Florida Central Railroad summary
The Florida Central Railroad (FCEN) is a short line railroad operating out of Orlando, Fla. It is one of three of the state’s shortline railroads that is part of Regional Rail, LLC. As its name implies, the railroad’s 68 miles of standard-gauge track serves the central region of the state from downtown Orlando to as far as Umatilla in the northwest.
History
The Florida Central Railroad was once part of the former Seaboard Coast Line. By the 1980s, the SCL’s successor, CSX Transportation, was looking to dispose the lightly used track. Under new ownership by the holding firm Pinsly Railroad Company, the Florida Central began operations in 1986 from Orlando to both Umatilla and Sorrento in the northwest. A branch line from Forest City to Winter Garden crosses the main line at Toronto. Four years later, the railroad would take over the final miles to downtown Orlando, known as the “Orlando Switching District.” On October 29, 2019, it was announced that an agreement was made for Regional Rail to acquire the Florida Central from the Pinsly Railroad.
Operations
The Florida Central directly serves industries in downtown Orlando, Apopka, Zellwood, Mt. Dora, Tavares, Eustis, Umatilla, Ocoee, and Winter Garden. The railroad bases its Orlando operations out of Modello Yard and handles most of the work on the Orlando Switching District at night. Transloading and railcar storage are provided with space in a “self-service” secured yard on West Amelia Street in downtown. The end of the main lines in Umatilla and Sorrento provide storage for privately owned freight cars.
A total of five first-generation General Motor diesel locomotives serves the FCEN which also operates on both the Florida Midland Railroad and Florida Northern Railroad. Some were once part of the Pinsly Railroad’s roster pool, and still carries the company’s red and yellow paint scheme. The most notable locomotives being the EMD GP9RMs, rebuilt by the Canadian National Railway in the early 1990s.
The Florida Central interchanges with CSX at Taft Yard, 8-miles south of Orlando. Trackage rights on the Central Florida Rail Corridor is made possible to reach the yard while sharing passenger traffic with SunRail commuter trains and Amtrak.
Read more about the Florida Central Railroad in Trains’ June 2017 issue.
