FLORIDA SOUTHERN'S ROLLING STOCK

Florida Southern Railway # 8 photographed by the builder, the Rhode Island Locomotive Works.

A newspaper report said that this engine was made to order so there was no mistake in the missing sand dome.

Sand was applied using the small box under the running borad in front of the first driver, the same method used
by surburban  street railways. This engine may have been painted to match the roads passenger equipment,

which were painted Crimson Lake with a Piano Finish,  Olive Green Trucks and Red Wheels.

FS # 18, the Fanny T. Perry , location unknown. This Brooks order were delivered with Rushton balloon stacks but the 19 was changed over to straight stack for some odd reason. 

FS # 21 the Ocala, location unknown, with its original stack.

Here is a builders photo taken at Dunkirk, NY during the Winter of 1885, hence all the snow.

These narrow gauge Brooks were pretty little machines.

Florida Southern Railway’s Narrow Gauge Roster By Donald R. Hensley, Jr.

No.	Name and Service	Type	Builder	C/N	Date	Cyl.s	Dr.s	Notes
1(1^st)	?	2-6-0	Brooks	284	8/1876	11x16	36	In service photo. Orig Emlelton & Shippensville #2 To FS in April of 1881    Off roster by 1891 receivership.
1(2^nd)	?	4-4-0	Grant	1521	1882	14x20	46	In service photo. Purchased used from Grant 10/1885 – Orig TC&St.L 67 repossessed By Grant and resold to Fla Sou 1. Off roster by 1891
2	?	2-6-0	Brooks	292	10/1876	11x16	36	Orig Emlelton & Shippensville # 3 . To FS in April of 1881 Off roster by 1891
3	?	2-6-0	Brooks	293	10/1876	11x16	36	Orig Emlelton & Shippensville # 4 To FS in April of 1881 Off roster by 1891
4(1^st)	?	2-6-0	Unknown	?	?	?	?	Said to be a Rogers, but rogers built no narrow gauge  engines. To FS in July of 1881
4(2^nd)	? (Freight service in 1891-92)	4-4-0	Grant	1524	1882	14x20	46	Purchased used from Grant 10/1885 – Orig TC&St.L 70 repossessed By Grant and resold to Fla Sou #4 renumbered Fla Sou # 700 circa 1897 to Atlantic Coast Line # 802 circa 1902 Sold to Southern Iron & Equipment 3/4/05
5	?	2-4-4t	Mason	?	?	?	?	Off roster by 1891 second hand arrived Julyof 1881.
6	Geo. B. Nichols (Switcher service in 1891-92)	2-6-0	Baldwin	6007	1/1882			Built for stock To FS in September of 1881 to North State Lumber Co., Charleston, SC 2/17/09
7	John W. Chandler (Passenger service in 1891-92)	4-4-0	Brooks	900	4/1883	14x18	48	Displayed at Nat’l. Exposition of Ry Appliances) To Florida Southern #7 on 11/21/1883 To Bellaire, Zanesville & Cincinnati # 9 in 4/1900 To Ohio River & Western #9 in 1903 To Pennsylvania RR #9665 in 1920 Scrapped 12/1923
8	Sherman Conant	4-4-0	Rhode Island	1477	6/1884	14x18	48	In service photo & Builders Photo. Off roster by 1891
9	James D. Hollister	4-4-0	Rhode Island	1478	6/1884	14x18	48	Off roster by 1891
10	J. R. Edwards (Freight service in 1891-92)	4-4-0	Rhode Island	1479	6/1884	14x18	48	to Southern Iron & Equipment Co. # 271 to Alma RR # 2, Bellamy, NC 1/6/1904
11	Rhode Island	4-4-0	Rhode Island	1493	11/1884	14x18	48	Off roster by 1891
12	? (Switcher service in 1891-92)	2-6-0	Brooks	901	4/1883	15x18	37	Purchased 12/1885 Orig. TC&St.L. #88
13	? (Freight service in 1891-92)	2-6-0	Brooks	902	4/1883	15x18	37	Purchased 12/1885 Orig. TC&St.L. #89
14	Asa C. Potter (Freight service in 1891-92)	4-4-0	Rhode Island	1576	8/1885	14x18	45
15	J.W. Burns Later renamed: Frank Q. Brown (Freight service in 1891-92)	4-4-0	Rhode Island	1586	11/1885	14x18	45
16	R.H. Brown (Freight service in 1891-92)	4-4-0	Rhode Island	1590	11/1885	14x18	45
17	Ed Avery (Freight service in 1891-92)	4-4-0	Rhode Island	1591	12/1885	14x18	45	Sold to Southern Iron & Equipment # 563 Sold to Melton Lumber Co. # 7 (Micanopy, Fla) On 7/24/12 for $1800.00 Sold to SI&E # 1001 Sold to Escambia Mills # 1400 (Pace, Fla) 4/15/19
18	Fanny T. Perry (Passenger service in 1891-92)	4-4-0	Brooks	1086	12/1885	14x18	48	In service photo.
19	John R. Brewer (Passenger service in 1891-92)	4-4-0	Brooks	1087	1/1886	14x18	48	In service photo.
20	? (Passenger service in 1891-92)	4-4-0	Mt. Savage	?	1883	?	?	Possible Display Engine at the Nat’l. Exposition of Ry Appliances in 1883. To Florida Southern in 1885-86
21	Ocala (Passenger service in 1891-92)	4-4-0	Brooks	1089	1/1886	14x18	48	In service photo.
22	Palatka (Passenger service in 1891-92)	4-4-0	Brooks	1088	1/1886	14x18	48	Builders Photo To Bellaire, Zanesville & Cincinnati # 10 in 6/1900 To Ohio River & Western #10 in 1903 To Pennsylvania RR #9666 in 1920 Scrapped 6/1923
23	? (Freight service in 1891-92)	2-6-0	Mt. Savage					Possible Display Engine at the Nat’l. Exposition of Ry Appliances in 1883. To Florida Southern in 1885-86
24	? (Freight service in 1891-92)	2-6-0	Grant	1585	1883	14x20	46	Purchased used from Grant 10/1885 – Orig TC&St.L 72 repossessed By Grant and resold to Fla Sou 24

