The Norfolk Southern (NS) bridge over the St. Marys River, Nassau County, FLA

The St. Marys River flows in several directions as it makes its way from Okefenokee Swamp to the Atlantic Ocean. Marked by Endicott's Mound, it begins its journey out of the Swamp in a southerly direction. It then curves eastward and cuts through Trail Ridge, a high piece of narrow ground that runs north-south from Micanopy, Florida, to the Satilla River in Georgia. The tea-colored river then hits another stretch of high ground called the Alachua ridge. It is forced to turn northward where it meanders for about 40 miles before again curving eastward. It winds for another 50 miles before making its final run as a swift, wide river that divides two barrier islands, Amelia and Cumberland. It serves as the northern and western edge of Nassau County, FLA. Three railroads cross the St. Marys:
CSX's S-Line that once was the Seaboard Air Line Railroad into Florida and is now leased to First Coast Railroad; CSX's A-line that was the Atlantic Coast Line's main line into Florida and is CSX's primary artery into the Sunshine State; and the Norfolk Southern's Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad line that ran from Macon through Valdosta to Jacksonville and is NS's main link to Jacksonville's seaports and the Florida East Coast Railway. Their respective bridge crossings were built in 1886, 1881, and 1900; each span have been rebuilt over the years on the same right of way except the ACL drawn span which was realigned to remove two sharp curves and double tracked in the first decade of the 1900s. (The old 1881 brick pillars on the Georgia side still survive in the thick wetland vegetation and the one on the Florida side serves as a central core of a water front residence.)  Despite it being only 20 miles from my home, today I visited the Norfolk Southern  Railway bridge across the St. Marys River. Although I am a die-hard truss span fan (like the A-line rail crossing in Boulogne)  and love swing-span bridges (like the S-line rail crossing north of Yulee, although it is locked in place and can not be opened except by special permission), I have now a great admiration for this 1230 foot span that the thoroughbred engines of the NS run across every day.

The trestle approach on the Florida side is only 190 feet long as that side is part of the Alachua Ridge that runs along the western edge of Nassau County.   This high ridge is what prevents the St. Marys from turning east and prevents the river's overflow from flooding the Nassau County side during heavy rains. This short trestle section is followed by the first 60-foot girder which then is connected to the 100- foot main span of the bridge.

 

 The NS bridge consists of five spans: three 100-foot long steel girders and two 60-foot long girders that aren't as deep as the other three. The far eastern long girder spans the main channel of the St. Marys River which curves sharply under the span which makes traveling the waterway a bit tricky.  For generations tall-mast schooners and steamships sailed up the deep St. Marys River as far as Traders Hill, Georgia, just west of Boulogne, Nassau County, FLA. This is why the other two rail bridges were swing spans at one time or the other. Since this Norfolk Southern bridge is located south of Traders Hill, thus south of the point where ships could navigate the St. Marys, there was no need for a movable span. I believe the original span was a wooden truss span, but I have not found any evidence of this.

The second 60-foot steel girder is sandwiched between the main span and another 100-foot long girder and is support by steel pilings capped with concrete. It is unclear why this girder is shorter than the rest. 

 The remains of the old wooden pilings from the first bridge jut up from the ground underneath the 2 far western long girders. When the river floods, these jagged pieces of wood are hidden under the suddenly swift currents of the tea-colored river.

The shadows of the girders make their own set of tracks on the ground below the bridge.To make them lighter, the girders are hollow.  One the left edge of the shadow are the remains of rusty I-beams that have been cut off at ground level.

 

 

The sun peaks through the opening of the open-topped girder, exposing the cross ties and rails of the track.

The  western most long girder shares a pylon with the beginning of the Georgia half of the steel trestle.

 

 

At 620 feet, the western trestle approach is longer than its Florida counterpart because it has to traverse the lower flood plain on the Georgia side of the St. Marys River. It is held up by a series of massive, steel pylons.

 The old wooden trestle pilings have long since been replaced by steel pylons, judging by the brown patina of the graffiti-covered I-beams.

