Waycross Short Line

Henry B. Plant

In 1879, Henry B. Plant acquired what became the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway from its previous owner, the bankrupt Atlantic and Gulf Railroad. The Savannah, Florida and Western Railway (which became the main line of the Plant System) ran from Savannah, Georgia across southern Georgia to Bainbridge via Waycross, Valdosta, and Thomasville. The line already served Florida via a branch line from Lawton (known today as DuPont) south to Live Oak, Florida, which was the first railroad to cross the Georgia/Florida border. While that branch remained important to the Plant System, Henry Plant sought a direct connection of his network to Jacksonville, Florida on the St. Johns River, which would become a major rail junction and shipping port.[2]

In 1880, Plant chartered the Waycross and Florida Railroad as the Georgia segment of the line. It was to run from the main line at Waycross southeast to the St. Marys River (just south of Folkston on the Georgia/Florida Border). Plant then chartered the East Florida Railway as the Florida segment of the line, which continued from the St. Marys River south to Jacksonville via Callahan. Completed in 1881, the Waycross Short Line became the second railroad to cross the Georgia/Florida border.[3] After the line opened, travel time between Savannah, Georgia and Jacksonville was greatly reduced.[2] In 1901, the Plant System built the Folkston Cutoff to further shorten travel between Savannah and Jacksonville.

By 1884, the line was fully integrated into the Plant System. In 1902, the entire Plant System was acquired by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The Waycross Short Line from the Folkston Cutoff south to Jacksonville would become part of the Atlantic Coast Line's main line, which in its entirety would run from Richmond, Virginia to Tampa, Florida. The Atlantic Coast Line would fully expand its main line north of Jacksonville to double track in 1925 along with the installation of automatic block signaling.[2]

CSX train passing through Hilliard, Florida on the former Waycross Short Line

The Atlantic Coast Line became the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad in 1967 after merging with their former rival, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. 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.

Folkston Railfan Platform

The Waycross Short Line remains in service today and is still operated by CSX Transportation. The segment from the Folkston Cutoff to Jacksonville (which was part of the Atlantic Coast Line main line) is now CSX's A Line (Nahunta Subdivision). From Waycross to Folkston, the line is now part of CSX's Jesup Subdivision. Both Rice Yard in Waycross and Moncrief Yard in Jacksonville remain major freight terminals for CSX.

The segment of the line from Folkston to Callahan, Florida, is sometimes informally known as the Folkston Funnel by rail enthusiasts since nearly all of CSX's traffic from the midwest and the northeast to Florida converge on that segment, which carries roughly 40–45 trains a day. The Folkston Railfan Platform was built in 2001 by the city for viewing trains.[4]