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[CNJRoss]

Railway Age. 10/5/22

 

Hurricane Ian Shutters Short Line; Service May Not Restart Until 2023

 

Written by Bill Wilson, Engineering Editor; and Editor-in-Chief, Railway Track & Structures

 

 

Hurricane Ian destroyed six rail bridges on the SGLR line.

 

It may not be until next year when the Seminole Gulf Railway sees carloads moving again.

 

Hurricane Ian ruthlessly disabled the short line railroad company, headquartered in Fort Myers, Fla., last week.

 

A total of six rail bridges were destroyed during the violent storm.  . . .

 

 

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[KevinKorell]

Seminole Gulf Railway had a slate of murder mystery dinner trains scheduled for this month, and in the past had a regular tourist excursion run from Fort Myers up to North Fort Myers and to IIRC Port Charlotte or Englewood.  Without the bridge over the Caloosahatchee River, no more.

[CNJRoss]

Trains News Wire

 

News photos: Aerial views show extent of Seminole Gulf damage

 

October 8, 2022

 

Florida short line faces months of recovery after Hurricane Ian

 

A view of one of six Seminole Gulf Railway bridges destroyed by Hurricane Ian. Sol Tucker

 

 

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Aerial photos from Trains News Wire contributor Sol Tucker provide some indication of the extent of the damage sustained by southwest Florida’s Seminole Gulf Railway as a result of Hurricane Ian.

 

The photos were taken Friday (Oct. 7).

 

Railroad officials said earlier this week that at least a half-dozen bridges on the 100-mile railroad based in Fort Myers had been lost as a result of the Category 4 hurricane which devastated Florida’s west coast on Sept. 28. That includes three bridges over the Caloosahatchee River in the Fort Myers area [see “Seminole Gulf Railway faces lengthy closure …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 5, 2022].

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

Trains News Wire

Seminole Gulf estimates hurricane repairs will cost $28 million

 

October 21, 2022

 

Railroad hosts government officials in effort to gain emergency aid

 

Track on the Seminole Gulf Railway dangles over

a washout caused by Hurricane Ian on Oct. 7, 2022.

Sol S. Tucker

 

FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Seminole Gulf Railway, devastated by Hurricane Ian, is now estimating it will take $28 million to return the 105-mile railroad in southwest Florida to operation.

 

WBBH-TV reports the railroad hosted government officials on Thursday in an effort to rally support for emergency funding, so the railroad can return to operation and help haul lumber and other supplies needed to rebuild the Fort Myers area after the hurricane.

 

 

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[CNJRoss]

Railway Track and Structures, 2/22/24

 

Seminole Gulf Railway Operates First Test Train Across Caloosahatchee River

 

 

FORT MYERS, Fla. – SGLR has operated its first test train across the entire span of the Caloosahatchee River after Hurricane Ian destroyed railroad bridges.

 

Seminole Gulf Railway (SGLR) has announced freight service has been restored to Fort Myers, Florida. According to the release, it has been 511 days (17 months) since Hurricane Ian hit the area. The storm surge destroyed the rail bridges that cross the Caloosahatchee River into Fort Myers. Now, SGLR has “successfully operated its first test train across the entire span of the river, delivering railcars trapped in Fort Myers back to the national rail system.” SGLR expects to begin regular freight service to Fort Myers in March 2024. It also expects to restore the entire route of the Murder Mystery Dinner Train in late spring 2024.

 

 

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