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Clearwater Subdivision

February 15, 2024

Clearwater Subdivision
Legend

The Clearwater Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the Tampa Bay region of Florida. The line begins just east of downtown Tampa in Gary and heads north through some of Tampa's suburban neighborhoods. In Sulphur Springs, the Clearwater Subdivision turns and runs west through Oldsmar, where it crosses Tampa Bay. It briefly shifts south running through Safety Harbor, and then heads west again to Clearwater. In Clearwater, it turns southeast, running through Largo and Pinellas Park before terminating at Fifth Avenue North in St. Petersburg near Tropicana Field. The distance from Gary to St. Petersburg along the line is 48.6 miles (78.2 km).[1] At the line's north end it continues from the Tampa Terminal Subdivision and at its south end the track comes to an end.[1][2]

CSX locomotives pulling a circus train in Safety Harbor, Florida, on the Clearwater Subdivision in 1992

History edit

 
The Silver Meteor of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) with shrouded steam locomotive #865 at the St. Petersburg station in 1940.

From Tampa north to Sulphur Springs, the Clearwater Subdivision runs along the former Tampa Northern Railroad, which was built in 1908. From Sulphur Springs west to Clearwater, it runs along the former Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad, which was built in 1914. Both the Tampa Northern Railroad and the Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad were absorbed by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) in 1913 and 1915 respectively. From Clearwater to St. Petersburg, the line runs along the southern end of the historic Orange Belt Railway, which was built in 1888. It later became part of the Plant System, which soon after became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL).

Both the Atlantic Coast Line and the Seaboard Air Line networks merged on July 1, 1967, to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad.[3] Following the merger, the SAL track was abandoned south of Clearwater, replaced by a new crossover built in North Clearwater at milepost SY873.0 to permit use of the former ACL line south to St. Petersburg.[4] On November 1, 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line became part of CSX.[5]

From the 1910s to the 1960s, both the ACL and SAL operated long-distance passenger trains over portions of what is now the CSX Subdivision. SAL trains used what are now CSX Subdivision tracks between Gary and Clearwater, with stations in Oldsmar and Safety Harbor. ACL trains ran on the now-CSX Clearwater Sub's tracks between Clearwater and St. Petersburg. When Amtrak took over rail passenger service on May 1, 1971, it operated the Silver Meteor and Silver Star deluxe passenger trains over the Subdivision, providing Clearwater and St. Petersburg with daily overnight service to New York and intermediate points.

Regularly-scheduled passenger rail service on the line ended on February 1, 1984, when Amtrak discontinued its rail services in Pinellas County, choosing to terminate its trains at Tampa Union Station.[6] Substitute Amtrak Thruway service has been provided since then between Tampa Union Station and Pinellas Park. The old SAL passenger stations in Safety Harbor and Oldsmar were demolished in 1965 and 1967, respectively.[7]

Recent history edit

 
End of the line at 5th Avenue with severed track segment in the distance

In March 2008, the Clearwater Subdivision's trackage in downtown St. Petersburg was pulled up, along with the South Side Spur, which ran south of Central Avenue and east of 34th Street South (part of the former Seaboard line).[8][1] That right-of-way, as well as the right-of-way of several other former CSX railroad lines in the county beginning in the 1990s, was converted into a section of the Pinellas Trail. Today, the line ends at 5th Avenue North in St. Petersburg. Though, some severed track segments remain between I-375 and Tropicana Field.

In 2015, CSX proposed to sell both the Clearwater and Brooksville Subdivisions to the Florida Department of Transportation for potential use as commuter rail. FDOT is currently studying this possibility. Similar transactions between FDOT and CSX have taken place in the Miami and Orlando areas for tracks that today run the Tri-Rail and SunRail commuter lines respectively.[9]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c "Jacksonville Division Timetable No. 4" (PDF). CSX. January 1, 2005. pp. 47–50.
  2. ^ CSX Clearwater Sub, RadioReference.
  3. ^ Luisi 2010, p. 106.
  4. ^ Luisi 2010, p. 110.
  5. ^ Luisi 2010, p. 114.
  6. ^ Luisi 2010, p. 116.
  7. ^ Luisi 2010, pp. 104 and 109.
  8. ^ "Trail enters downtown – A Pinellas Trail extension will reach the waterfront". St. Petersburg Times. March 9, 2008. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  9. ^ Johnston, Caitlin. "CSX's offer finally opens the door to commuter rail in Tampa Bay". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
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Bibliography edit

