CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...

's Carters Subdivision is a segment of CSX's A Line running from Poinciana southwest to Lakeland. The Carters Subdivision ends just west of Downtown Lakeland at Lakeland Junction, where it continues west as the

Lakeland Subdivision The Lakeland Subdivision is a CSX Transportation rail line in Florida. It runs along CSX's A Line from just west of Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland and heads west through Plant City, Florida, Plant City to the community of Mango, Florida, Mango in H ...

and connects to the

Vitis Subdivision CSX Transportation's Vitis Subdivision is a railroad line running along CSX's AR Line in Central Florida from Richland to Lakeland for a total of 19.7 miles. The Vitis Subdivision serves as a connection between CSX's two main lines in Florida, t ...

.CSX Jacksonville Division Timetable
/ref> Another important junction on the line is Auburndale Interlocking, just west of Auburndale. Here, the line connects with the

Auburndale Subdivision Auburndale may refer to: * Auburndale, Alberta * Auburndale, Nova Scotia * Auburndale, Florida * Auburndale, Louisville, Kentucky, a neighborhood * Auburndale, Massachusetts **Auburndale station (MBTA) * Auburndale, Wisconsin * Auburndale (town), W ...

, CSX's only line to South Florida and the

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

area. Freight trains bound for Miami from the rest of the country generally come off the

and run the Carters Subdivision to reach Miami. The McDonald Connection track connects the Carters Subdivision from the south with the Auburndale Subdivision and the Can Yard Lead connects it in the north direction.

Operation

Much of the freight service on the Carters Subdivision is to and from the Miami area and customers down the

. Local freight also runs on the line with a number of customers located on the Park Spur just east of Lakeland. Local freight bound for Taft Yard and customers on the Central Florida Rail Corridor in the Orlando area also run the line. No through freight to northern Florida runs on the Central Florida Rail Corridor. The Carters Subdivision also hosts

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Silver Meteor 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 ...

and

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

trains daily. The Silver Star trains run the entire route to reach Tampa, while both trains run to Auburndale Interlocking to turn towards Miami. In addition to the main line, there are also some notable spur lines along the Carters Subdivision. The CH Spur begins at the main line just east of

Lakeland station 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 statio ...

and runs south through an industrial area along US 98 to

Eaton Park Eaton Park is a large public park located in Eaton, Norwich, England. It is 80 acres in area. History The park was laid out in 1923 as part of a public works programme instigated by the city council to try and address the post-war crisis of ...

. Park Spur begins at the main line just west of Carters and runs north to serve the McIntosh Power Plant. Another spur also runs through Haines City.

History

The Carters Subdivision first began service in 1884 and was built as part of

Henry B. Plant Henry Bradley Plant (October 27, 1819 – June 23, 1899), was a businessman, entrepreneur, and investor involved with many transportation interests and projects, mostly railroads, in the southeastern United States. He was founder of the Plant Sy ...

South Florida Railroad The South Florida Railroad was a railroad from Sanford, Florida, to Tampa, Florida, becoming part of the Plant System in 1893 and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. It served as the southernmost segment of the Atlantic Coast Line's ma ...

, which extended from Sanford to

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

. Crews building the line from each end met up and completed the line just east of Lakeland at a location called Carter's Kill, which the Carters Subdivision is named for. The South Florida Railroad was absorbed by the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...

in 1902, which became their main line. The CH Spur was originally the south leg of South Florida Railroad's Pemberton Ferry Branch (the

was the north leg). The south leg would later be the northernmost segment of the Atlantic Coast Line's Lakeland–Fort Myers Line. The CH Spur was abandoned south of Eaton Park in the 1980s. The spur through Haines City was built by the Atlantic Coast Line in 1910 as the

Haines City Branch The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's Haines City Branch was a railroad line running from their main line in Haines City, Florida south through southern Central Florida. The line notably ran through Lake Wales, Avon Park, Sebring, and Immokalee an ...

, which at one point extended as far south as Everglades City. The Atlantic Coast Line became part of

by 1986. Prior to 2011, the Carters Subdivision's north end was at Auburndale Interlocking and the A Line north of Auburndale Interlocking was part of the

Sanford Subdivision The Sanford Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in Florida. The line runs along CSX's A Line from St. Johns (near Jacksonville) south through Palatka to DeLand. At its north end it continues south from the Jacksonville ...

. After CSX sold the A Line north of Poinciana to the

Florida Department of Transportation The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is a decentralized agency charged with the establishment, maintenance, and regulation of public transportation in the state of Florida. The department was formed in 1969. It absorbed the powers of t ...

to create the Central Florida Rail Corridor, the Sanford Subdivision was truncated at Deland and the Carters Subdivision designation was extended up the A Line to Poinciana.Central Florida Rail Corridor Timetable
/ref>

References

{{Attached KML CSX Transportation lines Florida railroads Rail infrastructure in Florida Transportation in Polk County, Florida Transportation in Osceola County, Florida

Operation

History

See also

References