Passenger Trains > Amtrak Silver Star 1970's Tampa - St Petersburg

A question on the Tampa to St Petersburg Amtrak Silver Star. I'm interested in the route the train would take leaving Tampa to continue onto to St Pete's
when it did so prior to 1984. The train would come into Tampa on ACL track and then would have to switch onto the SAL track to St Pete's so I figure there
must be some backing up at some point to accomplish this. I've tried figuring this on Google Earth but it's not obvious to me. Anybody out there know how the
train left Tampa to continue onto to St Petersburg. Thanks in advance.

Based upon a replica of a 1928 Rand McNally RR Atlas and a 1968 Seaboard Coast Line Schedule I'd guess ex-ACL back to Plant City, then down to St. Pete also ex-ACL..  

Totally off topic--I'm looking for an ATSF System Timetable for Fall-Winter 1962--63.

It's difficult to track because the ex-SAL track's purpose disappeared when Amtrak discontinued its trains, and the line east from Tampa Union Station was quickly abandoned, and it's been replanted and altered.

You're correct that an inbound train arrived at Tampa Union Station on ACL through Ybor City.  It then reversed on SAL tracks along what's now Selmon Expressway and Adamo Drive to the brand-new north-south connecting road between I-4 and the Selmon Expressway.  After it crossed a diamond there, it went through the northeast leg of the quadrant and went straight north, paralleling the new connector road and crossing the ACL line at TN Tower and went on to Clearwater and St. Petersburg.

Outbound trains did the opposite.  They came around the bay and down to TN and the SAL line, headed through the northeast quadrant to face east, then reversed into Tampa Union Station, and then went north on the ACL through Ybor City.

Tampa Union Station, the ACL line intact on the north side to this day, and the ex-SAL line curving around following the Selmon Expressway off ramp: https://www.google.com/maps/@27.9549254,-82.4473786,18z/data=!3m1!1e3

The ex-SAL wye beneath the new connecting road where St. Pete trains changed direction  The line west of here to Tampa Union Station is gone, but it still exists in the other three directions to serve the Port to the south, St. Pete to the north and west and Yeoman Yard and all points east https://www.google.com/maps/@27.9560144,-82.4261221,19z/data=!3m1!1e3 

TN Tower, where the north-south SAL line to St. Pete crossed the east-west ACL that's used by the Silver Star today https://www.google.com/maps/@27.9596798,-82.4264064,19z/data=!3m1!1e3 

 

In essence both the Seaboard and the Atllantic Coast Line left Tampa Union Station and paralelled each other several blocks apart as they headed east.  The Seaboard had a wye that went north and crossed over the ACL at TN Tower and continued north to Sulphur Springs.  At Sulphur Springs the lines split with Brooksville and beyond to the north and to the west to Clearwater and St. Petersburg.  At South Clearwater the ACL and SAL had a diamond and post merger the interchange track was made into the main track.  The ACL to the north going to Dunedin, Tarpon Springs and ultimately Jacksonville was trunicated.  The exSAL to St. Pete was also reduced to branch status after the merger.  So Amtrak used the exACL from South Clearwater to St. Pete. 

There was a great set of photos that used to be available on Flikr documenting the railroads in the 1970s in the Tampa to St. Pete corridor.  It might be available on disk from the ACL, SAL, SCL Historical Society.  Also, Heron Rail has two videos - Florida Rails 1 & 2 which show the area of your question with wonderful footage to help you gain further insight.

Happy Railroading!

To add to the already excellent explanations above, the SAL came out of Tampa Union Station to the east, crossed the ACL main about where the TECO Gas office is now  (that used to a People's Gas plant). The SAL then went eastward along the north side of Adamo drive (SR60), to Gary where the Seaboard had locomotive shops about where the Selmon Expresway and Mckay Bay Park are now. The line there swung northward on a connection track which was about where the scrap yard is today gaining access to the SAL subsidiary Tampa Northern, TN. From there it crossed the ACL again (TN Tower) and went northward to Sulphur Springs, then west to Clearwater and so on. A roundabout way to St. Pete to be sure and one that Amtrak was anxious to get rid of, but couldn't because there was so much business on it. They finally killed in in 1984, though, never to return.

Danny Harmon
Tampa

Thanks for all the excellent responses. I think I have it figured now.
Ken Rattee



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/16 09:44 by ratt.

As I recall the passenger counts for Clearwater/St. Petersburg were higher than Tampa in 1984 press.  Furthermore the combined numbers for Tampa, Clearwater, and St. Pete were higher than the high numbers Tampa has today.  As a whole the Tampa Bay area really lost out when Amtrak pulled out.  While I might partially agree that it was a long way around the bay at 59MPH compared to a choice of three different bridges/causweays across the bay on a bus it was hard to beat getting dropped off in Clearwater by train and in less than 7 minutes be right on the Gulf of Mexico at a great hotel on Clearwater Beach.  

I did support Graham Claytor in his tenure at Amtrak, but thought this was a huge mistake to discontinue passenger service to St. Petersburg.  The population of the area has grown quite a bit since then.  The argument at the time was crew cost and the amount of time it took, yet just 8 months previous Amtrak took over the Rio Grande Zephyr route and discontinued the San Fransisco Zephyr route through Wyoming.   There was no argument that the scenery was better, but the route was slower.  This same argument could be used for the trunicaiton of service to St. Petersburg.  There were and are numerous other examples where Amtrak has had to trickle through areas in a round about way.   

It's hard to imagine there were approximately 10 passenger trains a day through Clearwater and St. Petersburg prior to the SCL merger in 1967.  

Narr8rdanny Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> To add to the already excellent explanations
> above, the SAL came out of Tampa Union Station to
> the east, crossed the ACL main about where the
> TECO Gas office is now  (that used to a People's
> Gas plant). The SAL then went eastward along the
> north side of Adamo drive (SR60), to Gary where
> the Seaboard had locomotive shops about where the
> Selmon Expresway and Mckay Bay Park are now. The
> line there swung northward on a connection track
> which was about where the scrap yard is today
> gaining access to the SAL subsidiary Tampa
> Northern, TN. From there it crossed the ACL again
> (TN Tower) and went northward to Sulphur Springs,
> then west to Clearwater and so on. A roundabout
> way to St. Pete to be sure and one that Amtrak was
> anxious to get rid of, but couldn't because there
> was so much business on it. They finally killed in
> in 1984, though, never to return.
>
> Danny Harmon
> Tampa

If I remember right the right of way is now a heavily used bike trail that runs through Tarpon Springs and Dunedin. I'm not sure where it begins or ends?