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Florida Central Railroad: Operating 68 Miles Of The Ex-ACL

Published: August 9, 2024

By: Adam Burns

The Florida Central Railroad (FCEN) is a notable short line operating primarily in the heart of central Florida. Established in 1986, the railroad spans approximately 68 miles connecting Orlando, Apopka, Eustis, Sorrento, Umatilla, and Winter Garden.

Managed by the Pinsly Railroad Company until recent years and now owned by Regional Rail LLC, the FCEN plays a pivotal role in local logistics and transportation.

The system serves a diverse clientele by transporting a wide range of goods, including lumber, agricultural products, chemicals, and building materials.

The railroad's efficient operations enable it to provide vital last-mile connectivity, ensuring that freight reaches its final destination with speed and reliability. 

Florida Central GP9m #7030 is switching the large Lowe's distribution center at the end of the Florida Midland line at Frostproof, Florida on March 13, 2015. Doug Kroll photo.

History

The Florida Central Railroad (FCEN), based in Plymouth, was a division of the Pinsly Railroad Company until 2019, and has been in operation since 1986 when it took over ex-CSX trackage in the Sunshine State.

The railroad currently serves over 65 customers in central Florida, including Orlando.  The FCEN was the first of Pinsly's properties in the state as it would later add two others soon afterwards, the Florida Midland and Florida Northern.

Both of these railroads also operate over former CSX trackage with the latter being Pinsly's largest operating two unconnected sections of track north of the Florida Central system.

Between the three railroads they maintain well over 100 miles of ex-CSX trackage and serve some 100+ customers along their particular areas of operation.  Traffic includes everything from food and chemicals to lumber and fly ash.

Florida Central GP18 #59 has a short train at Winter Garden, Florida on March 13, 2009. Doug Kroll photo.

The Florida Central operates over trackage once owned by the Atlantic Coast Line.  Essentially a branch, this line diverges northwest from Orlando (and a connection with CSX) to connect town such as Winter Garden, Lake Jem, Sorrento, and Umatilla.

Under ACL ownership the line reached as far north as Altoona and did not end at Winter Garden as it does now. Instead, the trackage continued westward to Trilby where it connected with the railroad's western Florida main line (still in use by CSX).

After the formation of CSX Transportation in the mid-1980s the new carrier cut back the route to Winter Garden and also abandoned a few spurs to the north and south near the town (which served Howey and Phillips).

The deeper history of these lines dates to before Atlantic Coast Line ownership when it was part of "The Plant System."

This railroad was controlled by Henry B. Plant for which it was named and its beginnings dating to 1879 when he purchased the bankrupt Charleston & Savannah Railroad and renamed it as the Savannah, Florida & Western Railway.

A few years later he incorporated the Plant Investment Company, which was meant to oversee ownership of the numerous railroads Plant would come to either own or charter himself.

There are far too many of these companies to list and describe in detail here.  In brief, the Plant System would continue to grow through the late 19th century connecting to cities such as Tampa, Orlando, St. Petersburg, and Tallahassee by the 1890s.

The ACL gained control of the railroad in 1902; until the end Plant was still looking to expand his system, mostly by merging them into his Savannah, Florida & Western Railway.

The ACL connected to the Plant System at Savannah and much of the lines south of the city, through Florida, were all once part of the Plant empire.  In the mid-1980s, not long after CSX's creation it began to shed large amounts of what it considered redundant trackage all across its system between Pennsylvania and Florida.

All Time Roster

Florida Central GP7u #57 is seen here at Orlando on March 13, 2009. Doug Kroll photo.

This included former ACL and SAL branch lines in the Sunshine State and in 1986 it sold much of the trackage to the Florida Central Railroad that it now operates.

In 1990 the railroad added about 8 miles of additional track from CSX although it cut back a few miles of line near Winter Garden in 1998 to reduce congestion the busy downtown area.

Currently the Florida Central Railroad has a locomotive fleet consisting entirely of EMDs (of note, the locomotives operate among all three railroads and are lettered for their respective railroad).