The FCEN or rather Florida Central Railroad operates on the fiver separate former CSX transportation lines in the State Of Florida out of two other railroads. It is a shortline railroad and was formed in 1986 operating on over 65 miles of tracking and serving over 65 customers in Central Florida for cities like Orlando, Plymouth, Toronto, Zellwood, Tavares, Eustis, Umatilla, Mt. Dora, Ocoee and Winter Garden. The other two railroads are also shortline routes and visit other parts of Central Florida.

The railroad is a subsidiary of the Pinsly Railroad Company which includes the Arkansas Midland Railroad and Pioneer Valley Railroad in MA. Deer Park Rail Services in Texas. Each railroad has their own Distribution Service center or freight station. In this case we visited one of these Distribution Centers where many old warehouses and factories sat. It would seem that the yard containing cabooses, flat beds, old passenger cars from other railroads including FCEN, and various engines are either being restored or still in use. 

We have visited quite a few trains over the years but this railroad is really special its hidden from the public eye very few know about it. Some of the cars are monsters of course 70 years ago these short lines provided the people with more then just transporting of goods they provided short distance traveling in the Central Florida area.

The yard appears to have trains from the Florida Midland Railroad and The Florida Northern Railroad however they all were owned by the Sam Pinsly Railroad Company. The freight station has box cars as their office mainly and it appears they do some work on the trails and provide the local industry to the area a way to transport their products. 

We spent a long time investigating not only the trains, tracks, and buildings but the freight station. Its a real eerie feeling back in in the dark mainly a fun place if your into trains as well as history but still alot of what is hidden back here is old beat up trains some with broken windows with the wind just howling threw them.

Some of the commodities handled are food, chemicals, lumber, stone, scrap metal, fly ash, furniture, fertilizer, citrus juices, pumice and limestone. Sometimes you will see just an engine and car other times a few cars but this is not a large train operation. 

The Samuel Pinsly Company was founded in 1938 and below you will find further history on Pinsly and his railroad. Its all very interesting!

© By

Lord Rick-AngelOfThyNight

Pinsly Railroad Company is one of the oldest short line railroad companies in the United States. It was founded in 1938 when Samuel M. Pinsly purchased and rehabilitated the hurricane-damaged Hoosac Tunnel and Wilmington rail line in Massachusetts and Vermont, which was threatened with abandonment. Pinsly remains today a company focusing on the acquisition of short line railroads and in revitalizing branch and feeder lines of Class I and regional carriers. Steady growth has been achieved by maintaining a focus on the needs of its customers and by developing strong partnerships with its connecting carriers, CSXT, Union Pacific and Springfield Terminal.

Through a series of strategic short line acquisitions, Pinsly now owns and operates numerous railroads and warehouse/distribution facilities. The railroads include the Arkansas Midland in Arkansas, the Florida Northern, Florida Midland and Florida Central, all in Florida, and the Pioneer Valley in Western Massachusetts. Each of its operating properties is directed by a general manager with substantial railroad experience. Pinsly railroads operate daily on core mainlines of Union Pacific and CSXT. Yard and Industry switching are an essential daily component of all the Pinsly properties. Additionally, through its operating subsidiaries, Pinsly manages rail car supply for its customers.

Railroad Distribution Services (RDS), a wholly owned Pinsly subsidiary, operates warehouse/distribution facilities in Massachusetts, Florida and Arkansas. The original facility was formed by Pinsly in Massachusetts in 1985. RDS-Florida, established in 1988, has become one of the largest lumber distribution facilities in the entire state. Approximately 70 percent of its carloads were previously moved by truck or water, evidencing Pinsly's ability to attract new business to its railroad lines. RDS-Arkansas, which currently transloads lumber, panel board, aluminum and bagged products, is the newest RDS addition providing both indoor and outdoor storage facilities.

RDS was established by Pinsly for transloading products between rail cars and customers without a rail siding, allowing those customers to benefit from lower rail rates. Many customers appreciate the ability to receive one bill for rail freight, transloading, and trucking.

Pinsly maintains a corporate team of marketing, logistics and administrative specialists in its Westfield, Massachusetts headquarters. Marjorie P. (Maggie) Silver, is Pinsly's Chairman. She has been described in the Boston Globe as a "sophisticated businesswoman, a third generation railroader," and by Forbes Magazine as "giving old-time attention to customers by adopting the newest technology." John P. Levine, is President, a fourth generation railroader and grandson of the founder of Pinsly.

From: http://www.pinsly.com/