CSX Cross Florida Route
Pensacola - Jacksonville
Introduction
The Sunset Route, historically, was the route of the Southern Pacific across the desert from California, and on through Texas to New Orleans. Today, Amtrak still plies the route, and has assigned those trains #1 and #2, which is an indication of their stature. The big news in the 1990's was the extension of the Sunset Route all the way from New Orleans to Jacksonville and Orlando. It is the 622 miles between New Orleans and Jacksonville that this tour will eventually chronicle.
Currently, there are two adjoining sections complete: This segment of 153 miles covers Pensacola to Sneads, Florida. The other segment includes 60 miles between Nokomis, Alabama to Pensacola, and is here. Using these two tours, therefore, you can do a complete 213 mile tour, which will be a significant undertaking, and one worth doing during a short vacation.
Contents And Navigation
About This Tour:
WHAT YOU WILL FIND HERE: From a particular starting point, each segment of this coverage will allow you to follow the instructions given, drive to a railfan site, then to the next, etc. etc. Traffic levels and patterns will be given, and the photographic/ lighting considerations for each site will usually be mentioned. You'll be told about Area Attractions, such as tourist and historic sites, as well as hotels and restaurants which are trackside or otherwise worthy of note. In short, you'll be able to plan an entire family or railfan-only outing or even a vacation from this guide, as it is completed in the months to come.
WHAT YOU MIGHT FIND HERE: If we can find someone who is a graphics wizard, and who is also willing to donate time and effort to generate some good maps, we'll include them as separate pages. As we accumulate specific data, such as railroad timetables, we'll likewise include it or provide a hotlink to it. By making these materials separate pages, it is much easier to print them for reference, and it keeps the text pages uncluttered and relatively fast loading.
Contributors
Major contributors to this effort include:
RON KOHLIN -- Milton, Florida -- Sneads, Florida. Ron, a Florida resident, can be reached via Ron's Rec Room.
JIM LARDUSKEY -- Pensacola -- Milton, Florida
Train Gifs. All train gifs used within this tour are from the Ed Bindler's train gifs site, which is here.
Peter Furnee, CSX logo
Tony Hill, Retired Frograil webmaster
Help
If you'd like to contribute to this, or any other tour, please contact me at webmaster@frograil.com, and let me know what you'd like to do. We'll work together: You supply the data/info, and I'll do the HTML stuff and upload it. You'll get a chance to review the fruits of your efforts before the general public sees the finished product, so you can let me have your corrections, additions and changes.
Supplemental And Back-Up Data:
A self-guiding timetable, with automobile mileages. This is a unique blend of railroad timetable, driving instructions, and highway mileage data, designed by Ron Kohlin to combine the railroad and highway aspects of the tour. An invaluable tool on your self-guiding tour. Print it out before you begin the tour.
Mapwork: Much of the tour is not easy if you have no detailed map for back country roads. I definitely recommend you get a DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer, study it before your trip, and copy pertinent pages for your field work. You can find information here about Railfan Maps that are available.
Pensacola to Sneads -- Railfan sites:
The Tour
[Note: This segment is authored by Jim Larduskey.]
Goulding Yard -- South End. We'll start our tour at the intersection of I-10 and I-110 in the north central part of Pensacola, but before we do that, it's important to get a detailed city map. A few bucks spent here will save you lots of grief. Go south on I-110, and then take exit 4 and get on Fairfield Drive. Go right (west) on Fairfield. Immediately after turning onto Fairfield and before the bottom of the overpass, turn right onto a little, unmarked street which will immediately turn back west towards the tracks. Go past the Bob's Storage place, and you will have reached the southern end of the CSX Pensacola Goulding Yard [MP 648].
Observe the "No Trespassing" signs well, as there are railroad police resident in the yard, and they will do their job. Pictures are available from trackside up to the entrance of the Conrad-Yelvington rock yard. The athletic can climb up the embankment to the Fairfield Drive overpass for shots of the south end of the yard from above grade level. Note here: As long as you stay by the bridge and do not block the road underneath next to the tracks (used by the crew vans) you can stay here. To get to the west side without crossing the tracks on foot (a no-no), go over the bridge and turn right on U.S. 29, and then take the first available right. Go east to the tracks, some 1-2 blocks.
