The Silver Springs, Ocala and Gulf Railroad was a railroad running in northern

Central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...

. Despite its name, it never directly served Silver Springs but instead ran from

Ocala Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County within the northern region of Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city's population was 63,591, making it the 54th most populated city in Florida. Home to ...

west to

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 ...

and to the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

Homosassa Homosassa is a census-designated place (CDP) in Citrus County, Florida, Citrus County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,578 at the 2010 census. History Homosassa is derived from a Seminole Indian name meaning either "river of fishes ...

. It also had a track that served

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

from Dunnellon.

History

The Silver Springs, Ocala and Gulf Railroad was assigned

land grant A land grant is a gift of real estate—land or its use privileges—made by a government or other authority as an incentive, means of enabling works, or as a reward for services to an individual, especially in return for military service. Grants ...

s on March 12, 1879 by the state legislature of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. This was accomplished by Florida State Law Chapter 3170. The line was complete between Ocala and Dunellon in 1887 and used to transport

phosphate In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid . The phosphate or orthophosphate ion is derived from phospho ...

and

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

. It connected with the

Florida Southern Railway The Florida Southern Railway (later known as the Florida Southern Railroad) was a railroad that operated in Florida in the late 1800s. It was one of Florida's three notable narrow gauge railway when it was built along with the South Florida Rail ...

in Ocala. One of the early organizers of the railroad was John F. Dunn, for whom Dunnellon is partially named for. The line was extended southwest to Crystal River and Homosassa by 1888. Track was then built from Dunnellon (at a point near

Citrus Springs Citrus Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in Citrus County, Florida, Citrus County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,622 as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, up from 4,157 in 2000. Geography Citrus Springs is loc ...

) south to Hernando and Inverness in 1891, which connected with the newly built northern extension of the

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 m ...

's Pemberton Ferry Branch, which continued south to Lakeland. In 1893, track was built from Juliette (near

Rainbow Springs Rainbow Springs, formerly known as Blue Spring, is a first-magnitude artesian spring formation in Marion County, Florida, United States, several miles north of the city of Dunnellon. Rainbow Springs is the focal point of Rainbow Springs Sta ...

) north to

Morriston Morriston (; cy, Treforys ) is a Community (Wales), community in the City and County of Swansea, Wales and falls within the Morriston (electoral ward), Morriston ward. It is the largest community in Swansea county. Morriston is sometimes ref ...

. By 1901, the Silver Springs, Ocala and Gulf Railroad owned four locomotives. That year, the line became part 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 ...

, which also operated the South Florida Railroad and the

. The Plant System had been owned by Florida railroad tycoon

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 ...

prior to his death in 1899. The Plant System was acquired by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The Silver Springs, Ocala and Gulf network would later be incorporated into the Atlantic Coast Line's DuPont—Lakeland Line.Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Southern Division Timetable (1949)
/ref> Track between Homosassa and Crystal River was abandoned in 1941. The Atlantic Coast Line became the

Seaboard Coast Line Railroad 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 li ...

in 1967 after merging with their rival, 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 ...

, which then became

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. ...

in 1986. Track was removed between Crystal River and Red Level by 1982.Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Jacksonville Division and Tampa Division Timetable (1977)
/ref>Seaboard Coast Line Railroad Jacksonville Division and Tampa Division Timetable (1982)
/ref> CSX abandoned the line from Dunnellon to Inverness (along with track from Inverness to Owensboro) in 1987.

Current conditions

All former track of the Silver Springs, Ocala and Gulf Railroad has been operated by the Florida Northern Railroad since 1988. This includes the now discontinuous segments in Ocala (which is now a short industrial spur) and track from Dunnellon to the

Crystal River Energy Complex The Crystal River Energy Complex consists of seven power-generating plants on a site near the mouth of the Crystal River in Citrus County, Florida. Crystal River 1, 2, 4, and 5 are fossil fuel power plants. Crystal River 3 was previously the ...

in Red Level. State Road 40 runs close to the former right of way between Ocala and Dunnellon. The line from Dunnellon south to Inverness is now part of the

Withlacoochee State Trail Withlacoochee State Trail is a long paved, multi-use, non-motorized rail trail in Florida located in Citrus, Hernando and Pasco counties. It follows along the Withlacoochee River and passes through the Withlacoochee State Forest. It is the ...

, the longest

rail trail A rail trail is a shared-use path on railway right of way. Rail trails are typically constructed after a railway has been abandoned and the track has been removed, but may also share the right of way with active railways, light rail, or streetcar ...

in Florida.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silver Springs Ocala Gulf Railroad Defunct Florida railroads Predecessors of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Railway companies established in 1875 Railway companies disestablished in 1901 1879 establishments in Florida 1901 disestablishments in Florida History of Marion County, Florida