The Clearwater Subdivision is a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

line owned by

CSX Transportation CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of track, it is the lead ...

in the

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater i ...

region of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The runs from Tampa to Clearwater and

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

Route description

The Clearwater Subdivision begins just east of downtown Tampa in

Gary Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name Places ;Iran * Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;United States *Gary (Tampa), Florida *Gary, Ind ...

, connecting with the Tampa Terminal Subdivision. From Gary, the Clearwater Subdivision heads north through some of Tampa's suburban neighborhoods. In Sulphur Springs, the Clearwater Subdivision connects with the Brooksville Subdivision, which runs north while the Clearwater Subdivision turns west. Five miles west of Sulphur Springs, a short spur runs from the line south to Drew Park. Further west, the Clearwater Subdivision turns and runs west through

Oldsmar Oldsmar is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 14,898. The Oldsmar name dates to April 12, 1916, when automobile pioneer Ransom E. Olds purchased of land north of Tampa Bay to es ...

, where it crosses

. It briefly shifts south running through

Safety Harbor Safety Harbor is a city on the west shore of Tampa Bay in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It was settled in 1823 and incorporated in 1917. The population was 17,072 at the 2020 census. History The area has been inhabited since the Stone ...

, and then heads west again to Clearwater. In Clearwater, it turns southeast, running through Largo and

Pinellas Park Pinellas Park is a city located in central Pinellas County, United States. The population was 53,093 at the 2020 census. The city is the fourth largest city in Pinellas County. The City of Pinellas Park was incorporated in 1914. It is part of the ...

before terminating at Fifth Avenue North in

near

Tropicana Field Tropicana Field (nicknamed "The Trop") is a domed multipurpose stadium located in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. "The Trop" was the home of the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays season, 1998 to ...

Operation

The Clearwater Subdivision is used for local freight shipments throughout the area. CSX serves an automobile transload facility on the Drew Park Spur which generates a considerable amount of traffic on the line. This facility is operated by Total Distribution Services, a CSX subsidiary.

History

From Tampa north to Sulphur Springs, the Clearwater Subdivision runs along the former

Tampa Northern Railroad The Tampa Northern Railroad was a historic railroad line running from just east of downtown Tampa north to the city of Brooksville, Florida, Brooksville in Hernando County, Florida, Hernando County. The line continues to operate today and is unde ...

, 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 The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

(SAL) in 1913 and 1915 respectively. From Clearwater to St. Petersburg, the line runs along the southern end of the historic

Orange Belt Railway The Orange Belt Railway (later known as the Sanford & St. Petersburg Railroad) was a narrow gauge railroad established in 1885 by Russian exile Peter Demens in Florida. It was one of the longest narrow gauge railroads in the United States at t ...

, which was built in 1888. The Orange Belt Railway later became part of the

Plant 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 ...

, which soon after became part of the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...

(ACL). From the 1910s to the 1960s, both the ACL and SAL operated long-distance passenger trains over their respective portions of what is now the Clearwater Subdivision. SAL trains ran the line between Gary and Clearwater, with stations in Oldsmar and Safety Harbor.Seaboard Air Line Railroad South Florida Division Timetable (1951)
/ref> Beyond Clearwater, SAL track continued south along the present-day

Pinellas Trail The Fred Marquis Pinellas Trail is a rail trail in Pinellas County, Florida. It stretches from Tarpon Springs in the north to St. Petersburg in the south, passing through the towns of Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Belleair, Clearwater, Largo, Semino ...

to St. Petersburg. ACL trains ran on the now-CSX Clearwater Subdivision's tracks between Clearwater and St. Petersburg. The ACL's line previously continued north from Clearwater to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

Tarpon Springs Tarpon Springs is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. Downtown Tarpon Springs has long been a focal point and underwent beautification in 2010. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 25,117 at the 2020 census. As of ...

, and

Trilby A trilby is a narrow-brimmed type of hat. The trilby was once viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is sometimes called the "brown trilby" in UK, BritainBernhard Roetzel, Roetzel, Bernhard (1999). ''Gentleman's Guide to Grooming and Style''. B ...

.Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Southern Division Timetable (1940)
/ref> When

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

took over rail passenger service on May 1, 1971, it operated the ''

Silver Meteor The ''Silver Meteor'' is a Long-distance Amtrak routes, long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York City and Miami, Florida. Introduced in 1939 as the first diesel-powered streamliner between New York and Florida, it was t ...

'' and ''

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

'' deluxe passenger trains over the line via Tampa, providing Clearwater and St. Petersburg with daily overnight service to New York and intermediate points. Both the Atlantic Coast Line and the Seaboard Air Line networks merged on July 1, 1967, to form the

Seaboard Coast Line Railroad The Seaboard Coast Line Railroad was a Class I railroad company operating in the Southeastern United States beginning in 1967. Its passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Eventually, the railroad was merged with its affiliate lin ...

(SCL). In the years following the merger, the SAL track was abandoned south of Clearwater, replaced by a new crossover built in North Clearwater at milepost SY 873.0 to permit use of the former ACL line south to St. Petersburg. On November 1, 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line became part of

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

. Regularly-scheduled passenger rail service on the line ended on February 1, 1984, when Amtrak discontinued its rail services in

Pinellas County Pinellas County (, ) is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 959,107, making it the seventh-most populous county in the state. It is also the most d ...

, choosing to terminate its trains at

Tampa Union Station Tampa Union Station is an Amtrak train station in Tampa, Florida. The station is located at 601 North Nebraska Avenue ( SR 45). Built in 1912, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 as Union Railroad Station The station ...

.. Substitute

Amtrak Thruway Amtrak Thruway is a system of through-ticketed transportation services to connect passengers with areas not served by Amtrak trains. In most cases these are dedicated motorcoach routes, but can also be non-dedicated intercity bus services, transi ...

service has been provided since then between Tampa Union Station and

. The old SAL passenger stations in Safety Harbor and Oldsmar were demolished in 1965 and 1967, respectively.

Recent history

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). 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

. Today, the line ends at 5th Avenue North in St. Petersburg. Though, some severed track segments remain between

I-375 Interstate 375 may refer to: * Interstate 375 (Florida), a spur in St. Petersburg, Florida * Interstate 375 (Michigan), a spur in Detroit, Michigan {{road disambiguation 3 ...

and

References

Bibliography

*{{Citation , last=Luisi , first=Vincent , year=2010 , title=Railroading in Pinellas County , edition=1st , publisher=

Arcadia Publishing Arcadia Publishing is an American Publishing, publisher of neighborhood, local history, local, and regional history of the United States in pictorial form.(analysis of the successful ''Images of America'' series). Arcadia Publishing also runs th ...