Retrace back to Fairfield, and turn right. Go over the overpass and then a very short distance to U.S. 29, Palafox Highway ("Street" just south of here), and turn left (south). U.S. 29 is well-known to southeastern railfans, as it essentially follows the NS Crescent Route from west of Washington, DC, all the way to Atlanta. You won't be on it very long here, however, as you'll take your first left onto Texar Drive. Go east on Texar, over the tracks on an overpass, and take your first right. This will take you to a street that wraps back along Texar then goes under the overpass you just crossed. Here's where you'll need that map.
There is an access point on the left leading to a field next to the tracks. Here, there are often trains parked midway between the Cross Street crossing and Texar Drive overpass. There is also the remains of a spur track that served the large warehouse where you pulled off Texar.
From the loop street, turn right onto N. Gullimard St. and continue south. It will turn 90° to the left (east) onto Park St. Immediately after taking that turn, there is a dirt road on the right that gives access to the southern part of the same field, and trains that may be parked further south at the actual Cross Street crossing.
[NOTE WELL: This whole area is considered dangerous. Do not, under any circumstances, be here after dark, and it is strongly suggested that you have at least one male friend with you at all times.]
After shooting any goodies here, get back to Park and go east to your first right, which is Miller. Turn onto Miller southbound, and after just a short distance, Miller will end at Crescent Drive. Turn right (southwest), and Crescent will likewise shortly end at Cross Street. Turn right (west) and continue across the tracks, back to U.S. 29, Palafox Street. Head south on Palafox for about a mile, and then turn left (east) on Blount, heading towards the tracks. At Tarragona Street, turn right (south).
"Double Track" As you travel south on Tarragona, the tracks are on your left, and are somewhat under the I-110 viaduct. This is a noisy area, therefore, so if you're going to railfan along here, be very alert. There are two tracks here, and it looks like a double-track main line, but it really isn't. The railroad, having come from the east, swings around well to the south, and goes straight north here. In effect, it's running "backwards." The west track is actually on the east side of the main, and trains heading north up the hill are traveling railroad south!
Just before you reach the Jackson Street intersection, there is a spring switch. Here, the west rack diverges from the main line to enter Goulding Yard. In fact, you'll hear this area referred to as "Double Track."
Continue south on Tarragona, until you reach Wright Street. Here, some things happen: The I-110 expressway ends just in front of you, and there is a very complicated mess of on/off ramps. Railroad-wise, the CSX main goes off due east. The tracks which continue south here go to the Port of Pensacola, but, as Jim Larduskey says, you can continue south and follow the tracks to the port.
CSX runs trains from the Goulding Yard to the Port of Pensacola three times per week, usually Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays in the late afternoon (sometimes in the middle of 5-o'clock traffic!). The trains run right down the middle of Taragona Street, which can be fun to watch. There is also a branch track just south of Garden Street where a brick factory/warehouse is located. Sometimes a train will stop in the middle of the Garden/Taragona intersection, where the crew will access the switch (buried under the road) to access the branch line to pick up a boxcar from the brick company. It's a great place to safely watch while standing on the sidewalk. In fact, the entire track to the Port is very accessible for viewing (because it's in the middle of the street). The trains run quite slow, so there are plenty of opportunities for train watching. And while the Port is certainly off limits, there are public parking lots on both sides of the tracks that provide a good view. (reported by Hunter Pfeiffer, a Pensacola railfan, added 1/5/15).
The junction of the CSX main and the spur to the port is directly under the I-110 viaduct.
Station Area. Turn left from Tarragona onto Wright, and head east. You'll go under I-110, and continue across the tracks as they continue through the Davis Street/Wright Street/Garden Street intersection. This intersection is so large that a cleverly planned photograph can make a train look as if it's running in the street!
Continue east on Wright Street and the tracks will be on your immediate right. Turn right at 9th, and then make an immediate left onto Heinberg. Just east of 14th Avenue on Heinberg is the former Amtrak station. The station is not maintained, since service was discontinued following Hurricane Katrina. Photos are available from the commercial parking lots around the crossing on 14th Avenue.
