Melvin Branch

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The 1952 SAL map on page 5 of 1st quarter 2000 Lines South shows a small branch from Plains Fl to Melvin. This shows up on Terraserver as an abandoned line with a former Wye at Plains. The old line goes down to the east side of Lake Istokpoga and stops. Anyone know what this little branch was for and when it was taken up?

-- Jim Coviello (jcovi60516@aol.com), June 04, 2000

Answers

Jim - The branch of the SAL you cite originally ran from Plains, through Wild Island and Melvin to a point a little way beyound Sunvale, Fla. Judging by SAL system maps, the branch was in use by January 1930, but had been cut back to Melvin by 1952. The branch is not in a December 1960 SAL employee timetable, leading me to believe it was out of use by that time. As to use... Possably a citrus branch? There were two other nearby SAL branches that you might want to research. In Sebring there was a branch to Sebring Airfield, and between Zana and Indiantown there was a branch, or very long siding, to a sugar mill. I have no dates on either of these, but suspect post 1950's

-- Tom Underwood (tlunder@attglobal.net), June 05, 2000.

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