Riding the Trails in Cary State Forest: The Good, The Bad, and the Beautiful

The hard surface of Pavilion Drive shown above was ideal to ride on, as was the grass covered Powerline Road. Dirt roads like the one shown below were difficult to ride on as the soft sand cause my bike to often fishtail. Since today was a great day to ride, I threw my bicycle into the back of my pick up and drive to Cary State Forest (CSF) which straddles the Nassau-Duval Line just north of Bryceville. CSF consists of several tracts of timberland that together totals 13,000 acres. It is home to countless wildlife, vegetation and of course trees which is what the pioneers to Nassau County came here for. Recreation wise, CSF is know for hiking, nature walking, camping and horse back riding. They have a nice outdoor pavilion that holds about 50 people and an observation tower to view the wildlife although there is a bike symbol on the main kiosk, some of the roads are not bike friendly. CSF has numerous roads that were once logging paths can be divided into three types: limestone paved, grass and dirt. Mike trek began on Pavilion Road which leads from the main entrance on US 301 to the Fire equipment shed, a total of about a mile. It is the only hard limestone? surface I encountered at CSF. After it ended, little used dirt roads (Fox Squirrel Road and Moccasin Slough) and that had the grassy crest in the middle were the norm for a while. My bike was no match for the soft sand that made up the ruts and I had to walk my bike on numerous locations. However, I did come across grassy roads such as Power Line and Deer Track Roads that made bike riding easier. Overall, today was a good learning experience. I had a chance to enjoy the natural beauty of Cary State Forest and experience its various types of roads. One day we may have a hard surfaced multi use trail that would connect US 301 with Ford Road through CSF.

2011 Railroad Days and Railfanning in Callahan FL

The 2011 Railroad Days Festival in Callahan has come and gone but the excitement of the two day event still lingers. We were blessed by great weather and the biggest 2 day turn out ever. The West Nassau Historical Society really did a great job putting it on. Thanks as well to the Town of Callahan officials, Nassau County Commissioners and the surrounding community for their support. Nothing helps me wind down then railfannning from the US 301 viaduct in Callahan. CSX has cleared a large swathe of underbrush and trees from the tracks leading up to the junction of their two main lines in Florida. Speculation has it that CSX is planning to double track the junction or upgrade the sharp curve that branches off the main line toward Baldwin. Since CSX has sold their track inside the metro Orlando area for a commuter line, they will be diverting a lot of their Southbound freight trains off the main line to Jax onto the line to Baldwin, Ocala toward Tampa.

Rail Bed and Trestle from Callahan to Mills Creek perfect for trail

The wide rail bed behind the historic Callahan Depot


The Mills Creek Trestle and rail bed beyond



Mills Creek Trestle and old wooden pilings underneath

The abandoned CSX rail bed that runs from downtown Callahan northeast to Petree Road would make a perfect nature and bike trail. The 1.4 mile long path was once part of the historic Florida Railroad grade that was the Sunshine State's first cross peninsular track that connected Fernandina on the Atlantic to Cedar Key on the Gulf, a distance of 155 miles. Prolific railroad contractor Daniel Callahan and his crew built this now unused section in 1856. The first 1600 feet of bed between the CSX junction to US 1 is extra wide because it once held two parallel railroads, the above mentioned Florida Railroad and their rival, the Savannah, Florida and Western Railroad, built by railroad baron Henry Plant in 1881. It is void of trees and is mowed during the summer months. Old cross ties are starting to peak through the worn spots that become mud holes when it rains. This wide section (100-120 feet in width) is vacant except for the parcel containing the 1881 SFW depot owned and maintain by the West Nassau Historical Society. The non profit group hosts the Railroad Days Festival in late March to bring awareness of the important role railroads played in the development of Nassau County. Beyond US 1, the bed narrows into the typical single track grade (about 50 feet wide) as it parallels Martin Luther King Ave. The narrow width makes it unsuitable for any type of permanent structures but is ideal for a bike and nature trail. It is currently unmowed and there are small deciduous trees growing upon the bed that makes it noticeable in Aeriel view. The grade is solid, level, measures about 1 to 2 feet above the terrain and is basically intact except for a couple of cuts made for driveways and roads. However, once the bed passes Annie Laura Street (3600 feet from the CSX junction), it starts to rise as it cuts through the low wooded area around Mills Creek. MLK Avenue ends and the rail bed makes its solo trek though the low laying woods, rising from 2 feet to about 8 feet in height. It is now void of trees and the grass is kept low by a thin layer of ballast and fallen leaves. At 4600 feet from the CSX junction, the bed gives way to a 250 feet long concrete trestle that spans Mills Creek where it forms at the confluence of Alligator and Williams Creek. The bridge was built in the early 1980s over the remains of a wooden trestle whose wood pilings were sawed off at ground level under the new span. The new sturdier span wasn't used for very long as CSX abandoned the line to Gross and Savannah in 1985. Mills Creek flows from this point under the trestle eastward into Four Creeks State Preserve nearly 2 miles away. The creek is still navigate and would make for a nice kayak/canoe trip to Four Creeks. The rail bed continues Northeast from the Mills Creek Trestle for about 1500 feet until it reaches Petree Road where the line forks into two directions. To the right (east) continues the 1856 Florida Railroad bed toward Yulee. Abandoned in the mid 1950s, most of this bed has been lost to time, either leveled, sold to private owners or paved over as part of the SR 200/ A1A widening project. To the left branches the Gross Line rail bed which makes a bee line through privately own timber lands and a wildlife management area to Gross, a long vanished whistle stop near I 95 and US 17 just south of the St. Marys River. This line built by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1923 was used to bypass the busy Jacksonville terminal. It was part of the 1985 rail abandonment by CSX. Today the bed and trestle would make a nice nature and bike trail connecting the historic Callahan Depot with a kayak and canoe portage via a natural wooded forest.