The Amtrak station/17th Avenue area is a middle morning to dusk photo location. Historians, and railroad structure fans will want to see the old Louisville & Nashville passenger depot. To get there from the Amtrak station parking lot, go back west on Heinberg Street, and then turn left onto 14th Avenue. Turn right onto Gregory Street and get into the middle lane. Continue west on Gregory past 9th Avenue, and after you pass the I-110 on-ramp you'll see a big, impressive hotel on your right. This is the Pensacola Grand Hotel. The lobby of this hotel is the old L&N passenger depot. If you want to get a picture and go into the building and see what a great place it is (and it's well worth your time), you can probably park in the Civic Center parking lot to the south of Gregory or across Garden Street where there is a parking lot for patrons of Pensacola's fake downtown trolley.
Backtrack on Heinberg to 14th Avenue, and take a right (north). After several blocks, you will come to U.S. 90, Cervantes Street. Take a right (east), and travel over the picturesque Bayou Texar bridge. Your first right (south) after the bridge is Bayou Boulevard. Take this right and drive to the end of the street. Straight ahead are the tracks. At this point is a "Yard Limits" marker, indicating that this point marks the south end of the Goulding Yard terminal [MP 652.1]. You can get pictures here, but they are difficult, as photo angles are very sharp: You're better off at the 17th Avenue overpass. From here east is controlled by the "AB" Jacksonville dispatcher, and is the beginning of the Yniestra DTC block. From here west is controlled by the Goulding Yardmaster.
Go back up to U.S. 90, Cervantes Street (which becomes Scenic Highway), and take a right towards the east. Continue east, and the road will turn to the north, and the tracks will parallel you after a mile or so. As you continue north, you'll enjoy a most scenic drive -- the road is well-named.
Bay Bluffs Park. In the Summit Boulevard area, this small park provides some photo locations. Long and steep stairs lead down across the tracks to a beach. There are photo spots one-half mile to the east (north) and three-quarters mile to the west (south). This is not a good place to be after dark.
As you continue east of the park on Scenic Highway, there will be several overlooks, but they do not offer good photo ops, and the bluffs themselves are very sheer and dangerous.
Chimney Park. Continuing east (north), in about 2 miles you'll come to Langley Avenue going off to the west, and a small park will be on your right. This is Chimney Park, and is located on the site of an old sawmill. There is a big chimney here, and there is also a Defect Detector ("Opal" milepost 656.7) and a brand new car scanner, installed in early 2000. Cross the tracks and turn EAST, and some photos can be made from the beach.
[NOTE WELL: Do NOT go west (south) of the Chimney Park. About 100 yards on the west side of Langley Avenue is a spot by the tracks where sexual deviates and drug dealers hang out. DO NOT go anywhere in this area after dark -- including the Chimney area -- because these undesirables have a bad habit of spreading east past the Opal DD once the sun goes down. There have been several murders at night in this area.]
As you continue east (north here), you'll note an open area to your right, with a siding. This is 1400 foot Yniestra siding, unfortunately, access is most difficult.
Pensacola -- Dairy Queen. Between Chimney Park and the I-10 bridge, there is a Dairy Queen with an outdoor seating area. The seating area is directly over the tracks and overlooks the Escambia Trestle. The trestle itself is long enough to hold an entire train. Photos can be quite good with a long lens, but you'll want to either frame out the interstate bridge, artistically work it into the view of the trestle, or ignore it and attempt to crop out (with Photoshop or some other imaging software) the offending clutter.
At the Dairy Queen is the entrance ramp for I-10 East, which will cross the broad Escambia Bay. The railroad goes under the interstate, continues north (timetable east) for about a mile, and then it crosses on it's own bridge.
[This segment begins with dual Contributors Ron Kohlin and Jim Larduskey.]
Milton -- Baychem Wye Area. The county seat of Santa Rosa county, Milton is a spread-out town, east of Escambia Bay, and west of the Blackwater River. The easiest way to find your way around is to get hold of a map! One that shows all of the county, railroad routes, and Milton itself very well is available in convenience stores. Dolph's Street Map - Santa Rosa County is the title you're looking for; it will set you back $2.95 and tax and pay for itself before you leave the parking lot.
