By JoAnne Young

This was a mere 60 years or so after the first railroad from Jacksonville to Alligator Town (now Lake City) was completed in 1860. It was named the Florida Atlantic & Gulf Central Railroad and was headed by Dr. A. S. Baldwin.

On its maiden journey, many excited Jacksonville residents rode to Lake City for the first train ride of their lives. Then the people of Lake City made the trip to Jacksonville where they were warmly greeted and fed barbecue. The engine that pulled the train was christened "Jacksonville."

Until 1881, this first line was the only railroad into Jacksonville. Trains from the north stopped in Live Oak, where transfer was made for Jacksonville. In 1875, a ticket from Jacksonville to New York cost $36.75 and the trip took between 75 and 90 hours.

Part of the problem was that rail tracks were different gauges (widths) which many rail companies preferred because of the extreme competition among the various lines. Finally, in 1888, the first train traveled directly from New York to Jacksonville through Savannah, over Florida & Western tracks, and made the trip in 29 hours and 30 minutes.

In these early years of the late 1800's and early 1900's, many railroads developed, merged, and changed. A few of the many important names in the Jacksonville area were Florida Railway & Navigation Co., Fernandina & Jacksonville, Florida Central & Peninsular Railroad, Atlantic Coast Line, and ultimately, the most influential, the Florida East Coast Railway

Henry Flagler opened the entire east coast of Florida from St. Augustine to Key West with the Florida East Coast Line. Towns were developed along the tracks as the train line progressed down the state. The culmination was the It was the railroad that opened the Jacksonville beaches. The Jacksonville & Atlantic Railway Co. built a line from south Jacksonville to Pablo Beach (now Jacksonville Beach). Beach Boulevard was later built over the old track bed.

The story of the railroad in Florida and Jacksonville is romantic and complicated. The Union Terminal building saw its last trains in the late 60's, early 70's, and is now the heart of the Jacksonville Convention Center. Your Jacksonville guide remembers the impetus to save the building and find a new use for it. Several huge Terminal parties were held in the building to raise money. I attended the first one and it stays in my memory as one of the best, craziest parties I've known-shoulder to shoulder people, music and drink in every room, and all for a worthy cause.

More Florida and Other Railroad Sites

Palatka Railroad Preservation Society
Purpose and mission of the society with photo of little red caboose.

Railroad.net Homepage
Many links for the railroad fan.

South Florida Railway Museum
Contact info, virtual railroading, schedule of events, parties.

Information source: History of Jacksonville Florida and Vicinity by T. Frederick Davis, 1925. Reprinted in 1990 by San Marco Bookstore.

Title graphic by Joanne Young using Photoshop and train clipart from CD-Rom for Macintosh, Key Mega ClipArt 15,000.