. The station was used by the
Sunset Limited prior to 2005. The 373 miles of the Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad comprise the
main line between Baldwin and Pensacola. The main line is known as the Tallahassee Subdivision east of the
Chattahoochee River and the P&A Subdivision west of the river. The Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad's Bainbridge Subdivision runs as a branch line between Tallahassee north to
Attapulgus, Georgia. The system connects with
CSX Transportation at each end of the main line in Baldwin and Pensacola, and at the northern end of the Bainbridge Subdivision in Attapulgus. CSX has
trackage rights on the FG&A, but plans to use them only if their lines to the north are impassable.
Tallahassee Subdivision The Tallahassee Subdivision of the main line was first built as the
Florida, Atlantic and Gulf Central Railroad from
Lake City to
Jacksonville in 1857. The
Pensacola and Georgia Railroad built the line between
Quincy and
Lake City which was completed by 1863. The line was then extended west to
Chattahoochee to connect with the newly built
Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad. In 1882, the lines were acquired by
Sir Edward Reed, and were renamed together as the
Florida Central and Western Railroad. Two years later, Reed brought the Florida Central and Western and several other Florida railroads he had purchased under the umbrella of what was named the Florida Railway and Navigation Company, which, in 1888, was renamed the
Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad (FC&P). In 1900, a year after purchasing the majority of FC&P stock, the newly organized
Seaboard Air Line Railway (a predecessor of
CSX Transportation) leased the FC&P and, in 1903, acquired it outright. CSX previously operated this segment as their Tallahassee Subdivision. The line has a
centralized traffic control signal system between Tallahassee and Baldwin.
P&A Subdivision The P&A Subdivision of the main line runs west from Chattahoochee to
Pensacola, Florida. This segment of the main line was originally built in 1881-1883 by the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad, operating it as a subsidiary, the
Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad.
William D. Chipley and
Frederick R. De Funiak (General Manager of the L&N), both of whom are commemorated in the names of towns later built along the P&A line (
Chipley and
DeFuniak Springs), were among the founding officers of the P&A. The line was merged into the L&N in 1891. In 1982, the L&N was merged into the
Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, which in 1986 became part of
CSX Transportation, operating this segment as its P&A Subdivision (a reference to the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad).
Bainbridge Subdivision The Bainbridge Subdivision runs from the FG&A main line in Tallahassee north to
Attapulgus, Georgia, where it connects to CSX's
Bainbridge Subdivision, which continues north to
Bainbridge, Georgia. The Bainbridge Subdivision was first built in 1901 by the Georgia Pine Railway. The line was only intended to be a
shortline for logging, but since it provided an additional rail route from Georgia into Florida, traffic increased. As a result, the line was renamed the
Georgia, Florida and Alabama Railway by the end of 1901. The GF&A Railway bought the
Carrabelle, Tallahassee and Georgia Railroad in 1906, which ran from Tallahassee south to
Carrabelle. The Georgia, Florida and Alabama Railway, which extended from
Richland, Georgia, to Carrabelle, Florida, at its greatest extent, became part of the
Seaboard Air Line Railroad in 1927. The Seaboard lines, after various other mergers, became part of
CSX Transportation in 1986. The line's milepost numbers begin in Tallahassee at 52 and increase from there. This is due to the fact that the numbering still reflects the line's full length to Carrabelle, which was mile 0 before the track between there and Tallahassee was abandoned. ==References==