List of Railroads Incorporated in Florida - 1850s

1850s

• The Florida, Atlantic & Gulf Central Railroad was chartered by the state legistature in 1851. Construction began in 1855 on a route from Jacksonville to Alligator (renamed Lake City in 1859). The line was completed to Lake City in 1860.
• The Pensacola & Georgia Railroad was chartered by the state legislature in 1853. In 1855 the company's charter was amended to allow the company to connect Pensacola to Lake City. Construction began in Tallahassee in 1856. That same year the Pensacola & Georgia acquired control of the Tallahassee Railroad. The first new section of the railroad, from Tallahassee to Capitola, opened in 1857. The line from Tallahassee to Lake City was completed at the beginning of 1861. The Pensacola & Georgia Railroad opened an extension from Tallahassee to Quincy in 1863. The Florida portion of a line from Lake City to Lawton, Georgia was completed by the Florida & Georgia Railroad in 1865.
• The Alabama & Florida Railroad was chartered by Florida in 1853. It opened its first track between Pensacola and Pollard, Alabama in 1861. The company went bankrupt and was sold at foreclosure to the Pensacola and Louisville Railroad in 1869. It was reorganized as the Pensacola Railroad in 1877, and sold to the Louisville and Nashville Railroad a few years later.
• The Florida Railroad was chartered by Florida in 1853. Originally conceived as a line from Amelia Island (Fernandina Beach) to Tampa, with a branch to Cedar Key, the company decided to build the Cedar Key branch before extending to Tamps. The line from Fernandina had reached Starke by 1858, and Cedar Key in 1860.
• In 1858 the legislature chartered the St. Johns Railroad, running between Tocoi Landing on the St. Johns River and New Augustine, on the San Sebastian River across from St. Augustine. It was in operation by 1860.