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 ...

's Perry Cutoff (which was part of the company's Thomasville—Dunnellon Line) was a historic rail line in northern Florida running from

Monticello Monticello ( ) was the primary plantation of Founding Father Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States, who began designing Monticello after inheriting land from his father at age 26. Located just outside Charlottesville, V ...

southeast to

Perry Perry, also known as pear cider, is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally the perry pear. It has been common for centuries in England, particularly in Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire. It is also made ...

. The line provided a shortcut for rail traffic running between the Midwest and the

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

area by providing a more direct route and a bypass for the busy rail hub in

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. It was completed in 1928 to reduce travel times for its passenger trains to the west coast, or

Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississ ...

, of Florida during the

Florida land boom of the 1920s The Florida land boom of the 1920s was Florida's first real estate bubble. This pioneering era of Florida land speculation lasted from 1924 to 1926 and attracted investors from all over the nation. The land boom left behind entirely new, planned ...

Route and history

The Perry Cutoff basically connected two pre-existing

routes. Track to Monticello, which originated in

Thomasville, Georgia Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. The population was 18,413 at the 2010 United States Census, making it the second largest city in southwest Georgia after Albany, Georgia, Albany. The city deems itself the "C ...

, was built in 1888 as a branch of the Savannah, Florida and Western Railroad. The Savannah, Florida and Western Railroad was once the main line of the

Plant System The Plant System named after its owner, Henry B. Plant, was a system of railroads and steamboats in the U.S. South, taken over by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The original line of the system was the Savannah, Florida and Western ...

. At the other end, track was built in 1907 by the Atlantic Coast Line from

Newberry Newberry is a surname, a variant of Newbury. Notable people with the surname include: * Booker Newberry III (born 1956), American singer and keyboardist * Brennan Newberry (born, 1990), American professional stock car racing driver * Brian Newb ...

west to

Wilcox Wilcox may refer to: Places ;Canada *Wilcox, Saskatchewan ;United States *Wilcox, Florida, an unincorporated community in Gilchrist County, Florida *Wilcox, Missouri *Wilcox, Nebraska * Wilcox, Pennsylvania *Wilcox, Washington * Wilcox, Wisconsin * ...

and

. This was an extension of the

Jacksonville and Southwestern Railroad The Jacksonville & Southwestern Railroad (J&SW) was a railroad that served Florida from 1899 to 1904. It was purchased by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1904. The Atlantic Coast Line would extend the line further west and it would become th ...

, a railroad from Jacksonville to Newberry that the Atlantic Coast Line acquired in 1904. The Atlantic Coast Line additionally built a line from

Dunnellon Dunnellon is a city with the unique feature of sitting in 3 counties in Marion, Levy & Citrus counties in Florida, United States. The predominant part falls in the Marion county. The population was 1,928 at the 2020 census, up from 1,733 in 20 ...

northwest to Wilcox in 1914 to connect with the Newberry to Perry Line. Once the Perry Cutoff was in place in 1928, trains could travel from the midwest to

and head south along Florida's Gulf Coast through Monticello, Perry, Wilcox, and Dunnellon to reach Tampa and St. Petersburg. The line allowed for trains to travel up to 59 miles per hour.Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Southern Division Timetable (1949)
/ref> Most notably, the

Louisville & Nashville The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of the ...

's and ACL's ''

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Re ...

'' was shifted over to this direct route in 1928. The Line crossed the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad 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, t ...

's Jacksonville to

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

line in Drifton. It also connected with the Live Oak, Perry, and Gulf Railroad in Perry, which the Atlantic Coast Line owned until 1928 (the year the Perry Cutoff was complete) when it was sold to the Brooks-Scanlon Lumber Company, who would eventually sell it to

Norfolk Southern The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad in the United States formed in 1982 with the merger of Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway (U.S.), Southern Railway. With headquarters in Atlanta, the ...

. Once the Perry Cutoff was in place, the full line from Thomasville to Dunnellon was designated on employee timetables as the Thomasville–Dunnellon Line (ND Line). The Atlantic Coast Line became the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in 1967. The Seaboard Coast Line continued to operate the full line from Thomasville to Dunnellon as the Perry Subdivision.Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Jacksonville Division and Tampa Division Timetable (1977)
/ref> 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.

Remnants

Most of the Perry Cutoff north of Cross City was removed by the mid 1980s along with track from Dunnellon to Chiefland.Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Jacksonville Division and Tampa Division Timetable (1982)
/ref> Remaining track from Newberry to Cross City, and from Wilcox to Chiefland was then leased to the Florida West Coast Railroad, a shortline, in 1987. The Florida West Coast Railroad slowly abandoned more of the track until 2010, when the last track west of Newberry was abandoned. The

Nature Coast State Trail The Nature Coast State Trail (NCST) is a 31.7-mile long segment of Florida's Statewide System of Greenways and Trails System built along abandoned railroad tracks, and designated by the U.S. Department of the Interior as a National Recreation Tr ...

now runs on some of the former right of way. The only track that is still active is what is now CSX's Metcalf Spur from Thomasville to Metcalf (part of the former Monticello Branch).CSX Jacksonville Division Timetable
/ref>

Historic stations

Thomasville to Dunnellon

References

{{reflist Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Defunct Florida railroads Railroad cutoffs

Route and history

Remnants

Historic stations

See also

References