Clearwater Subdivision

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 though 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]

Clearwater Subdivision
 CSX
Brooksville Subdivision
SY 848.6
 Sulphur Springs
 I-275
 Drew Spur
 SR 589 (Veteran's Expressway)
 I-4
 CSX
A Line
SY 843.5
 Gary (Tampa)
 CSX
S Line
Hillsborough County
Pinellas County
SY 862.6
 Oldsmar
 Tampa Bay
SY 866.4
 Safety Harbor
fmr. Orange Belt Railway (ACL)
to Sanford
SY 875.6
ARE 882.6
 Clearwater
ARE 884.3
 Largo
 I-275
ARE 897.1
 St. Petersburg
fmr. Orange Belt Railway (ACL)
to Downtown St. Petersburg
fmr. Tampa and Gulf Coast RR (SAL)
to Downtown St. Petersburg
CSX locomotives pulling a circus train in Safety Harbor, Florida, on the Clearwater Subdivision in 1992

History
Clearwater Subdivision in Pinellas Park, Florida, in 2016
See also: Tampa Northern Railroad, Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad, and Orange Belt Railway

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 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. Both the Atlantic Coast Line and the Seaboard Air Line networks merged in 1967 to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad before becoming part of CSX in 1980.[3] Regularly-scheduled passenger rail service on the line ended on February 1, 1984, when Amtrak discontinued its rail services in Pinellas County.[4]

Recent history
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).[5][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.[6]

  • Bridge over Hillsborough River near Sulphur Springs
  • Track just south of Clearwater, where the former ACL segment transitions to the former SAL segment (the former ACL segment originally continued along the dirt road)
  • Street-running track in Clearwater
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See also

References
  1. "Jacksonville Division Timetable No. 4" (PDF). CSX. January 1, 2005. pp. 47–50.
  2. http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/ZZ-Clearwater_Sub CSX Clearwater Sub
  3. Luisi 2010
  4. Luisi 2010, p. 116.
  5. "Trail enters downtown – A Pinellas Trail extension will reach the waterfront". St. Petersburg Times. March 9, 2008. Retrieved December 26, 2016.
  6. 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
  • Luisi, Vincent (2010), Railroading in Pinellas County (1st ed.), Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 978-0-7385-8550-5
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