From Pensacola, take exit 7 on I-10 north onto FL-281. Follow FL-281 about 0.7 mile north, and turn left onto DelMonte Street/County Road 281 (and don't ask us why it's the same number!). Stay on CR-281; it turns right about a mile west onto Montecito Boulevard, and a mile later tees at the crossroads of Harp, just across the railroad track, into Mulat Road/CR 191A. Turn left and follow the tracks west, across the wye leads, to where there's a tin shed and a bulletin board on your left (trackside). This is Milepost 663.54, and the closest you can get to the RR bridge without going onto private (and posted) property. The bulletin board does make for interesting reading, since it includes performance statistics for the Jacksonville Service Lane.
Here, according to Jim Larduskey, the wye is named "BayChem," and serves 2 large industrial plants: Air Products and Sterling Fibers. Both plants are about a mile up the hill off of the tail of the wye where there is a 4 track yard. The little building is the "Pace Siding" agent's station. This trackage is used extensively for setouts/pickups from the two plants, and sees the exchange of 20 or more cars per day.
To the east of the BayChem Wye begins the Avalon siding. It stretches from just north of the BayChem wye at MP 665 to the top of the hill at Galt City MP 667. See the Milton -- Avalon Siding North section for directions to the north end of Avalon.
Milton -- Mulat. From the shack at the wye, double back the way you came in, turn right (east on Mulat Road, cross the wye, and after 7/10's of a mile, turn right onto Montecito Boulevard. Stay on this road for 2.8 miles. Note that after 2 stop signs it turns into North 14th Avenue, and it will make an abrupt 90° right turn just before I-10. The road ends at the Archie Glover Boat Ramp. From here you can use a long lens to watch the trains cross the low timber trestle from Pensacola. Pictures will require a pretty hefty telephoto lens. You can hike to the end of the point to watch the trains cross the trestle.
As an alternative set of directions, you can get to this area from I-10 by taking exit 7, and taking the first left past the McDonalds onto San Juan Street. After 1.2 miles, turn left onto North 14th Avenue, and after another 1.4 miles, you'll be at the Archie Glover Boat Ramp.
With Frograil thanks to Craig Carroll who contributed this information.
Milton -- Avalon Siding North. From Pensacola via I-10, take exit 8 and head north on FL-191. Continue north 0.8 mile, and then turn left (west) onto Da Lisa Road. Head up the hill on Da Lisa for approximately 2.9 miles and turn left (southwest) on an unmarked road just before crossing the tracks. Proceed past the trailer park on the left about 1-2 tenths of a mile and there will be a single lane dirt road off to the right towards the tracks. Get on this and you will see the east end signals at Avalon (timetable north). This is a relatively new siding, having been installed at the cost of over $5,000,000 during the past few years.
If you wish, you can continue west on this road all the way to the other end of the siding. Be advised that the road is extremely rough, littered with rocks, has occasional serious potholes, and is often traversed at high speeds by idiots on ATV's or driving large pick-up trucks. Yeah, buddy!
Return to Da Lisa Road and turn left over the tracks. Da Lisa will become Galt City Road here. Continue north for 1.3 miles on Galt City Road. Turn right onto Old Bagdad Road (FL-191A). One mile from Galt City Road as you go down the hill, look right as you cross the tracks , and you'll see the Defect Detector at MP668.6. Continue on down to the bottom of the hill, another 1.2 miles below the tracks. Turn left onto FL-191, and go 1.1 miles to the Milton Depot.
[From this point, Ron Kohlin is the author of this segment of the tour, and assumes you're starting from I-10.]
If you're more interested in the Milton Depot and Museum, wait for the next exit, exit 8, and head north to Bagdad on FL-191, Garcon Point Road. Garcon Point is south, so forget about that, but FL-191 north takes you through Bagdad and after three or so miles you'll reach the track at MP 670.07. Immediately across the tracks is the old Milton L&N Depot, which is now the West Florida Railroad Museum. This is a very interesting place to visit, with many railroad artifacts and a lot of photos of area railroad history, not to mention an excellent hobby shop and a working HO layout of the immediate area. They are open Friday and Saturday; the telephone number is (850) 623-3645, and the Internet address is http://wfrm.org/.
