- Ocklawaha Valley Railroad
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Ocklawaha Valley Railroad Locale northeastern Florida Dates of operation 1914–1922 Track gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) The Ocklawaha Valley Railroad, originally the Ocala Northern Railroad, was a railroad running from Silver Springs Junction, Florida (east of Ocala, Florida) to Palatka, Florida, running roughly parallel to the Oklawaha River. Except for the southernmost part, from Silver Springs Junction to Silver Springs, which was leased from the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (with trackage rights on the SAL main line to Ocala), the railroad never had any corporate relationship with larger railroad companies.
Contents
History
The Ocala Northern Railroad, a new line, leased the 1.9-mile (3.1 km) SAL spur to Silver Springs on December 14, 1909, and obtained trackage rights over four miles (6 km) of the SAL to downtown Ocala. The ONRR was owned by E. P. Rentz, who owned a saw mill at Silver Springs. He soon built it north to Fort McCoy and built a logging railroad west into the forest. He continued to build the ONRR, and it reached Palatka by 1912, with 45.5 miles (73.2 km) of track from Silver Springs to Palatka. Plans to extend the railroad across the St. Johns River to Hastings and then north on the east shore to Jacksonville fell through; the company went bankrupt in May 1913. The railroad was also involved with the Ocala Southwestern Railroad, which was planned to Tampa; no part of that was ever constructed.
On April 16, 1915, the railroad was bought by H. S. Cummings of Rodman Lumber in Rodman, Florida, and reorganized as the Ocklawaha Valley Railroad. The lease of the SAL's Silver Springs Branch was transferred on August 19, 1915. A short 1.5-mile (2.4 km) spur was built from Rodman Junction to Rodman. and many logging lines were built to connect to the OVRR. Passenger service was also provided.
The mill closed in 1922, and Cummings had grown ill. The railroad was sold at a bankruptcy auction. Each major railroad wanted the line, but they were all afraid of a bidding war, so they agreed to allow an independent company to win the auction unopposed. Unfortunately for them, that independent company, Assets Realization of New York, had bought it for scrap value. Residents and companies along the line and connecting railroads protested, and brought the case all the way to the Supreme Court, which ordered that it would not be abandoned. However, Assets Realization disobeyed the court and tore it up anyway in December 1922, leaving the Florida Railroad Commission "no recourse but to declare the Ocklawaha Valley Railroad abandoned".
Today
Several station foundations remain, and large parts of right-of-way are visible on aerial photos and on the ground. Parts of the right-of-way were used for CR 315 from Orange Springs to Kenwood and SR 19 into Palatka.
Connections
Connections were provided to every major railroad in the area:
- Seaboard Air Line Railroad at Silver Springs Junction
- Atlantic Coast Line Railroad at Palatka
- Florida East Coast Railway at Palatka
- Southern Railway at Palatka
Stations
Milepost City Station Notes Ocala Ocala junction with Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Silver Springs Junction junction with Seaboard Air Line Railroad main line Silver Springs Silver Springs Seaboard Air Line Railroad-owned track ends Oak Junction Burbank Daisy Fort McCoy Fort McCoy Bay Lake Orange Springs Kenwood Kennilworth Rodman Junction branch to Rodman Silver Lake Palatka Palatka used the Southern Railway station at the St. Johns River via trackage rights
connections to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad main line and the Florida East Coast Railway Palatka BranchExternal links
Sources
- Ocklawaha Valley Railroad History
- Corporate History of Railroads in North America
- Railroad History Database
- Corporate History of the Seaboard Air Line Railway Company, June 30, 1918
Categories:- Defunct Florida railroads
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