You’ll hear the train a running, running down the tracks for the first time since Hurricane Ian washed away the bridges that carry Seminole Gulf Railway’s goods — and some entertainment — to Southwest Florida.
The shortline railroad will begin crossing the Caloosahatchee River bridges sometime in mid to late March, said Robert Fay, executive vice president.
Hurricane Ian destroyed six bridges and several miles of track when it smash-mouthed Southwest Florida on September 28, 2022.
“They were wiped away by the hand of God,” Fay said.
Storm surge destroyed the bridges over the Caloosahatchee and flood waters took care of the bridges over the Peace and Myakka rivers, he said.
Seminole Gulf mostly carries aggregates such as rock and granite and building materials such as drywall and lumber as well as LP gas, plastics, steel, recycled materials, and other bulk commodities.
It normally runs from Arcadia, where CSX’s tracks end, to Constitution Boulevard in San Carlos Park.
The railroad had to change game plans after the storm. It diverted much of the goods to its line in Sarasota, where trucks did the rest of the work.
The diversion added 30 to 40 percent more in costs for businesses.
Seminole Gulf lost business because many companies couldn’t afford to pay the extra costs.
“We lost hundreds of carloads worth of business because of that,” he said.
The loss of carloads translated into losing hundreds of thousands of dollars and into the millions, Fay said.
The losses included not being able to run the popular Murder Mystery Dinner Train, which rolls out of a depot just off Colonial Boulevard, for several months. Many passengers said they won’t come back until the train can run its full route.
The railroad had to take several steps to get back on track.
Step one was to improve the infrastructure in Sarasota. Then it had to fix the bridges over the Peace and Myakka rivers and four-miles of damaged track.
Once step one was finished, Seminole Gulf could get it's cars to North Fort Myers near Bayshore Road to unload.
The company started rebuilding the bridges over the Caloosahatchee in late spring of 2023.
The repairs cost Seminole Gulf around $15 million, Fay said. The company paid for the fixes with their reserves and bank loans. Employees did most of the repairs.
The railroad made its first test run last week, but Fay said he couldn’t give an exact date when regular runs will start. He estimated it will be between St. Patrick’s Day and Easter.
The dinner train won’t begin its full-length excursions until mid to late spring, he said.
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