Alabama and Florida Railroad (1986–1992)

Last updated
Alabama and Florida Railroad
Alabama & Florida A & F 6011 (GP9) (10570774743).jpg
Alabama & Florida 6011, an EMD GP9, in 1990
Overview
Reporting mark AFLR
Dates of operation1986 (1986)1992 (1992)
Successor Alabama and Florida Railway
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Length79 miles (127 km)

The Alabama and Florida Railroad( reporting mark AFLR) was a short-line railroad which operated in Alabama and Florida. The company operated a former Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N) line between Georgiana, Alabama and Geneva, Alabama. Pioneer Railcorp acquired the line in 1992 and created a new company, the Alabama and Florida Railway, to operate it.

Contents

History

The Alabama and Florida (A&F) owned two routes: Georgiana, AlabamaGeneva, Alabama and Crestview, FloridaFlorala, Alabama. The Georgiana line was begun in 1898 by the Alabama and Florida Railroad and completed by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in 1902. [1] [2] The Crestview line opened in 1894 under the Yellow River Railroad, which was acquired by the L&N in 1906. [3] Both lines passed to the Seaboard System Railroad, the L&N's successor, in 1982.

Gulf and Ohio Railways purchased both lines in 1986 and created a new subsidiary, the Alabama and Florida Railroad, to operate them. The railroad began operating on July 28, 1986. [4] The company abandoned the former Yellow River Railroad in December 1987. The A&F also leased a 2.9-mile (4.7 km) line from the Andalusia and Conecuh Railroad in the vicinity of Andalusia, Alabama. [5]

The Gulf and Ohio sold the railroad to A&F Inc. on August 12, 1990. Pioneer Railcorp acquired the assets of the company on November 23, 1992, and organized a new railroad, the Alabama and Florida Railway, to operate the lines. [5] [6]

Notes

  1. Alabama Railroad Commission 1904 , p. 61
  2. Klein 2003 , p. 286
  3. Herr 2000 , p. 141
  4. Lewis 1991 , p. 11
  5. 1 2 Lewis 1996 , p. 292
  6. "Employer Status Determination: Alabama & Florida Railway" (PDF). Railroad Retirement Board . Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 4 March 2015.

Related Research Articles

Graceville, Florida City in Florida, United States

Graceville is a city in Jackson County, Florida, United States. It is near the Alabama state line. The population was 2,278 at the 2010 census. A large portion of Graceville's rural acreage is located in Holmes County, Florida, United States.

Bay Line Railroad

The Bay Line Railroad is one of several short line railroad companies owned by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. It operates between Panama City, Florida, and Dothan, Alabama, including a branch from Grimes to Abbeville, Alabama, reached via trackage rights on CSX's Dothan Subdivision between Dothan and Grimes. The line interchanges with the Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad at Cottondale, Florida, and with the CSX Dothan Subdivision near Dothan, Alabama. It also interchanges with the Chattahoochee Bay Railroad in Dothan.

Atlanta and St. Andrews Bay Railroad

The Atlanta and St. Andrews Bay Railroad, also known as the Bay Line, was a Class I railroad which operated in Alabama and Florida. The company was founded in 1906 and opened its mainline between Dothan, Alabama, and Panama City, Florida, in 1908. Later reclassified as a short-line railroad, its assets were acquired by the Bay Line Railroad in 1994.

The Alabama and Florida Railway was a short-line railroad headquartered in Andalusia, Alabama. It was owned and operated by Pioneer Railcorp of Peoria, Illinois. It operated a former Louisville and Nashville Railroad branch line from Andalusia to Geneva, Alabama. The company abandoned the entire line in 2011.

The Chattahoochee and Gulf Railroad was a short line railroad operating from 2003 to 2006 between Columbus, Georgia and Dothan, Alabama, on former Central of Georgia and Norfolk Southern tracks. Initially the railroad was a subsidiary of Gulf and Ohio Railways. In 2006, the railroad was acquired by Genesee & Wyoming Inc. and combined with the adjacent H and S Railroad out of Dothan to form the Chattahoochee Bay Railroad.

Conecuh Valley Railroad

The Conecuh Valley Railway, L.L.C. connects with the CSX at Troy, Alabama, and travels 15.04 miles (24.20 km) to Goshen, Alabama. This short line railroad was created after 2001 from the former Southern Alabama Railroad and is currently owned and operated by Genesee & Wyoming.