If, however, you'd like to chase a train or two, maybe videotape a meet, you'll need to move east to one of the four passing sidings between Pensacola and Chattahoochee. Head north out of the parking lot, away from the track, and you'll soon be at State Highway 90, where you turn right and zero your trip odometer. This is truly the Road to Paradise; once you get out of town, the highway parallels the track, making for beaucoup opportunities to pace trains. Couple that with lots of grade crossings and the sun on the right side of the train, and you'll be able to shoot as much video footage as you can afford.
Don't forget to zero out your trip odometer when you reach the intersection of 191 and 90. All mileage references from now on will be from that point. Also be sure your scanner is set, at a minimum, to dispatch channel 14 (160.320 KHz) and the local road channel 84 (161.370 KHz).
Here we go! We're driving through Historic Milton. The County Courthouse is on the right, just before Willing Street. If you hear a train coming, turn right and drive to the parking lot. Step out on the deck over the Blackwater river there and get a view of railroad traffic over a swing bridge. Across the Blackwater River (0.3) we will come to a bridge (1.2) where U.S. 90 crosses over the CSX track. We're now south of the track, with the old brick road that was the Old Spanish Trail between the highway and the track. The brick road dates back to 1921, and was the original route from east to west along here.
We pass the airport (2.9) and Industrial Road (3.6), both to the north. Highway 87 runs south (4.3) to I-10, Holley and Navarre and the beaches. The Harold Defect Detector (7.6) is in a small tin shed marked "Harold DD"; it reports on the road channel. A green sign marks the turn-out to the little burg of Harold (9.8) and now we're close to the"Siding at Floridale". On the west end is a small tin shack marked "SE Floridale" (10.9); this is where the automatic switch is located. Further on (13.0) is the other end, marked "NE Floridale."
This is a good place to mention that the railroad runs north and south! Jacksonville is North, and as you go toward Pensacola, you are not going west but (according to the CSX) south. This becomes even more interesting as the track leaves Pensacola in the other direction. It goes to Flomaton, which your compass will tell you is north, but to CSX it is south!
We move into Okaloosa County (16.2), where the road south would take us to the Emerald Coast Dragway. This is MP 688.07. A guy who lives just east (17.5) has a neat chopped and channeled 1949 Ford hotrod, purple and yellow, visible on the right from the highway. Soon we come to the little town of Holt, where U.S. 90 jogs around the town away from the track. There's a connection to I-10 here, near the post office (19.2). A sign marking Galliver (20.8) shows up just before we get to a short siding, sometimes used to store cars. A nearby crossing is at MP 690.76, for reference. At about MP 692.4 (22.7) the track veers northward away from the highway. It will be out of sight until we get east of Crestview, although there are several places where we could get down to it.
A bridge carries U.S. 90 over the track (25.3) and it will remain on the south side of the highway for the next 40 miles. This is not as good for pictures, since the sun is usually to the south and therefore behind the subject. We'll continue on, past the Milligan store (27.1) and the Yellow River bridge (27.5) toCrestview.
At the first light you could turn right (the middle right, not the sharp one) and take old Main street down to the track. The Amtrak shack is to your left. If we don't turn, we'll come to the light at Highway 85 (31.2). Continue on across, and a couple blocks further on are two small lakes (31.6) on the right. We could turn right here onto Hathaway Street and drive between the lakes to the track. If we don't turn here, we continue on past the Armory (32.5) and across Shoal River (34.9) to Windsong subdivision, Brookwood Lane (37.1), where the track and the highway once again come together. There is a flange lubricator here, almost exactly across the highway from the Windsong sign. The track is on our right, to the south. we continue past the Shoal River Gun Club (37.9, which is about MP 708.3) and the Sasquatch Zoo and gas station (38.9 we're eclectic here in the south) to Deerland (39.4).
On the north there's an abandoned filling station or store of some sort, on the south there's an abandoned feed mill and grain distribution center. Turn in south between the two buildings (across from where CR 393 turns north); the RR crossing indicates that at one time there were three tracks here. There's also a Railroad radio repeater tower here, another tin shed with a whip antenna. Back on U.S. 90, we continue east into Walton County (42.2); this is near MP 712.5. A couple more miles and we're at the intersection where highway 285 comes up from Niceville (44.9). Railroad Milepost 715 stands just west of highway 285. Let's reset the trip odometer to zero again, and embark on the Mossy Head portion of our trip.
Mossy Head, Florida is a small town in western Walton County. It is interesting from a railfan's historical point of view because at one time, shortly after World War 2, a military rail spur was constructed to run south from here to Eglin Air Force Base. The wye is still there, along with a short siding that is used by CSX to store cars for local delivery. Just east is the "Siding at Sellers," where meets are made between trains traveling east and west on this, the old Pensacola & Atlantic Railway.
We usually arrive at Mossy Head from FL-285, which runs south to Niceville. There is also exit 13 off I-10, which roughly parallels U.S. 90 and the CSX railroad along here. Railroad Milepost 715 stands just west of FL-285. Let's reset the trip odometer to zero, and head east toward Chipley. Set your scanner, at a minimum, to dispatch channel 14 (160.320 MHz) and the local road channel 84 (161.370 Mhz). With luck, we'll see a bunch of trains. The west leg of the wye (1.4) is visible from the highway, especially if there are any cars stored there. Ditto for the siding. to see the east leg, we'll turn right, cross the track, and turn back west again. This dirt street (path?) winds back past a cemetery, to the switch where the two legs come together. The Eglin railroad runs south from here under I-10, for quite a ways. Not sure where public property ends and the Eglin reserve begins, so we better not go too far down here.
Back on U.S. 90, we head east past Main Street (1.6 = MP 716.85). A bit further on we find a tin building (3.0) marked "SE Sellers," along with a couple of signals. This is the west end of "The Siding at Sellers," the middle of three passing sidings where east- and west-bound trains meet and sometimes overtake one another.
East of here, around a long, sweeping curve, is the other end (4.8), marked "NE Sellers." Either end of the passing siding is a good place to wait for a train. Often they run hot and heavy through here. Mid-day is good; we've had luck arriving at 11:00 am and hanging around until about 3:00 PM, often seeing four or more trains. If you catch one taking the siding, you can be sure at least one and often two will be coming through in the opposite direction. They don't stop "in the hole" for no reason!
Let's say we've cleaned out the siding. We've got one train headed west, another going east. Let's chase the one east; he may meet someone else at Chipley! Just east of the siding block is an Equipment Defect Detector (EDD) at MP 722.6. It's located 0.7 miles east of the Oakwood Hills Church (7.6) and is marked by a small tin shed. You'll hear it report defects, length and total axles on the road channel.
Further on isConrad-Yelvington Industries, a rock yard that brings in its product by rail. With six classification tracks and their own locomotive, you will sometimes see some action here as they unload the hopper cars that have been set out by CSX. You could also see hoppers on the siding here, maybe even with a couple of engines attached, waiting to be pushed into the yard.
Heading east, we come to the interesting town of DeFuniak Springs. It is named in honor of Fred R. DeFuniak, who had held many high offices in the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, including that of General Manager. There is a very nice old L&N depot that has been restored by the city, which is the current owner of The Depot Station, located on 1140 Circle Drive. There is also a former C&O caboose, recently repainted as L&N 3155. Watch for the DeFuniak Hotel (14.5) on your right as you drive east on U.S. 90, then turn right just before it and cross the track (MP 729.55). The depot and caboose are on your right.
Back on U.S. 90, we're running right along the track all the way to Argyle (19.0 = 734.02). There, the track again diverges from the highway. We won't get close again until we once more cross on a bridge over the track, to where the highway is again south of the track. On the way, we pass Ponce de Leon (26.5 = 741.11), named for the Spanish explorer who discovered Florida in 1513. There is a state park here, with mineral springs (Ponce de Leon was looking for the Fountain of Youth when he came to Florida; some of us still are! ;-) Westville is east of here, with an EDD at MP 744.3.
Industrial Road (31.2 = MP745.75) is one place where the track is very near U.S. 90. You can turn in at Westville (33.3), to the left, on several streets and approach the track. Large trees shade Railroad Street, which parallels the track for a block or so. It is here (MP 747.62) where the Westville DTC block meets the Bonifay DTC block. We're real close to an interesting feature of this line: the trestle and bridge across the Choctawhatchee River (34.8). There's highway bridge construction going on here now (fall 1999) but this is a neat place to pace a train, especially if the traffic is light.
