Brewster Subdivision
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The Brewster Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in Florida. The line runs at Edison Junction (just west of Mulberry south through Bradley Junction to a point just north of Arcadia for a total of 47.2 miles.[1] Prior to 1981, the line was known as the Boca Grande Subdivision when the line continued beyond Arcadia as far as Port Boca Grande on the south end of Gasparilla Island.[2]
Route description
[edit]The Brewster Subdivision begins at Edison Junction near the community of Keysville at a wye that branches off the company's Valrico Subdivision. From Edison, it proceeds southeast to Bradley Junction. At Bradley Junction, the line connects with the Achan Subdivision to the north and the Agricola Spur to the east., and connects to the Seminole Gulf Railway in Arcadia.
The Brewster Subdivision continues south from Bradley Junction through Agrock, Fort Green Springs, and Ona before coming to its southern terminus at point just north of Arcadia.[1] Track from the terminus south into Arcadia is now owned by Seminole Gulf Railway, a shortline that continues south from Arcadia to Punta Gorda and Fort Myers on the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's former Lakeland—Fort Myers Line.
Historically, the line continued southwest from Arcadia along the Peace River to a point near Fort Ogden where it crossed the river. From here, it continued southwest through Port Charlotte, El Jobean, and Placida to Gasparilla Island.
Operation
[edit]
The Brewster Subdivision is CSX's second busiest line through the Bone Valley after the Valrico Subdivision. The line is dispatched through Track warrant control.[1]
The line serves three phosphate facilities operated by The Mosaic Company. Mosaic's New Wales processing plant is located near the north end of the line between Edison and Bradley Junction and is considered by Mosaic to be the world's largest phosphate processing facility. Four Corners Mine is located a short distance behind Agrock yard south of Bradley Junction. Agrock yard is used by Mosaic as a staging area for Four Corners Mine and operates their own locomotives and equipment from the mine to the yard.
The southernmost phosphate mine on the line is Mosaic's South Pasture Mine in Fort Green Springs which was previously operated by CF Industries before it was bought by Mosaic. South Pasture Mine is currently not operating and has been idle since 2018. Though Mosaic plans to reactivate it at some point in the future.[3] When active, South Pasture is the southernmost point of CSX's Bone Valley operations.[4][5]
The only traffic on the Brewster Subdivision that runs south of South Pasture is twice-weekly mixed freight from Winston Yard to Arcadia for interchange with Seminole Gulf Railway. This traffic is the only non-phosphate related rail traffic on the Brewster Subdivision.
History
[edit]| Boca Grande Subdivision | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Overview | |||
| Status | Some segments still operating | ||
| Owner | Seaboard Air Line Railroad | ||
| Termini |
| ||
| Technical | |||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||
| Electrification | No | ||
| Signalling | None | ||
| |||
Edison to Agricola
[edit]The northern segment of the Brewster Subdivision from present-day Edison to Bradley Junction and east to Agricola was built as a branch line by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1910. It was built to further extend the Seaboard Air Line's network into the Bone Valley's growing phosphate industry.[6]
South of Bradley Junction
[edit]The Brewster Subdivision south of Bradley Junction was originally built by the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway (CH&N). The CH&N was built from Boca Grande to Arcadia in 1907 and extended north from Arcadia in 1911. The CH&N's junction with the Seaboard Air Line was named Bradley Junction, which was named after CH&N founder Peter B. Bradley.[7][6]
Later years
[edit]The Seaboard Air Line acquired the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway in 1926. After the acquisition, the Seaboard Air Line promptly built their Fort Myers Subdivision which branched off the line at Hull. By the end of 1926, track from Boca Grande to Hull was designated on employee timetables as the Boca Grande Subdivsion, while track from Hull to Edison Junction was designated as part of the Fort Myers Subdivision.[8] Edison Junction was named after inventor Thomas Edison due to the line's connection to Fort Myers, where Edison had a winter home (the Edison and Ford Winter Estates).[9] Track north of Hull was later redesignated as part of the Boca Grande Subdivision by the late 1940s as traffic to Fort Myers declined.[8][10]
The Seaboard Air Line operated passenger trains on the line to both Boca Grande and to Fort Myers and Naples (the latter destinations were provided by Orange Blossom Special and West Coast Limited). Passenger service to Fort Myers ended in 1933 and the Fort Myers Subdivision was completely abandoned by 1952. The Seaboard Air Line generally operated two passenger trains a day to Boca Grande, though passenger service to Boca Grande was discontinued in 1958 shortly after the opening of the Boca Grande Causeway, which was the last passenger service to ever operate on the line.[8][6]
The line once had a spur track to the former Payne Creek Mine east of Agrock Yard.[11] Payne Creek Mine has since been redeveloped by Mosaic into the Streamsong Resort and golf course.[12]
In 1967, the Seaboard Air Line and the Atlantic Coast Line merged to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line's parent company merged with the Chessie System, creating the CSX Corporation. The CSX Corporation initially operated the Chessie and Seaboard Systems separately until 1986, when they were merged into CSX Transportation.
