Tampa Northern Railroad: Difference between revisions

Tampa Northern Railroad
	TN Tower just east of Ybor City as seen before its demolition in 2019.
Overview
Reporting mark	TN
Dates of operation	1908–1913
Successor	Seaboard Air Line Railroad; Seaboard Coast Line Railroad; CSX Transportation
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Route map
	Legend
	fmr. Seaboard Air Line Railroad
	to Archer
	fmr. Florida Southern Railway (ACL)
	to Pemberton Ferry
	Clearwater Subdivision west
	(former Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad)
	SR 838.3
	SY 848.6
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

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Revision as of 16:08, 17 February 2020

The Tampa Northern Railroad was a historic railroad line running from just east of downtown Tampa north to the city of Brooksville in Hernando County. The line continues to operate today and is under the ownership of the CSX Corporation, who operates it as their Brooksville Subdivision north of Sulphur Springs and part of their Clearwater Subdivision south of there.^[1]^[2]

The Tampa Northern Railroad began just southeast of downtown Tampa at Hooker's Point, where it had its own terminal facilities. From there it proceeded north, crossing the main lines of both the Seaboard Air Line Railroad and Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Gary, just east of Ybor City. Continuing north, the line goes through Sulpher Springs, Lutz, Land O' Lakes, and Masaryktown and into Brooksville.^[3]

History

The Tampa Northern Railroad was incorporated on April 7, 1906 by Henry M. Atkinson of Atlanta. Atkinson intended for the line to eventually extend to Thomasville, Georgia and connect with his Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic Railroad, which would create a direct rail route between Tampa and Atlanta, which never happened. The line was completed in 1908.^[4] In Brooksville, the Tampa Northern connected to a now abandoned Atlantic Coast Line Railroad branch from Pemberton Ferry (known today as Croom).^[5]

The Tampa Northern Railroad was one of three railroad that served Tampa Union Station when it was first built in 1912, along with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and the Seaboard Air Line. The Tampa Northern was bought out by Seaboard later that year. Seaboard would extend tracks from Archer and Inverness south to connect with the Tampa Northern line in Brooksville in 1925 creating a through route to northern Florida until the track north of Brooksville was abandoned in the late 1980s. Today, the line ends just north of Brooksville in Broco.^[6]

TN Tower

One of the most notable remnants of the Tampa Northern Railroad was TN Tower. TN Tower was an interlocking tower built to govern the crossing of the Tampa Northern Railroad and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad mainline (now the CSX A Line) at 27°57′34″N 82°25′35″W / 27.959461°N 82.426456°W / 27.959461; -82.426456 (TN Tower). The most recent tower was built in 1959 replacing an earlier wooden tower. TN Tower was taken out of service around 1984 after Amtrak Tampa - St. Petersburg service was discontinued and Centralized traffic control signals were installed to protect the crossing. The tower was subsequently abandoned but remained standing until February of 2019, when it was demolished. It was the last interlocking tower standing in Florida at the time of its demolition.^[7]^[8] Despite removal, the control point governing the crossing today is still known as "TN", a reference to TN Tower and the Tampa Northern Railroad.^[2]

Current Operations

Both Seaboard and the Atlantic Coast Line are today part of CSX Transportation, who continues to operate the former Tampa Northern line. It is CSX's Brooksville Subdivision from Sulphur Springs to the northern terminus in Brooksville. From Sulphur Springs south to Downtown Tampa, it is CSX's Clearwater Subdivision, which also continues west from Sulphur Springs to Clearwater and St. Petersburg along the former Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad. The spur south to Hooker's Point is today discontinuous from the rest of the Tampa Northern Line, but is part of CSX's Tampa Terminal Subdivision and is known as the Hooker's Point Lead. The control point at the crossing of the Clearwater Subdivision with the A Line in Gary is still referred to by CSX as "TN", a reference to the Tampa Northern Railroad.^[2]

In 2015, CSX proposed to sell both the Clearwater and Brooksville subdivisions (which would include the entire former Tampa Northern line) 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]

References

^ http://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/B2-Brooksville_Sub CSX Brooksville Sub
^ ^a ^b ^c CSX Jacksonville Division Timetable
^ "First Railroads in Tampa". Tampa Bay Trains. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
^ Prince, Richard (2000). Seaboard Air Line Railway: Steam Boats, Locomotives and History. Salt Lake City, UT: Wheelwright Lithographing Company. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
^ Turner, Gregg (2003). A Short History of Florida Railroads. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-2421-4.
^ Turner, Gregg M. (2005). Florida Railroads in the 1920s. Arcadia Publishing.
^ Tampa's original wood frame TN Tower
^ Harmon, Danny. "End Of the Line For TN Tower". YouTube. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
^ Johnston, Caitlin. "CSX's offer finally opens the door to commuter rail in Tampa Bay". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 24 October 2016.