Ten miles on we come to Bonifay. FL-79 (44.2) crosses U.S. 90, and the track is only a block or so north (MP 758.36).
The next town is Chipley, where FL-77 (53.1 = 766.92) crosses U.S. 90 and intersects the track. Just beyond is South 8th Street, on which you turn left to the track and the Amtrak depot.
Also here, at MP 767.06, is the west end of the passing "Siding at Chipley." We need to drive east to Avant Road (55.7) where there is a brand new crossing gate and a great, tree-shaded area to wait with our east-bound train for the oncoming west-bound.
Chipley is the largest town in, and the county seat of, Washington County. FL-77 runs north and south through the city, and is the point where we'll reset out trip odometer to zero, as we continue to follow the CSX mainline eastward. First, however, we'll have a look around the city. As we enter from the west on U.S. 90, the tracks are about a quarter-mile north of the road, and mostly out of sight. We'll turn north on FL-77 and drive to the tracks.
A block east is the Amtrak depot -- a small, one-room building next to the tracks. In the middle of a broad park area stands an old former Chessie System bay window caboose. At the second street east from FL-77 is the start of the Davis passing siding. This siding, 11,820 feet long, known as the "siding at Chipley", is one of four used by CSX for train meets here on the "Pensacola and Atlantic" subdivision of the Jacksonville Service Lane.
We'll reset the odometer at the intersection with FL-77, and continue east on U.S. 90. At 2.3 miles, we come to Avant Road and turn left. We'll soon come to a crossing, which is at the east end of the Davis siding [MP 769.2]. From here east, we're in the Cottondale DTC block.
Continuing eastward, the track is north of the highway at a distance of a quarter to half mile. New Prospect Road comes up at 2.8 miles, and then as we approach Cottondale, we pass under a bridge carrying the Bay Line track over U.S. 90. The intersection with U.S. 231 is at odometer mileage point 9.7. Just south of the CSX crossing at U.S. 231 is Railroad Street. If we take Railroad west, we'll see the small Bay Line yard to the south, and the Bay Line interchange with CSX.
Turn right, cross the CSX tracks (main track and one siding track), then turn right again back to U.S. 231. Go across, and now we're alongside the CSX yard. It has five tracks, and is used mainly for interchange traffic.
Get back to U.S. 90, and continue east to Marianna, at odometer 17.0. Much of the drive from Cottondale to Marianna has the rails remote from the highway, and if you stay on U.S. 90, the same will be true from Marianna east. To get around the problem past Marianna, we'll take the historic Old Spanish Trail instead. The route is that taken by the Spanish explorers, and between Marianna and Sneads is a dirt road. It has its historical charms, but it also follows the railroad much of the way. Or, more correctly, the railroad follows the trail, as the trail was here 300 years before there were any railroads anywhere.
Follow U.S. 90 to the east side of Mariana. We cross the Chipola River, and meet the intersection with FL-71 north near the Wal-Mart store. Two miles further east, take FL-71 south, and then, very shortly, turn left (east) onto the Old Spanish Trail. At odometer 24.3, a paved road goes to the right, but we continue straight on, and soon reach a grade crossing [MP 792.72]. Continue on, as the road bends left under old Spanish Moss-draped live oaks and pines, roughly along the route of the railroad, to a timber mill at Cypress. Continue on, past the local road 275 stop sign, straight across to Grand Ridge. This stretch is away from the railroad, but we come to it again east of the Grand Ridge Elementary School, at odometer 33.5. A mile later we'll come to a grade crossing. While the Old Spanish Trail continues arrow-straight into Sneads, take a left here onto McKeown Mill Road, and this will follow the railroad almost all the way into Sneads.
Along this stretch of road, there's always the chance of seeing a train. When we reach Gloster Avenue, odometer 39.4, local road 280, we turn right to the tracks, cross them, and will come once again to U.S. 90 shortly. Had we taken U.S. 90 east from the Wal-Mart store in Marianna, it would have been 18 miles to this intersection.
This is currently the end of this tour. We'd be delighted to have a contribution continuing the Sunset Route East tour east of Sneads or west of Nokomis, AL.