I'm trying to track down three or four locomotives that were sold by the Emlenton, Shippenville & Clarion Railroad to the Florida Southern Railroad in 1881, but I'm not sure where to start regarding this.... Did the Florida Southern become part of the ACL line, and is there a book/books that may verify the number of locomotives acquired and what happened to them? I would be grateful to anyone who could point me in the right direction....

Thanks Chris cfleming@csonline.net

-- Christopher Fleming (cfleming@csonline.net), October 14, 2002

Answers

Chris, the Florida Southern became part of the ACL by coming under the control of the Plant System by degrees, beginning in l892, and being completely absorbed in 1895. The Plant System was subsequently merged into the ACL. "The Story of the Florida Railroads 1834 - 1903" by George W. Pettengill, Jr. contains a roster of the F.S. locomotives. Mention is made of F.S. locomotives # 1,2 and 3 coming to the F.S. as second-hand units from an unknown source. All of the other units are identified in terms of origin and builder. No mention is made of the railroad that you mentioned. So, the three units with no data may be the units that you are looking for. I will search through some other sources, and will report any findings. Good Luck! Aaron Dowling

-- Aaron Dowling (aarondowling@cfl.rr.com), October 14, 2002.