Lake Francis Nature Preserve & The Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad

Hey everyone. Today I’m taking a trip to the Lake Francis Nature Preserve in the Keystone area of Northwest Hillsborough County for a trail run. It’s 63 degrees and very foggy on this January morning. Lake Francis nature preserve is located off of Tarpon Springs Road. Together with the adjacent Lake Dan Nature preserve, this area is over 2,800 acres of preserve land. Hillsborough County acquired these parcels through the ELAPP program and operates them as a nature preserve. Before we continue down the rest of the driveway I want to give you some background on what we’ll be exploring today. 

I’ve been to this preserve and Lake Dan Nature preserve several times but it wasn’t until I watching one of Danny Harman’s videos on his EXCELLENT Distant Signal YouTube channel that I learned of the existence of the Tampa Northern Railroad and the Tampa and Gulf Coast railroad. I’ve put links to his YouTube channel and all of the reference material for this video in the description. In 1910, the Tampa and Gulf Coast railroad acquired and built a standard guard single track line from the Tampa Northern Railroad mainline in Lutz off of US-41, now the CSX Brooksville Subdivision, through Keystone and Odessa to near present-day State road 54 and Gunn highway in southern Pasco. The line was originally built by the Gulf Pine company to connect its saw mill to the Tampa northern railroad and its routes to Tampa. The Gulf Pine references to the area of Gunn highway just across the Pasco County line can still be found on modern maps today. The line was later extended from Gulf Pine to Tarpon Springs. It’s this specific extension I am going to hopefully track down in this video. This extension flowed from Southern Pasco into northern Hillsborough County and cut directly through what is today the Lake Francis and Lake Dan Nature Preserves. The Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad apparently had the nicknames “Tug N Grunt” and “Pea Vine” because of it’s frequent twists and turns to avoid the many lakes in the Lutz and Keystone areas. The Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad was acquired by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad only five years later in 1915. Of course the SAL eventually merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1967 to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. Another later merger with the Chessie System in 1980 forming what is essentially modern-day CSX. 

This line from Lutz to Gulf Pine was abandoned sometime after 1914 when the railroad built another line from the Tampa Northern Railroad mainline near Sulfer Springs to Pinellas county via Oldsmar. At the same time, the railroad also built a branch line directly north from this new line at Rocky Creek connecting to the Lutz to Lake Fern route near present day Lutz Lake Fern Road and Gunn Highway. By the way, if you’ve ever been to this area of Hillsborough County and wondered how Lutz Lake Fern Road got its name this is how. The road was originally named Vernon Road for an adjacent land owner. In the 1930’s the road was paved and renamed Lutz Lake Fern Road. The path this railroad took from Lutz to Lake Fern follows nearly the exact path of present-day Lutz Lake Fern Road. The branch line from Rocky Creek to Gulf Pine was eventually also abandoned and the right of way was used to construct portions of the Upper Tampa Bay Trail which runs along the Veterans expressway from Linebaugh Avenue north to Peterson Road in Keystone.

So with the background out of the way, lets go over the plan. This is a map of the Lake Francis and Lake Dan Nature preserves. The area we are focusing on is here in the North East portion of Lake Francis Nature preserve. The plan is to start my run at the parking field, head north for about half a mile on the white dotted trail, turn and head east on the orange dotted trail to Lake Francis. From there, head north across the cattle pasture to the path of the former railroad, specifically where it cut through a cypress swamp. From there, I’ll turn around and follow the railroad path west back to an area with some agricultural equipment and storage. Then head south back along the main driveway to the parking lot. There are a two satellite map targets I want to find. There appear to be two rectangular concrete structures directly adjacent to the former rail path, hopefully we will be able to investigate these closer up.  

Heading down the main driveway I pass over a cattle guard. This property does have an active cattle ranching lease with a private rancher. We will see plenty of cattle evidence later today. The main driveway to the parking lot is full of potholes and is very bumpy but adds to the charm in my opinion. At the end of the driveway the road turns onto a grass field which serves as parking for the preserve. The grass is very wet this morning from the dew.   Leaving the parking field and following the main entry driveway towards the preserve next I come up to the pedestrian gate. This is secured with a chain and a clip. Again, all of the egress gates here are secured to keep the cattle inside. Immediately after entering through the gate, I’m on a built up area with some concrete culvert pipes underneath the roadway. This is Brooker Creek. Brooker Creek begins in a large chain of wetlands just north of Lutz Lake Fern Road and flows south through the Brooker Creek Headwaters Nature Preserve and into Keystone Lake. From there Keystone Lake drains into Island Ford Lake, this shot is of Brooker Creek as it exits Island Ford Lake and flows toward Pinellas county eventually into Lake Tarpon. It’s the dry season here in Florida so the creek is pretty empty.

After crossing Brooker Creek, the bumpy driveway continues. Looking off the side of the driveway we see two large blue pipes sticking out of the ground here. This preserve contains a Tampa Bay Water pipeline and the neighboring Lake Dan nature preserve also contains a well field. Tampa Bay Water is a state agency which supplies drinking water to various municipalities throughout the Tampa bay region. Many preserves in Florida serve as drinking water and aquifer recharge sources. On the opposite side of the trail, we see an artificially planted pine forest. These are planted as a cheap and rapid way to restore forests. Private landowners also plant pines like these with the intention of harvesting that pine in the future. Based on Hillsborough County Historical aerial maps it looks like these were planted sometime between 1982 and 2013. Most likely as a habitat restoration effort when this land was purchased by the county.

