Florida Gulf and Atlantic Railroad

Last updated
Florida Gulf and Atlantic Railroad
Overview
Headquarters Tallahassee, Florida
Reporting mark FGAR
Locale Florida Panhandle
Dates of operation2019 (2019)present
Predecessor
  • Louisville & Nashville Railroad
  • Seaboard Air Line Railroad
  • CSX Transportation
Technical
Track gauge 4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Other
Website railusa.com/railroads/florida-gulf-atlantic-railroad/
Route map

Contents

Main Line
(Tallahassee Subdivision/P&A Subdivision)
BSicon numN270.svg
BSicon CONTg.svg
CSX
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon xKRZlr+lr.svg
BSicon CONTfq.svg
CSX
Callahan Subdivision
S Line (Wildwood Subdivision) →
BSicon BST.svg
SP 653.0
Baldwin
BSicon BST.svg
SP 656.3
Mattox
BSicon BST.svg
SP 660.8
Macclenny
BSicon BST.svg
SP 673.9
Sanderson
BSicon SKRZ-G4u.svg
BSicon BST.svg
SP 680.7
Olustee
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon KRZ.svg
BSicon CONTfq.svg
Norfolk Southern Railway
Navair District
BSicon BST.svg
SP 694.3
Lake City
BSicon SKRZ-G4u.svg
BSicon BST.svg
SP 704.2
Wellborn
BSicon exCONTgq.svg
BSicon eKRZ.svg
BSicon exCONTfq.svg
fmr. Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
← to Du Pont · to High Springs
BSicon BST.svg
SP 715.3
Live Oak
BSicon SKRZ-G4u.svg
BSicon BST.svg
SP 735.5
Lee
BSicon BST.svg
SP 745.6
Madison
BSicon BST.svg
SP 756.4
Greenville
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon KRZ.svg
BSicon CONTfq.svg
Georgia and Florida Railway
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon hKRZWae.svg
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon BST.svg
SP 764.6
Aucilla
BSicon BST.svg
SP 770.8
Drifton
BSicon exCONTgq.svg
BSicon eKRZ.svg
BSicon exCONTfq.svg
fmr. Perry Cutoff (ACL)
← to Monticello · to Perry
BSicon BST.svg
SP 787.9
Chaires
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon hKRZWae.svg
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon BST.svg
SP 799.3
Tallahassee
BSicon eABZgl.svg
BSicon exCONTfq.svg
fmr. Tallahassee Railroad (SAL)
to St. Mark's
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon xABZq+r.svg
BSicon eKRZ.svg
BSicon exSTR+r.svg
FGAR
Bainbridge Subdivision (see below)
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon YRD.svg
BSicon exLSTR.svg
Tallahassee Yard
BSicon STRl.svg
BSicon ABZgr.svg
BSicon exLSTR.svg
BSicon STR.svg
BSicon exCONTf.svg
fmr. Georgia, Florida and Alabama Ry. (SAL)
to Carrabelle
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon hKRZWae.svg
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon BST.svg
SP 811.4
Midway
BSicon SKRZ-G4u.svg
BSicon BST.svg
SP 823.4
Quincy
BSicon BST.svg
SP 825.6
Douglas City
BSicon BST.svg
SP 828.7
Gretna
BSicon ABZg+l.svg
BSicon CONTfq.svg
AN Railway
BSicon BST.svg
BSicon STR+GRZq.svg
SP 842.5
00K 811.5
Chattahoochee
Tallahassee Subdivision
P&A Subdivision
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon hKRZWae.svg
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon BST.svg
00K 801.5
Grand Ridge
BSicon BST.svg
00K 796.6
Cypress
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon hKRZWae.svg
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon BST.svg
00K 785.9
Marianna
BSicon BST.svg
00K 776.7
Cottondale
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon KRZl.svg
BSicon CONTfq.svg
Bay Line Railroad
BSicon BST.svg
00K 767.2
Chipley
BSicon BST.svg
00K 758.0
Bonifay
BSicon BST.svg
00K 750.0
Caryville
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon hKRZWae.svg
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon BST.svg
00K 747.3
Westville
BSicon BST.svg
00K 741.0
Ponce de Leon
BSicon BST.svg
00K 729.7
DeFuniak Springs
BSicon BST.svg
00K 716.5
Mossy Head
BSicon KRWgl+l.svg
BSicon ENDExeq.svg
BSicon exCONTfq.svg
fmr. Eglin Air Force Base Railroad
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon hKRZWae.svg
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
Shoal River
BSicon BST.svg
00K 700.8
Crestview
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon hKRZWae.svg
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon BST.svg
00K 680.0
Harold
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon hKRZWae.svg
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon BST.svg
00K 670.3
Milton
BSicon BST.svg
00K 668.6
Bagdad
BSicon BST.svg
00K 666.1
Avalon
BSicon BST.svg
00K 663.3
Pace
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon hKRZWae.svg
BSicon dWASSERq.svg
BSicon SKRZ-G4u.svg
BSicon BST.svg
00K 645.0
Pensacola
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon ABZqr.svg
BSicon ENDEeq.svg
CSX
Bainbridge Subdivision
BSicon numN000.svg
BSicon CONTg.svg
CSX
BSicon BST.svg
SLC 77.8
Attapulgus
BSicon STR+GRZq.svg
Georgia
Florida
BSicon BST.svg
SLC 66.7
Havana
BSicon SKRZ-G4u.svg
BSicon STR+l.svg
BSicon ABZrxl.svg
BSicon exLSTR+r.svg
BSicon BST.svg
BSicon exLSTR.svg
SLC 52.0
Tallahassee
BSicon CONTgq.svg
BSicon ABZql.svg
BSicon YRDq.svg
BSicon STRq.svg
BSicon exLSTR.svg
BSicon CONTfq.svg
FGAR
Main Line (see above)
BSicon exCONTf.svg
fmr. Georgia, Florida and Alabama Ry. (SAL)
to Carrabelle
Note: Not to scale

