The Seaboard Air Line's Sarasota Subdivision ran from the hamlet of Durant to Sarasota, approximately 70 miles. Most recently while studying historical topography maps, I was able to locate and trace some unique features of this area. The area was largely developed by the phosphate industry in the 1930s with many of the mines playing out by the 1950s. The move eastward from eastern Hillsborough County was in part due to the abundance of phosphate deposits found in Polk County, Florida and the communities of the western edge of the Bone Valley.
Small towns such as Valrico, Turkey Creek, Durant, and Edison were the gateways to the rich deposits of phosphate which were being mined in western Polk County since hydraulic mining and excavation became the standard mining practice. The railroad bisected the deposits and was integral in transporting the phosphate to and from various mines, washers, storage facilities, and ports.
The northern terminus of the SAL's Sarasota subdivision was nothing more than a wide spot on the railroad and to this day is largely a nondescript spot in the road, however, it was an important link in the railroad. This junction would serve as a direct link from Tropicana located in Bradenton to Plant City allowing for movement of unit juice trains northward.
SCL utilized this route to bypass and avert the delays of Tampa in favor of a direct connection in Plant City and points north. Following the merger, SCL would utilize the former ACL rails to move Tropicana products. This line was removed during the 1980s by CSX due to a lack of customers and redundancy. The rails provide an interesting glimpse into the history of the area and what was. The old line remains extant south of Willow where the Florida Railroad Museum operates, however all trackage northward is gone.
The SAL's Valrico subdivision was also home to several wyes some of which interchanged with customers. This area is located south of State Road 60 (the bold purple line) and was once home to Sydney Phosphate Mine. Mining in the area stretched north of the yard and was once home to a large processing facility. Today, this area is now an EPA superfund site due to contamination of the soil, and remains undeveloped scrub. To date, I've not found any images from this area and it appears operations ceased as late as the 1950s. The trackage is completely removed and no indication of the wye exists.
The removal of the SAL's Sarasota subdivision trackage in eastern Hillsborough County removed duplicated trackage and the important history of this link. The right of way is largely inundated with undergrowth and trees now, however, electric utilities have used much of the right of way for transmission lines. Sadly, images of this unique Florida segment of railroading are few and far between, but definitely of interest to those who model SAL and SCL in Florida.