2011 RAILROAD DAYS FESTIVAL MARCH 25-26 AT THE HISTORIC CALLAHAN DEPOT

The West Nassau Historical Society will be hosting the 2011 Railroad Days Festival on March 25 and 26 in and around the historic Callahan Depot. The nonprofit group is hosting their 6th festival to raise funds for the upkeep of the 1881 Callahan train depot and the preservation of Nassau County history. There will be food and craft vendors, classic cars, steam-driven machines, live entertainment and photo exhibits on both days. On Saturday, the 2011 Railroad Days parade will begin at 11 AM and makes its way through downtown Callahan. There will also be kids entertainment both days. The Historical Society will open its archives inside the Callahan Depot thanks to the generosity of Rayonier. The group will also plant a Centennial oak tree in commemoration of the signing of the Town of Callahan's charter in May of 1911. For more info, email CallahanRRDays@aol.com

Railfanning in Fernandina Beach-First Coast Railroad

Photos: A halloweened-colored FCRD engine sits vacant at the Fernandina Rail yard. The Fernandina Depot at Mile Post Zero, the Northern terminus of the Florida Railroad. A yellow diesel slowly chugs up the tracks toward the Port of Fernandina Beach. Pulling about 20 cars, the locomotive heads southward back into the rail yard.

I went to a lecture about a Native American archaeological dig site on Amelia Island tonight at the Amelia Island Museum of History in Fernandina Beach.. I arrived 40 minutes early so I decided to walk several blocks to Centre Street where several blocks of mint condition 1880s brick buildings stand. On the corner of Front and Centre Streets stands the Fernandina Depot, the brick Victorian style station is at Mile Post Zero of the historic Florida Railroad which was the Sunshine State's first cross peninsular railroad. The line is presently leased by CSX Transportation to the First Coast Railroad owned by Genesee and Wyoming. I started to take a picture or two of the depot when I heard the familiar two shorts blasts from a diesel engine's horn. I turned southward and saw the yellow and black trimmed locomotive engine creeping northward sans cars from the large rail yard toward the Port of Fernandina Beach. 15 minutes later it pulled about 20 old graffiti-covered box cars southward over the Centre and Ashe streets grade crossings where I stood. The early evening sun lit the train perfectly so I got a few good shots. Fernandina is not one of Nassau's hottest spots for train watching but it does have a railroad, a depot and a large train yard so it does has its moments.