The Florida Southern began service in 1881 with  six locomotives, all 2-6-0s except for the one tiny Mason Bogie of unkown origins.
During the Summer of 1883, while at the National Exposition of Railway Appliances in Chicago, IL , they visited the Brooks displayed and they purchased the passenger engine on display(it won the Gold Medal), which became number 7 in November of 1883.  With the line to Leesburg finished and freight and passenger business picking up the company in 1884 decided to place an order to Rhode Island for three 4-4-0 passenger engines, which arrived in June of 1884, they soon placed an order for one more, which arrived in November of 1884. #s 8-11

With the completion of the road to Brooksville and Pemberton's Ferry, the line needed more engines, as some of their earlier second hand engines had worn out. A deal came up with the builder Grant, which had some reprocessed narrow gauge engines from the Texas, Cincinatti & St. Louis, these  4-4-0s replaced #1 & # 4. They also were able to pick up a couple of reprocessed Brooks Moguls also ex TC&STL, which beame #s 12 & 13. 

With the building and completion of the Charlotte Harbor Division in late 1885, the railroad placed a large order of 4-4-0s from both Rhode Island (14-17) and Brooks (18-19, 21-22). From Mt. Savage they purchased both a 4-4-0 (20) and a 2-6-0 (23), both of which may also have been an unsold display engine at the expo in 1883 .  To round out the roster there was another repo Grant engine from the TC&STL, a 2-6-0 that became number 24.

A good view of a Florida Southern Ventelated Boxcar on a St. Johns & Lake Eustis train.

The Florida Southern was an early user of  ventilated box cars and built many of these at their car shops in Palatka, but they did buy a large order from the Blaine Brothers Car Factory in Green Cove Springs. It is not known if they had any plain box cars, all photos I have seen shows the vents. Using information from the 1890-1891 Receiver’s Report to the US Courts and the 1893 Equipment Register I have typed up the following roster:

Cabooses A,B,C,D,E,F,G,303,312 & 307 (The last three are ex box cars)

Flat Cars 101-178 28’ 25,000# (1890) 30,000# (1893)
179-218 32’ 40,000# (1890 & 1893)

Box Cars 301 ? 12,000# (1890 only)
301-335 28’ 25,000# (1890, except 301)30,000# 1893
336-445 32’ 40,000# (1890 & 1893)

Stock Cars 600-605 ? ?

St. Johns & Lake Eustis RR Flat & Box Cars 1-17

Officers’ Car Interlachen
1 Parlor Car Governor Perry & Governor Bloxham
Mail Baggage & Express 1-2
Express 3-4, 40-41
Combinations 6-9
Coaches 10-22, 24-30

Bridge Gang Car 1002
Wrecking Coach 23

One of the FS Grant locomotives in Punta Gorda around 1890. May be # 4.

Locomotives in 1890:
Five Passenger engines 7, 18, 19, 20 & 21
Ten Freight engines 4, 10, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23 & 24
2 Switch engines 6 & 12

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