 
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February 15, 2024
clearwater, subdivision, vtelegendcsx, brooksville, subdivisionsy, sulphur, springsi, 275drew, spursr, 589veteran, expresswayi, 4csx, linesy, gary, tampa, linehillsborough, countypinellas, countysy, oldsmartampa, baysy, safety, harborsy, clearwaterformer, oran. vteClearwater SubdivisionLegendCSX Brooksville SubdivisionSY 848 6 Sulphur SpringsI 275Drew SpurSR 589Veteran s ExpresswayI 4CSX A LineSY 843 5 Gary Tampa CSX S LineHillsborough CountyPinellas CountySY 862 6 OldsmarTampa BaySY 866 4 Safety HarborSY 874 9 Clearwaterformer Orange Belt Railway ACL to SanfordSY 875 6ARE 882 6 BelleairARE 884 3 LargoI 275ARE 897 1 St Petersburgformer Orange Belt Railway ACL to Downtown St Petersburgformer Tampa and Gulf Coast RR SAL to Downtown St PetersburgThe Clearwater Subdivision is a railroad line owned by CSX Transportation in the Tampa Bay region of Florida The line begins just east of downtown Tampa in Gary and heads north through some of Tampa s suburban neighborhoods In Sulphur Springs the Clearwater Subdivision turns and runs west through Oldsmar where it crosses Tampa Bay It briefly shifts south running through Safety Harbor and then heads west again to Clearwater In Clearwater it turns southeast running through Largo and Pinellas Park before terminating at Fifth Avenue North in St Petersburg near Tropicana Field The distance from Gary to St Petersburg along the line is 48 6 miles 78 2 km 1 At the line s north end it continues from the Tampa Terminal Subdivision and at its south end the track comes to an end 1 2 CSX locomotives pulling a circus train in Safety Harbor Florida on the Clearwater Subdivision in 1992 Contents 1 History 1 1 Recent history 2 See also 3 References 4 BibliographyHistory edit nbsp The Silver Meteor of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad SAL with shrouded steam locomotive 865 at the St Petersburg station in 1940 From Tampa north to Sulphur Springs the Clearwater Subdivision runs along the former Tampa Northern Railroad which was built in 1908 From Sulphur Springs west to Clearwater it runs along the former Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad which was built in 1914 Both the Tampa Northern Railroad and the Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad were absorbed by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad SAL in 1913 and 1915 respectively From Clearwater to St Petersburg the line runs along the southern end of the historic Orange Belt Railway which was built in 1888 It later became part of the Plant System which soon after became part of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad ACL Both the Atlantic Coast Line and the Seaboard Air Line networks merged on July 1 1967 to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad 3 Following the merger the SAL track was abandoned south of Clearwater replaced by a new crossover built in North Clearwater at milepost SY873 0 to permit use of the former ACL line south to St Petersburg 4 On November 1 1980 the Seaboard Coast Line became part of CSX 5 From the 1910s to the 1960s both the ACL and SAL operated long distance passenger trains over portions of what is now the CSX Subdivision SAL trains used what are now CSX Subdivision tracks between Gary and Clearwater with stations in Oldsmar and Safety Harbor ACL trains ran on the now CSX Clearwater Sub s tracks between Clearwater and St Petersburg When Amtrak took over rail passenger service on May 1 1971 it operated the Silver Meteor and Silver Star deluxe passenger trains over the Subdivision providing Clearwater and St Petersburg with daily overnight service to New York and intermediate points Regularly scheduled passenger rail service on the line ended on February 1 1984 when Amtrak discontinued its rail services in Pinellas County choosing to terminate its trains at Tampa Union Station 6 Substitute Amtrak Thruway service has been provided since then between Tampa Union Station and Pinellas Park The old SAL passenger stations in Safety Harbor and Oldsmar were demolished in 1965 and 1967 respectively 7 Recent history edit nbsp End of the line at 5th Avenue with severed track segment in the distanceIn March 2008 the Clearwater Subdivision s trackage in downtown St Petersburg was pulled up along with the South Side Spur which ran south of Central Avenue and east of 34th Street South part of the former Seaboard line 8 1 That right of way as well as the right of way of several other former CSX railroad lines in the county beginning in the 1990s was converted into a section of the Pinellas Trail Today the line ends at 5th Avenue North in St Petersburg Though some severed track segments remain between I 375 and Tropicana Field In 2015 CSX proposed to sell both the Clearwater and Brooksville Subdivisions to the Florida Department of Transportation for potential use as commuter rail FDOT is currently studying this possibility Similar transactions between FDOT and CSX have taken place in the Miami and Orlando areas for tracks that today run the Tri Rail and SunRail commuter lines respectively 9 See also edit nbsp Trains portal nbsp Florida portalList of CSX Transportation lines St Petersburg station Amtrak Clearwater station Amtrak References edit a b c Jacksonville Division Timetable No 4 PDF CSX January 1 2005 pp 47 50 CSX Clearwater Sub RadioReference Luisi 2010 p 106 Luisi 2010 p 110 Luisi 2010 p 114 Luisi 2010 p 116 Luisi 2010 pp 104 and 109 Trail enters downtown A Pinellas Trail extension will reach the waterfront St Petersburg Times March 9 2008 Retrieved December 26 2016 Johnston Caitlin CSX s offer finally opens the door to commuter rail in Tampa Bay Tampa Bay Times Retrieved 24 October 2016 KML file edit help Template Attached KML Clearwater SubdivisionKML is not from WikidataBibliography edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clearwater Subdivision Luisi Vincent 2010 Railroading in Pinellas County 1st ed Arcadia Publishing ISBN 978 0 7385 8550 5 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Clearwater Subdivision amp oldid 1184083820, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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