof, which extends a distance of about 18 miles, branches off of CSX's Auburndale Subdivision in West Lake Wales. It proceeds east to Lake Wales along a former Seaboard Air Line Railroad line. In Lake Wales, it connects to a former Atlantic Coast Line Railroad line and continues south to Frostproof. The line notably serves citrus fields and a Lowe'sdistribution center at the terminus in Frostproof. From this line, the Florida Midland Railroad has trackage rights on CSX's Auburndale Subdivision north to West Lake Wales siding, where interchange for the line takes place.
History
The first four miles of the line were built by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1916, and originally extended from Bartow and continued west to Alcoma. The 14 mile segment of the line from Lake Wales south to Frostproof was built earlier in 1912 by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. It is a discontinuous segment of track that was once the Atlantic Coast Line's Haines City Branch, which historically extended as far south as Everglades City. The AtlanticCoast Line and Seaboard Air Line merged in 1967 into the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, which led to consolidation of the two networks and the abandonment of redundant trackage in the 1970s, reducing the line to its current length. Seaboard Coast Line became CSX in 1980, six years before Florida Midland Railroad began operating over the line.
The Florida Midland Railroad also operates a separate 6-mile line in Winter Haven. It branches off CSX's Auburndale Subdivision just south of Winter Haven Amtrak station. From Winter Haven, it runs southwest to Gordonville where it ends. The line notably serves a 24-acre transload facility in Eagle Lake. It also serves Bartow Municipal Airport. The Florida Midland Railroad has trackage rights from this line on the Auburndale Subdivision north to Winter Haven siding, where interchange for the line takes place.
History
The Winter Haven line was originally built in 1884 by the South Florida Railroad. It historically extended from the South Florida Railroad mainline in Lake Alfred and extended into Bartow. It was abandoned north of Winter Haven to Lake Alfred in the early 1970s and was connected to the current Auburndale Subdivision. The line was severed from Bartow in the 1980s and it now terminates near Gordonville.
Former Leesburg Line
The Florida Midland Railroad once operated a third line from Wildwood to Leesburg. Most of the Leesburg line was once the westernmost segment of the Orlando Division of the Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad. The easternmost two miles however were originally part of the Florida Southern Railway. In 2000, the company petitioned the Surface Transportation Board to abandon the entire Leesburg Branch, which was granted on November 15, 2000. All that remains of the line is a short turningwye in Wildwood.