The Florida Gulf and Atlantic Railroad( reporting mark FGAR) is a Class III railroad owned and operated by RailUSA in the Florida Panhandle. The line consists of 430 miles (692 km) of track running from Baldwin, Florida (just west of Jacksonville) west through Tallahassee to Pensacola. The line also has a short branch from Tallahassee north to Attapulgus, Georgia. The line connects to CSX lines in Baldwin, Pensacola, and Attapulgus.

The FG&A began operation on June 1, 2019, after RailUSA acquired the line from CSX Transportation. [1]

The Jacksonville-Pensacola line was the route of the Gulf Wind streamliner from 1949 to 1971. After two decades of freight-only service, passenger service resumed in 1993 when the route of Amtrak's Sunset Limited was extended beyond New Orleans to Orlando. Amtrak service was suspended in 2005 due to damage to track and trestles by Hurricane Katrina, and has never resumed east of New Orleans.

Lines and history

Tallahassee station. The station was used by the Sunset Limited prior to 2005. Tallahassee FL JPM RR depot01.jpg
Tallahassee station. The station was used by the Sunset Limited prior to 2005.

The 373 miles of the Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad comprise the main line between Baldwin and Pensacola. The main line is known as the Tallahassee Subdivision east of the Chattahoochee River and the P&A Subdivision west of the river. The Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad's Bainbridge Subdivision runs as a branch line between Tallahassee north to Attapulgus, Georgia. [2] The system connects with CSX Transportation at each end of the line in Baldwin, Pensacola, and Attapulgus. CSX has trackage rights on the line but plans to use the line only if their lines to the north are impassable. [3]

Tallahassee Subdivision

The Tallahassee Subdivision of the main line dates back to the mid-1800s. It was first built as the Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Central Railroad from Lake City to Jacksonville in 1857. The Pensacola and Georgia Railroad built the line between Quincy and Lake City which was completed by 1863. The line would then be extended east to Chattahoochee to connect with the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad.

In 1882, the lines were acquired by Sir Edward Reed, and were renamed together as the Florida Central and Western Railroad. Two years later, Reed brought the Florida Central and Western and several other Florida railroads he had purchased under the umbrella of what was named the Florida Railway and Navigation Company, which, in 1888, was renamed the Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad (FC&P). In 1900, a year after purchasing the majority of FC&P stock, the newly organized Seaboard Air Line Railway (a predecessor of CSX Transportation) leased the FC&P and, in 1903, acquired it outright. [4] CSX previously operated this segment as their Tallahassee Subdivision. The line has a centralized traffic control signal system between Tallahassee and Baldwin. [5]

P&A Subdivision

The P&A Subdivision of the main line runs west from Chattahoochee to Pensacola, Florida. This segment of the main line was originally built in 1881-1883 by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, operating it as a subsidiary, the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad. William D. Chipley and Frederick R. De Funiak (General Manager of the L&N), both of whom are commemorated in the names of towns later built along the P&A line (Chipley and DeFuniak Springs), were among the founding officers of the P&A. The line was merged into the L&N in 1891. In 1982, the L&N was merged into the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, which in 1986 became part of CSX Transportation, operating this segment as its P&A Subdivision (a reference to the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad).

