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The Apalachicola Northern is a classic southern shortline with a long proud history serving the Florida panhandle region. The railroad has fallen on hard times in recent years with the closure of the paper mill that was its primary source of traffic and the loss of a lucrative coal contract. Now under new ownership, the Apalachicola Northern has streamlined its name to AN Railway LLC and has begun to grow new business with an eye towards securing the railroad's future. I was fortunate enough to visit the railroad last February while vacationing in nearby Mexico Beach, Fl., and found the employees to be a proud, professional and friendly group. Here's a quick report of the trip.
By
James House
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On the afternoon of February 17, 2004,
the daylight switch crew is seen towing in the previous night's road train
at the Highway 71 crossing in Port St. Joe, Florida. The train is made up
of manifest cars headed for the three chemical companies at Port St. Joe and
a large block of empty coal hoppers bound for the local transload facility. |
| The first order of the day is to switch
Premier Chemical. The company is located on Port St. Joe's north side, parallel
to the Materials Transfer facility. |
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We catch up with the crew about an hour
later on their way back to the yard from switching Arizona Chemical, the
largest customer in Port St. Joe. |
| After lunch, five of the road's six
remaining locomotives are laced up and run over to Materials Transfer to get
the loaded coke train doubled together. |
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Once doubled, the daylight switcher crew pulls the train out of town and gets to work performing a Class I initial terminal brake test and inspection. Here we see the train back at the Highway 71 crossing on Port St. Joe's north side. |
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