The mysterious Ocklawaha.
Posted on 17 May 2009 by k. a. gardner
Mark Szakonyi’s Trade, Trucks and Trains blog is directing traffic over to Metro Jacksonville:
locomotive! courtesy greatamericantrain.com
“The folks at the blog Metro Jacksonville have come up with a way to improve rail, road and air traffic …”
At the conclusion of the conclusion, readers will note:
Article by Bob Mann of Jacksonville Transit Blog
This would seem an opportune time to mention Jacksonville Transit Blog is linked to flipside florida.
Bob Mann is a self-described transportation pundit and his sarcasm of slow-moving vehicles seems legendary. He will no doubt be amused his article, published a full 10 days ago, remained overlooked by this blog until yesterday.
Also overlooked was the Ocklawaha Valley Railroad, which is reasonable because it’s Florida’s Lost Railroad…
“A railroad history, big plans, great route, all combined to make this the little train that couldn’t fail. Evil forces, empires, nabobs and just plain dumb bad luck, made it the little train that couldn’t win”.
Somehow, the description of this lost railroad is eerily reminiscent of the:
” … worlds busiest railroad station, stripped of its trains and former glory, converted into a Convention Center; albeit with with railroad tracks that pass through within a few feet of it. … Jacksonville will never regain its position as the rail passenger hub of the Southeast without coming home to downtown.”
Information on the OCKLAWAHA VALLEY FAN CLUB can be found here.
-k. a. gardner
Hee Hee Hee! I love it Karen, you CAN reach me direct at:
bobissouthern@yahoo.com
Yes, I know the whole world can now see my E:Mail address… Of course you could pull it off too. Then again, what else would a guy do who is the only member of the fan club, for a railroad that has been lost in history? Can you spell ROMANTIC?
Drop me a line, and ALWAYS feel free to use ANYTHING in my blog, or on my lightrailjacksonville@freewebs.com web info site. You or anyone else reading this just give me a credit line (so the attack dogs know where to bite) and your good to go. Photos too!
OCKLAWAHA
Oklawaha may have been one of the first, but its fate was later shared by virtually the whole railroad industry.