History
The station was built in 1947 by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) in the art deco architectural style, and is located on what is today CSX's S-Line, which runs along the west side of the building. This segment of the S-Line is officially named the Wildwood Subdivision. The station served SAL's Orange Blossom Special, Silver Meteor, Silver Star,Sunland and Palmland. It was a few miles south of this location at Coleman that the SAL mainlines split: the main sections, or "east coast" sections of the Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Sunland, and Palmland travelled along SAL's mainline to their station in Miami, while the secondary sections, or "west coast" sections of the Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Sunland, and Palmland travelled along SAL's mainline to their station in Tampa. These "west coast" trains also continued in different sections to St. Petersburg with a stop in Clearwater, and Venice with stops in Bradenton and Sarasota. [1]
In 1967, after the merger of Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) and the SAL into the new Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, the Florida Special,Silver Meteor,Silver Star, and Palmland made stops at the station from 1967 to 1971, while the Sunland was discontinued by SCL in 1968. On May 1, 1971, Amtrak assumed SCL passenger operations, but opted to not continue the Palmland. [2]
In 1971, most passenger service in the United States was transferred to Amtrak, and the Silver Meteor retained its stop in Wildwood. [3] Throughout the latter part of the 20th century, Amtrak would move trains off and onto the S-Line. Some of these trains include the Silver Meteor, Silver Star, Floridian , and Palmetto . Finally, Amtrak revived the Silver Palm along the CSX S-Line in 1996, where it would keep its name, sleepers, and diner until 2002. In 2002, the train would be renamed back to Palmetto. Two years later, the Palmetto was truncated to Savannah, Georgia on November 1, 2004, prompting Amtrak to revive Silver Star service to Tampa along the CSX A-Line shared by the current Silver Meteor , and part of the suspended Sunset Limited , and finally ending passenger service to Wildwood. Today, the station operates as a CSX crew and yard office, and Amtrak's Thruway Motorcoach bus service between Jacksonville and Lakeland still uses the station building. The long-abandoned platforms and canopies were demolished in 2013 to make way for a second mainline, which was built over the land they once occupied.
Wildwood is also the western terminus of an abandoned SAL branchline that once ran to Orlando through the cities of Leesburg and Tavares. This branchline is now owned by the Florida Midland Railroad, and is in operation between Orlando and Tavares. The tracks past the wye that allowed access to the branchline from Wildwood used to run as far east as Orange Home along County Road 44A, and served as home for some abandoned freight cars until the first decade of the 21st Century. However, CSX later pulled up the track in the early 2010's, and now currently uses the approximately 400 feet of track running past the stem of the wye to turn around locomotives.
Wildwood is a city in Sumter County, Florida, United States. The population was 6,709 at the 2010 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2018 estimates, the city had a population of 7,024.
The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lines to create the Seaboard System in 1983.
The Seaboard Air Line Railroad, which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. Predecessor railroads dated from the 1830s and reorganized extensively to rebuild after the American Civil War. The company was headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia, until 1958, when its main offices were relocated to Richmond, Virginia. The Seaboard Air Line Railway Building in Norfolk's historic Freemason District still stands and has been converted into apartments.
The Silver Meteor is a passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Miami, Florida. Introduced in 1939 as the first diesel-powered streamliner between New York and Florida, it was the flagship train of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad and one of its flagship trains of its successor, the Seaboard Coast Line. It was handed to Amtrak when it took over intercity rail service in 1971.
The Silver Star is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on a 1,522-mile (2,449 km) route between New York City and Miami via Washington, D.C., Richmond, Raleigh, Columbia, Savannah, Jacksonville, and Tampa. The Silver Star and its partner in the Silver Service brand, the Silver Meteor, are the descendants of numerous long-distance trains that operated between Florida and New York for most of the 20th century.
The Palmetto is a passenger train operated by Amtrak on a 829-mile (1,334 km) route between New York City and Savannah, Georgia, via the Northeast Corridor, Washington, D.C., Richmond, Virginia, Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina. The Palmetto is a shorter version of the Silver Meteor, which continues south to Miami, Florida. Between 1996 and 2002 this service was called the Silver Palm. Although currently a day train, in the past the Palmetto provided overnight sleeper service to Florida.
Orlando Health/Amtrak station, also known as Orlando station, is a train station in Orlando, Florida. It is served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system of the United States, and SunRail, the commuter rail service of Greater Orlando, as well as local and intercity buses. It serves Amtrak's Silver Meteor and Silver Star lines. Built in 1926, the historic station is located approximately one mile south of Downtown Orlando near the campus of Orlando Health. Serving 160,442 passengers at last measure in 2013, The station is Amtrak's fifth busiest in the Southeastern United States; it is the second busiest Amtrak station in Florida, behind the Sanford station of the Auto Train.