Looking out over the main path here through the cow pasture you can really see why I believe this is truly one of the most beautiful areas of Hillsborough County. The grass starts to get pretty tall in this area and I continue heading north towards the former railroad path. In between two cypress domes is a culvert that allows water to flow underneath the roadway. Shortly after that I pass through a broken gate and into the final section of pasture. 

Pipes like these are scattered throughout this area. Looking at historical maps, much of the adjacent areas were orange groves at one point. I would assume the same here and these pipes have the characteristics of supplying the irrigation ditches that would run in between the orange trees. We can still remnants of these ditches as I advance the historical aerial images. We’ll see how water got to these standpipes later.

I’m right near the shore of Lake Francis now. If you are at all squeamish look away now. I spot (or rather smell) a dead cow near the shoreline. Not sure if this was from disease, a lightning strike, or something else. Anyways, I keep my distance and continue moving north. I got these beautiful shots of the cypress tress on the shores of Lake Francis.

Moving past Lake Francis I come up to another irrigation standpipe and lots of cattle in the distance. Lots of calfs in the herd currently. Unfortunately, cattle grazing is becoming an increasingly rare site in this area of Florida as the pastures are rezoned for housing. We can see some that development in the distance just into Pasco County outside of the nature preserve.

Continuing East, I reach the spot I was looking for on the map. This is the historical path of the Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad as it cut through the Cypress Swamp here.  And the path of the railroad as it continues West. Here’s more evidence of the drinking water pipeline in this area. It would appear that Tampa Bay Water has re-used the railroad path for the pipeline.  About half-way through the cut through, I find a concrete pipe that links both sides of the swamp for water to flow under the built up area. This pipe is not old enough to be from the railroad days but it may have replaced one that was to keep water flowing. Imagine what the original surveyors and construction crews had to go through to build this railroad path in the early 20th century with no modern equipment. Continuing to follow the rail path west, I find the first of the two rectangular structures I was looking for on the satellite images. The construction on these is far too new to be anything from the railroad and they first appear in the 1982 historical aerials. But are not present in the 1962 images. I would guess these are something related to the orange grove operation but not sure. If you have any ideas what these were used for, let me know in the comments. They are long and rectangular built with rebar and cinder blocks with a stucco cap. Here’s the second one not far from the first.

Looking further west I can see more Tampa Bay Water pipelines and what looks to be some sort of silo. Walking towards it I quickly come across a well with a fuel container on a trailer. The partial license plate is registered in Pasco County in 1996! This is the well which I believe feeds all of those PVC standpipes I saw earlier. A large diesel motor would’ve been here attached to this well. My guess is this silo is used to store cattle feed. No idea if its still used by the current ranchers or leftover from something else.

Here is the path through the Cypress swamp that I just outlined on the satellite map. You can clearly make out the built up berm down the center of the swamp. And look at that! Creosote railroad ties! These are over 100 years old at this point and still here after all of this time in the hot, humid, swamp, never removed by subsequent citrus farmers or ranchers, unlike the other areas of the preserve.

Further down the railroad path, is a cut through the berm with a concrete pipe in it along with more creosote wood that certainly was a bridge structure that allowed water to flow between both sides of the wetland underneath the railroad. You can see Cypress knees growing near the bridge structure as nature continues to reclaim this area.

I follow the rail ties to the end of the wetland and head towards the open field ahead. Just outside the swamp, the railroad berm continues. It’s quite easy to follow the path here as there are still exposed railroad ties in this area and the overall crown of the built up railroad route. I continue to follow the rail ties through an area of Saw Palmettos. There is lots of evidence of the limestone fill they used to make this berm. 

Past that thicket of Saw Palmettos, more limestone fill and exposed rail ties. I’m not sure why, but this entire area seems completely untouched (other than the iron rails and pins being removed) by subsequent farming and ranching activity on this land. Unlike the other portions of the railroad I saw on my earlier visit. 

The clearly visible railroad berm and ties end here as the path enters an open pasture area. The only markers I find are a couple mounds of limestone fill which to me indicates that this pasture area did indeed have the ties removed and the berm leveled.

I locate the berm again further up as the path extends through a dilapidated gate. I find another concrete pipe in this section under the former rail path. Up ahead is Blue Tick Drive and the property boundary of the preserve. I turn back here.

Now back to my original visit to the preserve as I head back South towards the parking field.

Leaving the historic railroad path now, I next turn south and continue my run back towards the parking field along the main driveway. I run into this mother and her calf standing on the main driveway. I decide to keep   my distance and walk in the grass to the open gate to the right instead. Mom watches me the whole way to make sure I’m not going to bother them. Lots more cattle up ahead. Again a truly beautiful site of the open fields, cypress wetlands, and Florida cattle. 

At the next gate in the fence there are two large rectangular structures on each side of the gate. Nearby is a well house which I assume would’ve held the well point and a pump. My guess is these were water cisterns for the cattle. Again, if you have any ideas let me know in the comments. These are the oldest structures we’ve seen so far being present in the 1957 aerial images. Here’s the other one across the other side of the driveway.

I bid farewell to the last cow and head back across Brooker Creek, through the gate, and back to the parking lot. I hope you enjoyed this look back at the Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad and exploring at Lake Francis Nature Preserve. Thank you for watching.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_and_Gulf_Coast_Railroad#/map/0

https://www.tampapix.com/lutzhistory5.htm

https://www.youtube.com/distantsignal 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tampa_Northern_Railroad 

https://hcfl.gov/locations/lake-frances-nature-preserve 

https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/2f9acc38abbb4fd9890ae7808f4c2da3 

https://www.adamhollifield.com/2025/12/brooker-creek-headwaters-nature-preserve.html