Railfanning the First Coast Railroad at the Amelia Island Swing Span Bridge

I was driving back from Amelia Island to Callahan today and was stopped at the US 17/SR 200 traffic light in Yulee. As I waiting for the light to change my ears perked up ad I heard the familiar sound of a train whistle. I knew I was too far away for it to be a CSX train blowing at the SR 200 grade crossing so I looked to my right and saw the signals flashing at the US 17 grade crossing a couple hundred yards to the North. I railfan the CSX and Norfolk Southern tracks in Nassau County all the time but this was a rare treat for me: Seeing a First Coast Railroad freight train slowly move out of their yard and head east toward Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach. FCR is a 32 mile short line owned by Genesee and Wyoming and consists of two lines branching North and East from Yulee. The tracks were former Seaboard Air Line and CSX lines: The Yulee to Fernandina Beach was part of the original historic Florida Railroad built in 1856 and the Yulee to Seals/Kingsland, Georgia portion was built in late 1880s as part of Seaboard Air Line's main line from Savannah to Florida. Although there is a swing span bridge on the Florida/Georgia State line over the St. Marys River ( a typical narrow girder bridge that is locked in place and can be opened only with 48 hours notice to CSX), the highlight of the short line is the century old truss span over the busy Intracoastal Waterway between Yulee and Fernandina. Knowing the train I was seeing had to soon cross that beautiful half painted steel bridge, I quickly turned down Pages Dairy Road and raced back toward Fernandina. I passed an FCR hi rail truck which I soon figured out was carrying the bridge tenders. I parked under the SR 200 bridge and waited for the slow moving train. After 15 minutes at 10 AM sharp, the bridge tenders I had passed in Yulee sounded the warning horn and slowly swung the bridge into place. A few minutes later a single yellow unmarked diesel engine slowly crawled upon the concrete approach trestle and entered the truss span, pulling a couple of box cars, a lumber car, a tanker and about 20 coal cars headed for one of the paper mills on the Island. Within minutes the trailing black tanker car train had cleared the span and the tenders re swung the bridge back to its open position to much delight of the several boats that were now waiting to pass through the bridge channel. I continued back toward Callahan, pleased I had seen a FCR train in action over the historic span.

Railfanning in Keen and Crawford, Nassau County, Florida

CSX Northbound manifest enters the Crawford Road grade crossing north of the Crawford diamond toward Callahan, Florida

Northbound NS manifest pulls onto the Macon-Jacksonville line and crosses the Crawford diamond headed toward Valdosta and Macon, Georgia

NS southbound combo intermodal/auto carrier races across the Crawford diamond toward Jacksonville, Florida. A semi tractor trailer crosses the US 301 viaduct (built 1932) in the background.

A NS southbound intermodal speeds across the Thomas Creek Road/Ratliff Road grade crossing in Keen, Nassau County, Florida, headed for Jacksonville. Keen was founded in 1900 as a timber stop on the Georgia Southern and Florida's Valdosta to Jacksonville line. it was named for James Mitchel Keen who owned most of timber land in the area.

Some say Friday the 13th is an unlucky day, but as a rail fan today was truly a lucky day. I was on my way to my dad's place with no plans to rail fan. As I crossed the Norfolk Southern's Ratliff Road/Thomas Creek Road grade crossing in Keen, Nassau County,Florida, I spotted a Southbound NS train fast approaching. (This section of the Norfolk Southern rail network was at one time known as the Georgia Southern and Florida Railroad that ran from Macon to Valdosta, Georgia, then branched off into two lines running into Florida, one to Palatka {built 1890} and this one to Jacksonville {built 1900}). I pulled off the road just in time to snap a picture of the long inter modal racing toward Jacksonville. I turned my truck around and headed north on Thomas Creek Road toward Crawford, passing a Northbound NS manifest train waiting patiently on the Crawford siding. I figure I could snap a picture of it as it crossed the Crawford diamond on its way north to Valdosta and Macon, Georgia. I crossed US 301, turned west onto Crawford Road, sped across the CSX Callahan-Baldwin line and stopped a minute later at the NS Woods Lane grade crossing. (Woods Lane is part of the old Baldwin Road that was the main road from Callahan to Baldwin before US 301 was built in the 1930s). As I parked my truck, I was expecting the NB manifest to be slowly chugging under the US 301 viaduct and pulling onto the main line. Instead to my surprise I saw the SB signal still on green, meaning there was another Southbound NS train holding up the Northbound manifest. Sure enough another Southbound NS combination inter modal/auto carrier came racing across Woods Lane and through the diamond. Loud banging sounds echoed through the nearby pine trees as each truck hit the guide rails of the crossing. Finally after about 15 minutes the Northbound manifest slowly entered the main NS line just east of the CSX line. I could feel the power of the engines as it gained speed through the diamond, pulling Herzog gondolas and tanker cars. Thinking my railfaning was over, I turned around and recrossed the CSX line. As I glanced both ways, I spotted a Northbound CSX train on the south side of the Crawford diamond. I could tell by the smoke rising from the engines it was gaining speed and approaching the Crawford Road crossing fast. By the time I stepped out of my truck, the crossing signals had begun flashing. I was able to capture a pic of a short CSX manifest train heading north toward Callahan and the main line out of Florida. Within an hour I was able to capture pictures of 4 trains as they raced through the old logging villages of Crawford and Keen, Florida. Looks like Fridays are hot days to rail fan in Nassau County, Florida.