Apalachicola Northern
History and Geography
Geography (timetable)
Current track is from Chattahoochee to Port St Joe via Apalachicola.
To follow the mainline from Chattahoochee, start at the CSX yard in River
Junction. The yard and the connection at Chattahoochee with CSX are not
accessible from public areas. Take 268 South to Hardaway, then 270 South
to Greensboro and Juniper. Then, there is no road close to the track until
Hosford at the intersection of 20 and 65. From there, highway 65 follows
the track almost all the way to the coast. Take 98 west to reach Apalachicola
and Port St Joe. In Apalachicola, the track crosses the river. The bridge
is visible from a little place called Bay City. Take 12 th St in downtown
Apalachicola and follow it toward the North. The main yard in Port St Joe
is East of the paper mill (The coast in Port St Joe is North-South). That
is where the engine house, car repair hangar and the administrative building
are.
History
Here are a few points about the history of the AN. The railroad opened
for business in 1907 from Appalachicola to Chattahoochee, and to Port St
Joe in 1910. DuPont and his brother-in-law Edward Ball purchased in 1920
the entire town of Port St Joe including the railroad. The paper mill was
built in 1936. In 1961, St Joe Paper took control of the FEC. The track
that was used to rebuilt the AN mainline came from the portion of the FEC
Key West extension that was destroyed by a hurricane a few years after
it was built. Today’s track has concrete ties made by a subsidiary of FEC.
Passenger service started with the regular steam trains but over the years,
3 different doodlebugs were purchased. Oysters cars were coupled to the
passenger trains for quicker delivery to the market. Regular passenger
service ended in 1951.
Port St Joe, Fl; January 2000.
Apalachicola Northern main office.
Port St Joe, Fl; April 1997.
Before the bricks started falling from the sky, the short line had
built an engine house. The proud roster is seen sitting on the ready track,
ready for the next coal run later on in the afternoon.
