A Railroad Runs Through It

Our firm’s history of environmental assessments dates back to the late 1980s. If there’s a common thread throughout that time, it would have to be one particular railroad line, once called the Orange Belt, some 152 miles of narrow-gauge track connecting St. Petersburg with Sanford, just north of Orlando.

This line was established by Russian exile Peter Demens in 1885, then acquired by H.B. Plant in 1895, who converted it to standard gauge. It ultimately became a part of the Atlantic Coast Line system.

Back in 1989, we cut our teeth on a corridor assessment of a Clearwater section of the line, trying to find environmental threats from abutting industrial activity prior to its conversion to the now popular and well-travelled Pinellas Trail. Ironically, our current assessments of properties abutting the line normally discuss risks related to former railroad activity, such as spills and herbicide applications, etc.

Now that I know the line’s history and have encountered it many times in my work, it’s interesting to track on Google Earth. Coming from St. Petersburg, there’s a sweeping turn to the northeast near Tarpon Springs, then it heads through Pasco County northeast through San Antonio, ultimately running a course on the south side of Lake Apopka, and then on to its ultimate destination in Seminole County.

Interestingly, some of Pasco County’s premier new housing developments wrap around or front up to the old Orange Belt, including Starkey Ranch, Asturia, The Preserve, and Bexley Ranch.

I had the privilege of speaking to Mr. Jack Cannon a few years back, the former Bexley Ranch foreman, who remembered the Orange Belt in its “heyday.” He said, contrary to common belief, Tower Road has nothing to do with radio towers, but a tower that used to be present at the Drexel intersection of the Orange Belt and the currently active CSX line. A watchman would keep a sharp eye out for coming trains and rush down to throw the switch.

In my road cycling travels, I’ve also coincidently encountered the corridor as I’ve ridden the hills in San Antonio and Trilby, and again in Clermont, Oakland, and I suspect Sanford on my Cross Florida rides.

The Orange Belt's route appeared equally as challenging, known to be a "rollercoaster-like" ride, as the tracks gave way to the elevations of the land they traversed. Even so, it would have likely been a bit safer than on two wheels!