Winston and Bone Valley Railroad


The Winston and Bone Valley Railroad was a railroad line running the Bone Valley region of Central Florida. It connected to the South Florida Railroad main line near Lakeland. A vast majority of the line remains in service by CSX Transportation, who operates it today as their Bone Valley Subdivision.

History

The Winston and Bone Valley Railroad began operations in 1892. It was founded by J.D. Griffin and William Mills Winn, who had operated a lumber mill just four miles northwest of Lakeland since 1884. They relocated the mill to a location four miles west of Lakeland in 1892. The location of this lumber mill became known as Winnston, which would later be shortened to Winston. Griffin and Winn built the Winston and Bone Valley Railroad to serve the lumber mill.
There was also heavy demand for rail service in the area's flourishing phosphate industry, and the 16-mile line also ended up serving many of the areas phosphate mines. The line was later leased to the Plant System in 1900, which also operated the nearby South Florida Railroad and Florida Southern Railway. The line was then extended to connect with the Florida Southern in Fort Meade. The lease was inherited by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902 when they took over the Plant System. The Coast Line then bought out the line completely in 1909, designating it as their Bone Valley Branch.

Current Operations

The line continues to be operated today by CSX Transportation, the Atlantic Coast Line's corporate successor. It connects to the CSX A Line and Winston Yard, and the track currently ends in Agricola. Track from Agricola to Fort Meade was abandoned by 1982.
The line crosses the Valrico Subdivision in Mulberry in the median of State Road 37. It also crosses the Achan Subdivision in Achan.