Track south of Arcadia to Boca Grande was abandoned in 1981 after the closure of Port Boca Grande. The remaining line was subsequently renamed the Brewster Subdivision, which is named for the defunct ghost town of Brewster that was located just south of Bradley Junction. The town existed from 1910 to 1962 and played a role in the area's phosphate industry. Remnants of the town include a smokestack and a few abandoned buildings.[13]
Historic Seaboard Air Line stations
[edit]| Milepost | City/Location | Station[2][10] | Connections and notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| SVC 835.8 | Edison Junction | junction with Valrico Subdivision | |
| SVC 843.3 | Bradley Junction | junction with Achan Subdivision & Agricola Spur | |
| SVC 846.5 | Brewster | Brewster | originally Chicora |
| SVC 849.3 | Cottmann | ||
| SVC 851.2 | Agrock | originally Baird | |
| SVC 855.6 | Garwood | ||
| SVC 856.2 | Fort Green | Fort Green | |
| SVC 858.0 | Fort Green Springs | Fort Green Springs | |
| SVC 865.5 | Ona | Ona | |
| SVC 870.6 | Bridges | ||
| SVC 873.6 | Limestone | ||
| SVC 875.3 | Kinsey | ||
| SVC 881.0 | Bunker-Lansing | ||
| SVC 884.5 | Arcadia | Arcadia | connection to Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Lakeland–Fort Myers Line junction with East and West Coast Railway (SAL) |
| SVC 888.4 | Nocatee | Nocatee | |
| SVC 893.4 | Hull | junction with Fort Myers Subdivision | |
| SVC (VK) 895.3[a] | Carr | ||
| SVC (VK) 898.8 | Platt | junction with Tampa Southern Railroad (ACL) | |
| SVC (VK) 908.7 | Port Charlotte | Murdock | |
| SVC (VK) 909.1 | Port Charlotte | ||
| SVC (VK) 914.5 | El Jobean | El Jobean | originally Southland |
| SVC (VK) 916.5 | Charlotte Beach | originally McCall | |
| SVC (VK) 923.6 | Placida | ||
| SVC (VK) 926.3 | Gasparilla Island | Gasparilla | |
| SVC (VK) 930.1 | Boca Grande | ||
| SVC (VK) 932.3 | South Boca Grande | served Port Boca Grande |
Notes
[edit]- ^ The Seaboard Air Line assigned milepost prefix VK to the line south of Hull and VC from there to Bradley Junction (which continued down the line to Fort Myers). After the Fort Myers Subdivision was abandoned in 1952, the VK prefix was retired with VC (and later SVC after becoming the Seaboard Coast Line) replacing it to match the rest of the line.[2][10]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c CSX Jacksonville Division Timetable
- ^ a b c Seaboard Air Line Railroad South Florida Division Timetable (1951)
- ^ "Overview". The Mosaic Company. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ Harmon, Danny. "Buried Locomotive in the Bone Valley". YouTube. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
- ^ "Florida's Bone Valley Part 2: The Brewster Sub". Train Orders. Retrieved 15 November 2018.
- ^ a b c Turner, Gregg (2003). A Short History of Florida Railroads. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-2421-4.
- ^ Prince, Richard E. (2000). Seaboard Air Line Railway: Steamboats, Locomotives, and History. Indiana University Press.
- ^ a b c Seaboard Air Line Railway South Florida Division Timetable (1940)
- ^ Lithia's former Edison SAL depot in 1969 (Flickr)
- ^ a b c Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Tampa Division Timetable (1973)
- ^ Milligan, Del. "Mosaic Company Opens $80 Million Resort At Site of Former Phosphate Mine". The Ledger. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
- ^ "The Mosaic Company". Streamsong Resort. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ "Brewster". Ghost Towns. Retrieved 15 November 2018.