In the course of research for an upcoming story on the big CSX project planned for Winter Haven, I discovered something neat about CSX rail lines in Polk County. The Jacksonville-based CSX runs two primary freight lines through peninsular Florida. They run roughly north-south. One bascially follows Interstates 95 and 4 through Jacksonville and Orlando into Polk County. The other runs more through the center of the state, through Ocala and north Lakeland. The two big lines cross only in Polk County. The exact spot is a little confusing because there are ancillary lines that run east-west through the county as well. (A CSX spokesman didn’t know for sure where.)

As near as I can tell, judging from several maps, the major cross spot is just south of Auburndale.

I’m not sure what this means beyond illustrating just how centrally located Polk is. 

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