Eastern Alabama Railway

Eastern Alabama Railway, LLC is one of many short line railroad companies owned by Genesee & Wyoming, Inc.. On November 26, 1990, the line was sold by CSX to the Eastern Alabama Railway, a subsidiary of Kyle Railways. Kyle Railways later sold the EARY to RailAmerica in 2002 and RailAmerica was acquired by Genesee & Wyoming in 2012.

Three Notch Railroad

The Three Notch Railroad runs from a connection with CSX Transportation at Georgiana to Andalusia, Alabama, 36 miles (58 km). This short line railroad was created in 2001 and is currently a subsidiary of Genesee & Wyoming.

Yadkin Valley Railroad

The Yadkin Valley Railroad is the trade name of the Piedmont and Atlantic Railroad and is a shortline railroad operating two lines leased from the Norfolk Southern Railway originating out of Rural Hall, North Carolina for a distance of 93 miles (150 km). The railroad began operation in 1989 and is currently a subsidiary of Gulf and Ohio Railways.

Gulf and Ohio Railways

Gulf & Ohio Railways is a holding company for four different short-line railroads in the Southern United States, as well as a tourist-oriented passenger train, and locomotive leasing and repair service through Knoxville Locomotive Works. Gulf & Ohio maintains its corporate headquarters in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Pine Belt Southern Railroad was a shortline railroad formerly operating on two disconnected track segments in east central Alabama. Upon its start in 1995 the railroad ran over a branch from Nuckols to Hurtsboro, Alabama. In 1996 a second branch was acquired, extending from Roanoke, Jct., near Opelika, to Lafayette, Alabama. Together the lines totaled 42.4 miles (68.2 km) and the railroad was controlled by Richard Abernathy.

The Southern Alabama Railroad was a shortline railroad formerly operating between a connection with CSX Transportation at Troy to Goshen, Alabama, about 15 miles (24 km). The railroad currently exists as the Conecuh Valley Railroad subsidiary of Gulf and Ohio Railways.

The Hartford & Slocomb Railroad was a shortline railroad operating 22 miles (35 km) of track from Dothan to Hartford, Alabama. Largely abandoned in 1992, the remaining tracks from Dothan to Taylor were sold to Gulf and Ohio Railways and operated as the H and S Railroad. The railroad was purchased by Genesee & Wyoming Railroad in 2006, after which it was combined with a neighboring property, the Chattahoochee and Gulf Railroad to form the Chattahoochee Bay Railroad.

The Gulf and Mississippi Railroad was the first regional railroad in the United States upon its creation in 1985. With over 713 miles (1,147 km) of track in the states of Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama it was among the largest spin-off railroads in the post-Staggers Act era. MidSouth Rail acquired the entire G&M railroad in 1988, operating it as a separate entity, SouthRail. Kansas City Southern purchased MidSouth Rail in 1994 and most of the former G&M lines are still in service under KCS.

The Atlantic and Gulf Railroad was a shortline railroad that previously operated 77 miles (124 km) of track between Thomasville and Sylvester, Georgia, via Albany. The Atlantic & Gulf was created in 1991 from former CSX tracks and currently exists as part of the Georgia & Florida Railway, a subsidiary of OmniTRAX.

The Dothan Subdivision is a railroad line owned and operated by CSX Transportation in the U.S. states of Georgia and Alabama. The line runs from Thomasville, Georgia, to Montgomery, Alabama, for a distance of 211.1 miles (339.7 km).

The Andalusia and Conecuh Railroad was a shortline railroad formerly operating between Gantt and Andalusia, Alabama, United States 8.7 miles (14.0 km). It was largely abandoned in 1987, with the remainder leased to the Alabama and Florida Railway. A portion of the railroad survives today as part of the Three Notch Railroad.

The Georgia Great Southern Railroad was a shortline railroad formerly operating between Dawson and Albany, Georgia, 24.2 miles (38.9 km). The railroad was partially abandoned in 1994. RailTex consolidated its holdings in the area into the Georgia Southwestern in 1995, and the Georgia Great Southern ceased to exist as a separate railroad.

The Columbia and Silver Creek Railroad was a shortline railroad formerly operating between a connection with the Illinois Central at Silver Creek to Columbia, 28.7 miles (46.2 km). Later the railroad shifted location from the Columbia line to a branch from Taylorsville to Soso, Mississippi and was owned by Richard Abernathy. Currently the original line exists as part of the Gloster Southern Railroad, while the newer segment was abandoned.

The Abbeville–Grimes Railway Company, also known as the A&G Railroad after 1994, was a shortline railroad formerly operating from Grimes to Abbeville, Alabama, 26.9 miles (43.3 km). The railroad was merged with the Bay Line Railroad in 1996 and continued operation under the new name.

References