[1] ttp://wiki.radioreference.com/index.php/B2-Brooksville_Sub CSX Brooksville Sub

[CSX-2] CSX Jacksonville Division Timetable

[3] "First Railroads in Tampa". Tampa Bay Trains. Retrieved 24 October 2016.

[4] Prince, Richard (2000). Seaboard Air Line Railway: Steam Boats, Locomotives and History. Salt Lake City, UT: Wheelwright Lithographing Company. Retrieved 24 October 2016.

[5] Turner, Gregg (2003). A Short History of Florida Railroads. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-2421-4.

[6] Turner, Gregg M. (2005). Florida Railroads in the 1920s. Arcadia Publishing.

[7] Tampa's original wood frame TN Tower

[8] Harmon, Danny. "End Of the Line For TN Tower". YouTube. Retrieved 2 May 2019.

[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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 The Tampa Northern Railroad was incorporated on April 7, 1906 by Henry M. Atkinson of [[Atlanta]].  Atkinson intended for the line to eventually extend to [[Thomasville, Georgia]] and connect with his [[Atlanta, Birmingham & Atlantic Railroad]], which would create a direct rail route between Tampa and Atlanta, which never happened.  The line was completed in 1908.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Prince|first1=Richard|title=Seaboard Air Line Railway: Steam Boats, Locomotives and History|date=2000|publisher=Wheelwright Lithographing Company|location=Salt Lake City, UT|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MM2ph3S2V2cC&pg=PA96&lpg=PA96&dq=tampa+northern+railroad+1906&source=bl&ots=ODtc4sE93B&sig=k2tS_xSijWczw4lyWH8-9AnfM6w&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjL_pKg6_LPAhVHfiYKHXiGDH0Q6AEILzAD#v=onepage&q&f=false|accessdate=24 October 2016}}</ref> In Brooksville, the Tampa Northern connected to a now abandoned Atlantic Coast Line Railroad branch from [[Pemberton Ferry, Florida|Pemberton Ferry]] (known today as Croom).<ref>{{cite book|last1=Turner|first1=Gregg|title=A Short History of Florida Railroads|date=2003|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=978-0-7385-2421-4}}</ref>
-The Tampa Northern Railroad was one of three railroad that served [[Tampa Union Station]] when it was first built in 1912, along with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and the Seaboard Air Line.  The Tampa Northern was bought out by Seaboard later that year.  Seaboard would extend tracks from [[Archer, Florida|Archer]] and [[Inverness, Florida|Inverness]] south to connect with the Tampa Northern line in Brooksville in 1925 <!--with a subsidiary known as the [[Brooksville and Inverness Railway]],--> creating a through route to northern Florida (though, track north of Brooksville was abandoned in the late 1980s).  The line today ends just north of Brooksville in Broco.<ref>{{cite book|last=Turner|first=Gregg M.|title=Florida Railroads in the 1920s|year=2005|publisher=Arcadia Publishing}}</ref>
+The Tampa Northern Railroad was one of three railroad that served [[Tampa Union Station]] when it was first built in 1912, along with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad and the Seaboard Air Line.  The Tampa Northern was bought out by Seaboard later that year.  Seaboard would extend tracks from [[Archer, Florida|Archer]] and [[Inverness, Florida|Inverness]] south to connect with the Tampa Northern line in Brooksville in 1925 <!--with a subsidiary known as the [[Brooksville and Inverness Railway]],--> creating a through route to northern Florida until the track north of Brooksville was abandoned in the late 1980s.  Today, the line ends just north of Brooksville in Broco.<ref>{{cite book|last=Turner|first=Gregg M.|title=Florida Railroads in the 1920s|year=2005|publisher=Arcadia Publishing}}</ref>
 ===TN Tower===