Bainbridge Subdivision

The Bainbridge Subdivision runs from the FGAR main line in Tallahassee north to Attapulgus, Georgia, where it connects to CSX's Bainbridge Subdivision, which continues north to Bainbridge, Georgia. The Bainbridge Subdivision was first built in 1901 by the Georgia Pine Railway. The line was only intended to be a shortline for logging, but since it provided an additional rail route from Georgia into Florida, traffic increased. As a result, the line was renamed the Georgia, Florida and Alabama Railway by the end of 1901. The GF&A Railway bought the Carrabelle, Tallahassee and Georgia Railroad in 1906, which ran from Tallahassee south to Carrabelle. [6]

The Georgia, Florida and Alabama Railway, which extended from Richland, Georgia, to Carrabelle, Florida, at its greatest extent, became part of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1927. [7] The Seaboard lines, after various other mergers, became part of CSX Transportation in 1986.

The line's milepost numbers begin in Tallahassee at 52 and increase from there. This is due to the fact that the numbering still reflects the line's full length to Carrabelle, which was mile 0 before the track between there and Tallahassee was abandoned. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad</span> Historic railroad system

The Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad was the final name of a system of railroads throughout Florida, becoming part of the Seaboard Air Line Railway in 1900. The system, including some of the first railroads in Florida, stretched from Jacksonville west through Tallahassee and south to Tampa. Much of the FC&P network is still in service under the ownership of CSX Transportation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plant System</span> Historic railroad system

The Plant System, named after its owner, Henry B. Plant, was a system of railroads and steamboats in the U.S. South, taken over by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. The original line of the system was the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway, running across southern Georgia. The Plant Investment Company was formed in 1882 to lease and buy other railroads and expand the system. Other major lines incorporated into the system include the Savannah and Charleston Railroad and the Brunswick and Western Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Southwestern Railroad</span>

The Georgia Southwestern Railroad is a Class III short line railroad company that operates over 234 miles (377 km) of track in southwestern Georgia and southeastern Alabama. Beginning in 1989 as a division of the South Carolina Central Railroad on a pair of former CSX Transportation lines, the railroad has since undergone a number of transformations through abandonments and acquisitions, before arriving at its current form. The railroad was formerly a RailAmerica property before going independent, and in 2008 it was acquired by Genesee & Wyoming Inc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tallahassee station</span> Historic train station in Florida

Tallahassee station, also known as the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile Railroad Company Freight Depot, is a historic train station in Tallahassee, Florida. It was built in 1858 and was served by various railways until 2005, when Amtrak suspended service due to Hurricane Katrina. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

The Gulf Wind was a streamlined passenger train inaugurated on July 31, 1949, as a joint operation by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad and the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. The Gulf Wind replaced the heavyweight New Orleans - Florida Express on this routing. The Gulf Wind was a limited stops train and offered amenities such as dining cars and Pullman service. The train left Jacksonville at night and arrived in New Orleans in the evening, as the Express had done.

The Florida Railroad was the first railroad to connect the east and west coasts of Florida, running from Fernandina to Cedar Key. The line later became part of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad, and, where still in use, is operated by CSX Transportation and the First Coast Railroad. The highway corridor of SR 24, US 301, and SR A1A/SR 200 closely parallels the former Florida Railroad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad</span> Former railway company in Florida

The Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad (P&A) was a company incorporated by an act of the Florida Legislature on March 4, 1881, to run from Pensacola to the Apalachicola River near Chattahoochee, a distance of about 160 miles (260 km). No railroad had ever been built across the sparsely populated panhandle of Florida, which left Pensacola isolated from the rest of the state. William D. Chipley and Frederick R. De Funiak, both of whom are commemorated in the names of towns later built along the P&A line, were among the founding officers of the railroad company.

The Florida Central and Western Railroad was a rail line built in the late 1800s that ran from Jacksonville west across North Central Florida and the part Florida Panhandle through Lake City and Tallahassee before coming to an end at Chattahoochee. The line was later part of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad network from 1903 to 1967, and was primarily their Tallahassee Subdivision. The full line is still in service today and is now part of the Florida Gulf and Atlantic Railroad.

