Florida Midland Railway (defunct)


The Florida Midland Railway Company was incorporated under the general incorporation laws of Florida, and surveyed a line from Lake Jessup, in Orange County, to Leesburg, in Lake County.

History

The company was reincorporated on February 10, 1885; only had been graded. The new owners were E. W. Henck, S. M. Breuster, Carl Cushing, A. Menser and C. E. Munson of Florida, and Edward Page, Charles W. Morris and Cyrus Carpenter of Boston, Massachusetts.
The line was extended
Land grants were promised, as long as part of the railroad was completed within a year.
Florida state law chapter 3795, approved June 2, 1887, expanded the area from which land grants could be chosen, and extended the deadline to June 1, 1888.
The line actually built was rather different, running from Clifton on Lake Jesup west to Apopka, but then turning south to Kissimmee.
The railroad's track was while it was independent, but when it was taken over by the Plant System in the late 1890s, all track north of the narrow gauge section of the Sanford and St. Petersburg Railroad was abandoned and the remaining trackage from Clarcona to Kissimmee was converted to narrow gauge. The two narrow gauge lines were run in conjunction with one another, allowing the usage of the same narrow gauge equipment on both lines. The Plant System became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad system in 1902.

Current conditions

From Clifton to Apopka, the railroad has been abandoned for about 100 years, and almost no traces are left. Parts of the right-of-way were used to construct SR 434.
From Apopka to Clarcona, the right-of-way is used for the West Orange Trail.
From Clarcona to Ocoee, the right-of-way is currently owned by CSX Transportation and run by the Florida Central Railroad.
From Ocoee to Kissimmee, the railroad is abandoned, and some elements remain.

Stations

These are listed from north to south.
MilepostCity/LocationStationConnections and notes
Cliftonjunction with Sanford and Indian River Railroad
LongwoodLongwoodjunction with South Florida Railroad
Palm Springsjunction with Sanford & St. Petersburg Railroad
Altamonte SpringsAltamonte
Lake Brantley
Fitzville
ApopkaEast Apopkajunction with Apopka and Clay Spring Railway
AVB 841.1ApopkaApopkajunction with Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad Orlando Division
AVB 837.5Clarcona
Villa Nova
AVB 832.6OcoeeOcoeejunction with Tavares & Gulf Railroad
OcoeeMinorville
AVB 829.1Gotha
AVB 825.7WindermereWindermere
AVB 822.0Doctor Phillipspreviously known as Harperville
AVB 818.5Vinelandpreviously known as Orange Center, also Englewood
Molanes
AVB 812.3Shingle Creek
AVB 808.0KissimmeeKissimmeejunction with South Florida Railroad