The Ocala Union Station is a historic site in Ocala, Florida, United States. It is located at 531 Northeast First Avenue, and was built in 1917 by both the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line Railroads. Prior to this, ACL and SAL had separate depots in Ocala. The former ACL station was originally built by the Florida Southern Railroad, while the former SAL station was built by the Florida Transit and Peninsular Railroad. On December 22, 1997, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
The Dade City Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Depot is a railroad station and historic site located in Dade City, Florida, United States. The station is located on CSX's S-Line, which runs along the east side of the building. On July 15, 1994, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Lakeland station is a train station in Lakeland, Florida, that is served by Amtrak, the national passenger rail system of the United States. It is served by the Silver Star train, which runs daily between New York City and Miami. The station is located on the northern shore of Lake Mirror.
Sebring station is a train station in Sebring, Florida, United States. It is currently served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system. Located on East Center Avenue, the station was constructed in 1924 by the Seaboard Air Line Railway. Approaching the transfer of passenger services to Amtrak, the station was used by the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad for the Silver Meteor,Silver Star and the Palmland. The latter train ended in 1971, while the Silver Meteor and Silver Star remain operated by Amtrak to the present. Amtrak trains formerly using the station included the Floridian,Palmetto,Sunset Limited and the short-lived intrastate Tampa-Miami Silver Palm service.
The Champion was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and Florida East Coast Railway between New York City and Miami or St. Petersburg, Florida. It operated from 1939 until 1979, continuing under the Seaboard Coast Line and Amtrak. It was a direct competitor to the Seaboard Air Line Railway's Silver Meteor, the first New York-Florida streamliner.
Waldo station is a former train station in Waldo, Florida along the CSX S-Line. It serves Amtrak's Thruway Motorcoach bus system and previously served trains for Amtrak and other rail operators. The station is located at the interchange of US 301 and State Road 24 in Waldo, Florida.
St. Petersburg station was a passenger train station in St. Petersburg, Florida. Located northwest of downtown, its former address was 3601 31st Street North, though access to the site is now only from 37th Avenue North.
The Orange Belt Railway was a 3 ft narrow gauge railroad established in 1885 by Russian exile Peter Demens in Florida. It was one of the longest narrow gauge railroads in the United States at the time of its completion in 1888, with a mainline 152 miles (245 km) in length between Sanford and St. Petersburg. It carried citrus, vegetables, and passengers; and it interchanged with two standard gauge lines: the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railway at Lake Monroe, and the Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad at Lacoochee.
The Tampa Southern Railroad was a subsidiary of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) originally running from Uceta Yard in Tampa south to Palmetto, Bradenton, and Sarasota with a later extension southeast to Fort Ogden in the Peace River valley built shortly after. It was one of many rail lines completed during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. Most of the remaining trackage now serves as CSX Transportation's Palmetto Subdivision. Another short portion just east of Sarasota also remains that is now operated by Seminole Gulf Railway.
The Clearwater Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the Tampa Bay region of Florida. The line begins just east of downtown Tampa in Gary and heads north through some of Tampa's suburban neighborhoods. In Sulphur Springs, the Clearwater Subdivision turns and runs west through Oldsmar, where it crosses Tampa Bay. It briefly shifts south running through Safety Harbor, and then heads west again to Clearwater. In Clearwater, it turns southeast, running through Largo and Pinellas Park before terminating at Fifth Avenue North in St. Petersburg near Tropicana Field. The distance from Gary to St. Petersburg along the line is 48.6 miles (78.2 km). At the line's north end it continues from the Tampa Terminal Subdivision and at its south end the track comes to an end.
The Wildwood Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in Florida. It runs along CSX's S Line from Baldwin south to Zephyrhills via Ocala and Wildwood for a total of 155.7 miles. The S Line is CSX's designation for the line that was the Seaboard Air Line Railroad main line from 1903 to 1967.
The Florida West Shore Railway was a subsidiary of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad that expanded their rail system south to Palmetto, Bradenton, and Sarasota in the early 1900s. The Seaboard would go on to extend this line further south to Venice in 1911.
Clearwater station was an Amtrak train station in Clearwater, Florida, served by the Floridian until 1979 and the Silver Service until February 1, 1984. Thereafter, it continued to be used for Amtrak Thruway motor coach service until 1995, connecting to Amtrak Silver Service trains at Tampa Union Station.