The Bainbridge Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in Georgia. The line runs from Bainbridge south to Attapulgus for a total of 13.3 miles. At its north end it continues south from the Georgia Southwestern Railroad and connects with CSX's Dothan Subdivision and at its south end it connects to the Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad's Bainbridge Subdivision, which continues south to Tallahassee, Florida.

The Brooker Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in Florida. The line runs from the CSX S Line at Wannee Junction in Starke to Newberry for a total of 39.6 miles. At its north end it continues south from the Wildwood Subdivision and at its south end it junctions at a wye with the Florida Northern Railroad.

The Jacksonville Terminal Subdivision is a group of railroad lines owned by CSX Transportation in and around Jacksonville, which was historically a major railroad hub. The Jacksonville Terminal Subdivision includes about 13.0 miles of track.

The Wildwood Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in Florida. It runs along CSX's S Line from Baldwin south to Zephyrhills via Ocala and Wildwood for a total of 155.7 miles. The S Line is CSX's designation for the line that was the Seaboard Air Line Railroad main line from 1903 to 1967.

The PD Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in Florida and Alabama. The line runs from Pensacola, Florida, north to Flomaton, Alabama, for a total of 41.0 miles (66.0 km). At its south end it connects to the Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad and at its north end it continues north as the M&M Subdivision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Florida and Alabama Railroad</span>

The Georgia, Florida and Alabama Railroad, known as the Sumatra Leaf Route, and colloquially as the Gopher, Frog & Alligator was a 180 miles (290 km)-long railroad from Richland, Georgia to Carrabelle, Florida. It was founded in 1895 as a logging railroad, the Georgia Pine Railway.

The Waycross Short Line was the unofficial name of a railroad line built by Henry B. Plant that ran from Waycross, Georgia to Jacksonville, Florida on the St. Johns River. The line through Georgia was chartered by Plant as the Waycross and Florida Railroad and the Florida segment was chartered as the East Florida Railway. The line crossed the Georgia/Florida border just south of Folkston, Georgia at the St. Marys River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Main Line (Atlantic Coast Line Railroad)</span> Historic railroad in the Southeast

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad’s Main Line was the backbone of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's network in the southeastern United States. The main line ran from Richmond, Virginia to Port Tampa just southwest of Tampa, Florida, a distance of nearly 900 miles. Along its route it passed through Petersburg, Rocky Mount, Florence, Charleston, Savannah, Jacksonville, and Orlando. With the exception of a short 61-mile segment in Greater Orlando, the entire line is still owned by the Atlantic Coast Line's successor, CSX Transportation, and is still in service as their A Line.

The Seaboard Air Line Railroad’s Main Line was the backbone of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad's network in the southeastern United States. The main line ran from Richmond, Virginia to Tampa, Florida, a distance of over 800 miles. Along its route it passed through Petersburg, Raleigh, Columbia, Savannah, Jacksonville, and Ocala, Florida. While some segments of the line have been abandoned as of 2022, most of the line is still in service and is owned by the Seaboard Air Line's successor, CSX Transportation as their S Line.

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's Waycross—Montgomery Line was one of the company's secondary main lines running from Waycross, Georgia west to Montgomery, Alabama, a distance of over 300 miles. It was built in the late 1800s by the Atlantic Coast Line's predecessor companies. The line is still in service today and is now the Thomasville Subdivision and Dothan Subdivision of CSX Transportation, the Atlantic Coast Line's successor company through various mergers.

References

  1. "Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad, LLC-Acquisition and Operation Exemption With Interchange Commitment-CSX Transportation, Inc". Federal Register. 2018-12-21. Retrieved 2019-06-05.
  2. "Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad". RailUSA. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  3. Stephens, Bill (12 December 2018). "CSX to retain trackage rights on Florida Panhandle". Trains Magazine. Retrieved 23 July 2019.
  4. Turner, Gregg (2003). A Short History of Florida Railroads. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN   978-0-7385-2421-4.
  5. CSX Jacksonville Division Timetable
  6. Hensley Jr., Donald R. "The story of the Georgia Florida & Alabama RR". Taplines. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  7. "Georgia, Florida & Alabama Railway". Georgia's Railroad History & Heritage. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  8. Harmon, Danny. "How To Read Trackside Signs & Markers". YouTube. Retrieved 12 December 2018.

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In chronological order: