7-31-26 Update: The First Coast Update

[Ethan the Railfanner]

31 new pictures and 1 new video of 1 new crossing in Andrews, FL
46 new pictures of 2 new crossings in Becker, FL
134 new pictrues and 1 new video of 1 new crossing in Boulogne, FL
68 new pictures of 3 new crossings in Callahan, FL
45 new pictures of 2 new crossings in Dyal, FL
218 new pictures of 8 new crossings in Fernandina Beach, FL
178 new pictures and 2 new videos of 5 new crossings in Hilliard, FL
5,309 new pictures and 3 new videos of 186 new and 1 updated crossing in Jacksonville, FL
23 new pictures of 1 new crossings in Maxville, FL
71 new pictures of 3 new crossings in Nassau Village-Ratliff
66 new pictures of 3 new crossings in O’Neil, FL
215 new pictures of 7 new crossings in Yulee, FL

Total:
6,404 new pictures
222 new crossings
7 new videos


Big update or small update? I'll let you decide, but to me, I think its both; small because only 13 cities/towns have new crossings, while 11 are new towns completely, and big because the main anchor that dominates 90% of new crossings for this Florida update, is Jacksonville. And why would you assume Jacksonville, FL having SO MANY crossings? You can thank the city for being a consolidated-city county, I.E, all of Duval County is Jacksonville itself, save for a small section of Baldwin.

Regarding the name of the update, why did I choose it to be the “First Coast update?” Here’s a bit of some history: Ft. Caroline, in what is now Jacksonville, was the first settlement by Europeans dating back to 1564! Though the first major city that was established on the First Coast would actually be St. Augustine, dating back to 1565! However, I will save St. Augustine for a future update for various reasons.

Anyways, that’s enough about history. So, what’s in here? Let’s just say… it’s a complex mixed bag. CSX crossings mostly, but you also have NS, FEC, the FCRD, and even the JXPT Port Railroad, but these 3 combined still don’t have enough crossings to overtake how many crossings there are in CSX, because there’s just so many, maybe too many? I don’t know for myself, but anyways; this update also features the south end of the Nahunta Subdivision where all-Florida bound freight coming from the Fitzgerald, Charleston, and other subdivisions go into, so you can really expect many trains along with the double-tracked mainline, (*clears throat* ...Folkston,) for this reason. Sometimes, those freights will not continue to follow the Nahunta Sub, but instead follow southwards along the Callahan Sub, which there, leads to a massive yard south of Baldwin, which later becomes the Wildwood Sub. Also, because of how many crossings there are in Jacksonville, I made the decision to split the city in 3 sections. And with so many pictures and crossings listed, I found a partner on board with this: Chicago.

Let’s just say that trying to document Jacksonville was a complete mess. The reason I say so is because there are so many spurs, branches, and industry leads across Jacksonville, which inflates the number of crossings there. But I should also mention that this city sits on relatively flat land, which makes construction of overpasses/underpasses financially impossible. And this is where in future Florida updates, expect many massive signal setups, including giant cantilevers, bridge cantilevers, and much more; the more signals there are at a crossing, the longer it takes for me to compose a page for it, and also, the harder it was to document. I went to the FEC Mainline in March 2026, and it was absolutely a mess trying to document these massive signals. But I did it.

In terms of crossing equipment, I’d say is… not really that bad, as some can be traced back to the SCL, and even some things tracing further back to the ACL and the SAL, albeit very few. The FEC’s equipment, while not the best, does feature a lot that is usually highlighted in yellow, so in a future FEC update, you can expect a lot of yellow highlighted crossings for this. NS is also similar as well. Please note that there are a few new crossings on the site that have equipment which does not reflect what it looks like today, as since development, I have been aware of many changes to some, such as Post Street & McDuff Avenue #2 Railroad Crossing, which is why I’m aiming for a return back to Jacksonville next year in 2027. The same goes for some FCRD crossings in Kingsland, Georgia, and even in Yulee & Fernandina Beach, Florida too.

And this concludes the Florida Panhandle Update! Big thank you to freebrickproductions and PlyingKibbles89 for bonus action shots and videos of some crossings! But anyways, I will give you a codename for what the next update by me is going to be: “ASC.” No, it will not be an update regarding ASC E-Bells, but it will be an update focusing on North Carolina. What does this ASC stand for you say? Unfortunately, I will not disclose at this time, so you will have to wait until it comes out, which is… whenever it’s ready. If you find any errors in this update, let me know via filling out a bug report, and I will address it when available, or let me know elsewhere. But that’s it for now and until then, see you next time when I will release: “The ASC Update!”