The Atlantic and Gulf Railroad went bankrupt on January 1, 1877, and Henry Plant bought it on November 4, 1879, reorganizing it as the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway on December 9.
The Waycross and Florida Railroad and East Florida Railway were chartered in February 1880, forming the Georgia and Florida parts of the "Waycross Short Line". That line, running from the main line at Waycross southeast to Jacksonville, Florida, opened in April 1881.
On May 30, 1887, Florida state law chapter 3794 was approved, authorizing the SF&W to build lines from Tallahassee and Monticello north to the Georgia state line, connecting to branches from Thomasville, Georgia. The Tallahassee Branch was never built, but the Monticello Branch opened in 1888.
In 1890, the 3ftnarrow gaugeFlorida Southern Railway went into receivership and remained so for two years. During this time, its Charlotte Harbor branch operated independently and converted this portion of the line to 4ft8+1⁄2in. In 1892, Plant bought the Florida Southern Railway under foreclosure and reorganized it as the Florida Southern Railroad. At this time, the Florida Southern system stretched from the south end of the Plant System at Gainesville south via Ocala, using trackage rights over the South Florida Railroad's Pemberton Ferry Branch, to Punta Gorda. The Florida Southern Railroad was integrated with the rest of the Plant System in 1896 and was converted to 4ft8+1⁄2in that same year.[3]
In 1895, Plant bought the 3ftnarrow gaugeSanford and St. Petersburg Railroad (previously the Orange Belt Railway) in 1895, which stretched across the state from Sanford to St. Petersburg. The most profitable section of this line was immediately converted to 4ft8+1⁄2in, leaving the remaining section from Trilby to Sanford in its original gauge. The 4ft8+1⁄2inFlorida Midland Railway in the Orlando area was acquired in 1896, its line north of the Sanford and St. Petersburg Railroad was abandoned, and its remaining track from Sanford to Kissimmee was converted to 3ftnarrow gauge. By keeping these two connecting lines the same narrow gauge, they were able to work in conjunction with one another, utilizing the same narrow gauge equipment from both the Sanford and St. Petersburg Railroad and the recently converted Florida Southern Railroad.[4]
The Plant System built the nearly straight 54mi (87km)Folkston Cutoff in southeast Georgia in 1901.[5] This ran from the old Waycross and Florida Railroad at Folkston north via Nahunta to Jesup on the SF&W mainline, allowing trains to bypass Waycross and save 19mi (31km) over the old route.
In 1901, the following companies were also merged into the SF&W:
Alabama Midland Railway
Brunswick and Western Railroad
Charleston and Savannah Railway
In 1902 the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad acquired the entire Plant System, connecting at Charleston, SC. The components were soon merged into the ACL. The system has since become part of CSX after several mergers.
Associated with the railroad were the Plant Steamship Line and Canada Atlantic and Plant Steamship Co., Ltd., both with Henry B. Plant as chief officer.[12] The Tampa based steamships served Cuba by way of Key West, Mobile, Alabama, and two local routes. The Canada Atlantic and Plant Steamship Co., Ltd., with no direct company terminal as at Tampa, served Boston and Canadian points at Halifax, Cape Breton, and Prince Edward Island. Advertising touted "Plant Steamship Line — Ships ply between the ports of 3 great nations: United States (Port Tampa, Key West, Mobile, Boston), England (Dominion of Canada), Spain (Cuba)."[13]
Atlantic and Gulf Railroad (1879), Guide to southern Georgia and Florida: containing a brief description of points of interest to the tourist, invalid, or immigrant, and how to reach them (5thed.), Savannah, Ga, OCLC1805741, OL6952927M{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
