Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad
 CSX train operating on the former Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad though Safety Harbor in 1992. | |
| Reporting mark | T&G |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1910–1915 |
| Successor | Seaboard Air Line Railroad |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
The Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad was a railroad company that built and operated a line that initially ran from the Tampa Northern Railroad in Sulphur Springs (just north of Tampa) west and northwest to Tarpon Springs and into Pasco County. Additional track branching from this route west to Clearwater and southeast to St. Petersburg was added on shortly after.
History
The first segment of the Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad was built in 1910 from Sulphur Springs to north of Tarpon Springs. In 1914, a branch line was built from the line west through Oldsmar, across Tampa Bay and though Safety Harbor to Clearwater. In Clearwater, it crossed an Atlantic Coast Line Railroad track that was once the Orange Belt Railway, and headed south. A branch to Indian Rocks Beach also existed at one point. From Clearwater, the line ran south to the southeast part of the Pinellas Peninsula near Seminole. It then crossed Long Bayou and south to South Pasedena before turning east to St. Petersburg. A passenger depot existed in St. Petersburg at Ninth Street and Second Avenue.[1]
The Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad only briefly operated as an independent company. In 1915, it was bought out by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad and merged with their network (Seaboard bought the Tampa Northern Railroad two years prior). Seaboard would go on to merge with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, who operated a competing route through Pinellas County, in 1967. The resulting company after the merger was the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, who connected the two Pinellas County routes where they crossed in Clearwater. Seaboard Coast Line would become CSX Transportation in 1980.[1]
In 1986, CSX consolidated the two lines and abandoned the original Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad between Clearwater and St. Petersburg. This segment is now part of the Pinellas Trail (which also continues north from Clearwater along the former Orange Belt/Atlantic Coast Line route). CSX continues to operate the remaining tracks of the Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad, which is now part of their Clearwater Subdivision.[1]