Railfanning in Keen, Nassau County, FL

When it comes to railfan hot spots in Nassau County, FL, the now-vanished hamlet of Keen (or Keene) is not among them. Yet, the Thomas Creek Road/Ratliff Road grade crossing on the Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) line just south of the Norris Siding at Keen does have its moments. Just today while traveling southbound on US 301 I spotted a southbound NS intermodal train crossing under the US 301 Viaduct at Crawford. It was doing below-average speed for an intermodal on a Friday so I veered left on Thomas Creek Road which parallels NS's Valdosta-Jacksonville line (it was built around 1900 as the Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad). It had already cleared the north end of Norris siding (not sure where that name came from) but by the time I made it to Keen, it had stopped just before the south end of the 2.3 mile long siding. I stopped next to the Thomas Creek Road grade crossing (at the intersection of Thomas Creek and Ratliff Roads) and got out. To my surprise the SB intermodal had not only stopped (intermodals are usually high balling to the ports or trying to make the Florida East Coast Railroad (FEC) connection at Bowden Yard), it stopped on the main line and not on the siding.  I figured at first it was waiting on the okay to proceed onto the NS's Simpson Yard in Jacksonville then I noticed the bottom light of the NB track signal was yellow which indicated a NB train had to pass first. (The old NB track signal always had a bottom yellow-top red because of the sharp curve trains had to negotiate just before passing under the US 301 viaduct in Crawford. It only had a red bottom-red top signal when a SB train was on the line).  After about a 15 minute wait I heard the faint whistle of a northbound NS train blowing at the Acree Road grade crossing just to the south of the Duval-Nassau line. I took a pic of the train (pulled by NS locomotives 8842, 9365, and 9821)  as it dipped down and over the Thomas Creek trestle. I took some more as it blew its warning for the Larsen Road and Thomas Creek Roads grade crossings. The engineer waved as he slowed the locomotive down and entered the north end of Norris siding. I figured the dispatchers had him enter the siding (as opposed to having the other train wait on the siding) so that the NB could clear the main  line then wait on the siding for possibly another SB train.  I wanted to drive to Crawford and see if my hunch was right or if the NB slowly reentered the main line without stopping, but duty called and I had to go. However, thanks to my initial spotting of the SB intermodal, I was able to snap some good photos of the oncoming trains. Maybe I need to stop in Keen more often or split my rail fanning time between it and Crawford.

 A southbound Norfolk Southern (NS) intermodal waits on the main line of the old Georgia Southern and Florida RR's (GSF) Valdosta-Jacksonville line. The yellow light on the bottom signal of the new "Darth Vader" track signal means a northbound train will soon make its way from Jacksonville.

 A northbound NS trains blows its whistle as it approaches the Acree Road crossing in Duval County. The Thomas Creek trestle is at the bottom of the dip.

 

 After crossing the short bridge and passing the Larsen Road grade crossing, the Northbound manifest train blows it whistle for the Thomas Creek grade crossing as the crossing bell chimes its impending arrival.

 

 

Slowing down to a near crawl, the northbound train prepares to enter the north end of Norris siding. The middle light of the track signal changed to green for a brief moment then both middle and bottom lights changed to red after the train crosses the small creek bridge and passes the track sentinel.

CSX continues improvements of Callahan-Baldwin sub turnout at Callahan Junction

Looking south at the Baldwin-Callahan sub from the CR 108 grade crossing in Callahan

 

CSX will keep the CR 108-River Road grade crossing closed for at least a 3rd week as they continue to double track the turnout off the main line into Florida in Callahan. They have added a second track which seems to be a construction track for their track laying equipment.  Looks like they are added an over head track signal for north bound trains on the main line entering this junction.  I will try to take pics of that as they progress.

CSX widens Callahan-Baldwin sub for double track

 

 

CSX is busy clearing land for a second track from Milepost 20 (at the junction with the main line in Callahan) to Milepost 15.6 (just southwest of the Norfolk Southern diamond) Crawford. If you look close enough you can see the new southbound signal in the distance.There wasn't one there before.  This project is because more CSX trains entering Florida will have to take the Callahan-Baldwin sub in order to bypass Orlando. The State of Florida has purchased CSX's tracks through the town that Mickey build so they can run the Sun Rail commuter transit line from Sanford to Kissimmee.

Railfanning in Crawford FL

The rains has stopped in Nassau County, FL long enough to rail fan in Crawford, FL. The once thriving sawmill town 4 miles southwest of Callahan was founded around 1900 at the crossing of the Atlantic, Valdosta and Western RR with the Florida Central and Peninsular RR. Two years later the AV&W was bought by Southern Rwy and renamed the Georgia Southern and Florida RR and used as Southern's entry to Jacksonville, FL and its ports. Today's rail traffic include car carriers and intermodals to Jacksonville with connections to South Florida via the Florida East Coast RR. It is single tracked from Macon to Jacksonville with a 2 mile long siding stretching from Crawford southward to Keene. The FC&P line was once know as the Florida Railroad. It was built through the area in 1856 as the Sunshine State's first cross peninsular railroad. It became Seaboard Air Line's main line into Florida in 1902. The most common rail traffic on this CSX sub line is manifest and coal. It is single tracked from Callahan to Baldwin with two sidings beginning just south of the diamond: One siding is used as a waiting place for many North bounds to enter the double tracked line in Callahan and the other is used for dropping cars off at the Mulch Manufacturing Plant. Crawford is one of only a few places that CSX and NS intersect in Florida and is a good place to rail fan.