Clearwater station (Amtrak)

This article is about the former Amtrak station in Florida. For the current VIA Rail station in Clearwater, British Columbia, see Clearwater station.
Clearwater, FL
inter-city rail station
The northbound Floridian at Clearwater in 1979
General information
Location657 Court Street, Clearwater, Florida 33516
USA
Coordinates27°57′42″N 82°47′49″W / 27.9617°N 82.7970°W / 27.9617; -82.7970
Elevation25 ft
Line(s)Clearwater Subdivision
Tracks1
Other information
Station codeCLW
History
Closed1984 (rail)
1995 (Amtrak Thruway)
Former services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station
St. Petersburg
Terminus
 Silver Star Tampa
toward New York
Silver Meteor
Floridian Tampa
toward Chicago
Preceding station Seaboard Air Line Railroad Following station
Belleair
toward St. Petersburg
 Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad Coachman
toward Sulphur Springs

Clearwater station was an Amtrak train station in Clearwater, Florida, served by the Floridian (from Chicago) until 1979 and the Silver Service (from New York City) until February 1, 1984 (when all rail service to and from St. Petersburg was terminated).[1][2] Thereafter, it continued to be used for Amtrak Thruway motor coach service until 1995, connecting to Amtrak Silver Service trains at Tampa Union Station.[3]

The station was originally built by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad (SAL) in 1922.[4] From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was served by daily long-distance SAL passenger trains, such as the Seabreeze Rail Special in the early 1930s and later the Silver Meteor and Silver Star between New York City and St. Petersburg.[5] Following the SAL-Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) merger on July 1, 1967, the combined Seaboard Coast Line (SCL) closed the nearby ACL station in Clearwater, consolidating passenger service at the former SAL station. The SCL also ran the Champion through the station after the merger.[6][7] Rail passenger train service at Clearwater began operating under Amtrak auspices on May 1, 1971, using SCL's tracks, which became the CSX Clearwater Subdivision on November 1, 1980.[3]

The former Seaboard Air Line Railroad station was turned into a hot dog shop. The hot dog shop was demolished in 2003 and soon after the 7-Eleven was built.[citation needed]

  1. ^ "Amtrak - Clearwater, FL (CLW)". www.trainweb.org. Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  2. ^ "Clearwater Florida Amtrak |". Retrieved 2019-05-10.
  3. ^ a b Luisi, Vincent (2010). Railroading in Pinellas County. Arcadia Publishing. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-7385-8550-5.
  4. ^ Luisi, p. 64.
  5. ^ Luisi, p. 76.
  6. ^ Seaboard Coast Line timetable, December 13, 1968
  7. ^ Luisi, p. 110.