Our primary reason to visit North Florida was to see our daughter and her family in Fleming Island.  We found Green Cove Springs to be a nice base.  The town has a rich history and lovely springs today.

Springs at Green Cove Springs

1876 Church at Green Cove Springs

Folkston Georgia is just across the stateline from Florida and has long been a favorite train watching sight.  We have been visiting whenever in the area for over 15 years and the town keeps improving the experience for railfans.  Our visit this time was especially enjoyable as we met a great many super nice people including some young men from North Carolina who were so knowledgeable and enthusiastic about CSX.  Folkston is known as “The Folkston Funnel” since CSX mainlines from several areas converge to funnel nearly all traffic past the Okeefenokee Swamp into Florida.  The boys counted 60 trains in their first 24 hours! We saw the Tropicana Juice train, Amtrak’s AutoTrain (twice) and many many more.

Folkston Georgia
Gateway to the Okeefenokee Swamp

Historic Depot

Railfan Platform

1 of 60 trains per day

Northbound CSX

Amtrak’s Silver Meteor heading to Miami

Chris and Jeff – Railfans

Every year there are ten times more railfans than residents visiting the Folkston Funnel.