Railroad Oakhurst-Seminole
This is a photo of the first train coming through Oakhurst-Seminole in 1914. The train is on the Tampa & Gulf Coast Railroad or TG&C R.R. The destination is St. Petersburg Florida.
The little engine was called the “Tug and Grunt” of the ACL line. The photo was taken just a few yards from where you are standing. The train puffed out smoke and cinders. The tracks are now the Pinellas Trail which runs the entire length of Pinellas County.
The railroads were essential for the citrus growers. There was no other way to get to Tampa until the bridges were built in the 1920’s.
There was an Oakhurst RR Station just a few yards away from here on the West side of the tracks (see the 1925 map Dolph map which shows the station and Meares Lake). If you wanted to catch the train you had to flag the train down to stop it. Invoices for shipping grapefruit and oranges were found on the grounds of the Maurice Meares home here by children playing. The home was torn down in 1974.
There was an Oakhurst Railroad Station. There was also a station at Walsingham (Located at Walsingham and Ridge Road), Seminole Station (east of overpass on Seminole Blvd.), and the Bay Pines Station (west of the Bay Pines VA Hospital). See photos of all three stations.
There were also other major railroads like the Atlantic Coastline Railroad or ACL. This line came from Sanford and Jacksonville to St. Petersburg in 1888. These tracks go across Ulmerton and Bryan Dairy Roads. These lines merged to become the Coastal Airline Railroad, CAL, in 1967.
In the late 1930’s the streamliners made their appearance in Florida. The Silver Meteor traveling at 53 mph came from New York to St. Petersburg in 23 hours. This uniquely shaped diesel engine pulled stainless steel boxcars, sleeper’s diners, observation cars and coaches. The Silver Meteor brought many land speculators to Florida. They came right to the area of the museum.
The SAL also carried the Barnum and Bailey Circus through Seminole to St. Petersburg. See the photos of railroad stations, the SAL timetable and the 1925 Dolph Map showing the Oakhurst station and Meares Lake.