Atlanta and St. Andrews Bay Railroad
| Company type | Railroad |
|---|---|
| Industry | Transportation |
| Founded | February 14, 1906 |
| Defunct | January 1, 1994 |
| Fate | Operations taken over by Bay Line Railroad |
| Headquarters | Dothan , United States |
Area served | Alabama, Florida |
Key people | A. B. Steele (founder) |
The Atlanta and St. Andrews Bay Railway, commonly referred to as the Bay Line, was a Class I railroad that operated across Alabama and Florida. Established in 1906, it commenced service on its primary route connecting Dothan, Alabama to Panama City, Florida in 1908. Eventually reclassified as a short-line railroad, its operations were taken over by the Bay Line Railroad in 1994.
History
The A&SAB was created by timber entrepreneurs and land developers, including A. B. Steele, with the goal of tapping into the agricultural markets of the Florida Panhandle and South Alabama. Incorporated on February 14, 1906, the railway inaugurated its track between Dothan and Panama City on July 15, 1908. The city of Panama City was officially incorporated the year after at the railway’s endpoint. Although there were intentions to extend the line northward to Atlanta, financial difficulties and competition from the Central of Georgia railroad prevented this expansion.
During World War II, traffic surged significantly on the A&SAB due to nearby military installations around Panama City. The railway earned Class I status in 1947 and operated nightly sleeper and coach passenger trains between Panama City and Atlanta Union Station, utilizing Central of Georgia tracks from Dothan to Atlanta. Passenger services were discontinued between 1955 and 1956.
The introduction of intermodal freight services occurred in 1962 with ramps established at Panama City and Cottondale. The railroad further extended its network by adding a branch line to Graceville in 1971. Ownership shifted when International Paper sold the line to Southwest Forest Industries in 1979; later, Southwest Forest Industries was acquired by Stone Container Corporation in 1987.
In 1989, Stone Container acquired a branch line running from Grimes to Abbeville, Alabama, from CSX Transportation. This route operated as the Abbeville-Grimes Railway Company but remained under A&SAB management. On January 1, 1994, the Rail Management Corporation purchased A&SAB’s assets and established the Bay Line Railroad to manage operations.
Graceville branch
The 7-mile branch connecting Campbellton, Florida to Graceville was completed on July 14, 1971. Graceville sat at the terminus of the Georgiana branch of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, allowing interchange between these railroads and providing access to a Southwest Forest Industries woodchip mill supplying paper production in Panama City. Additionally, Graceville hosted a peanut mill operated by Gold Kist.
When the Seaboard System Railroad, successor to Louisville and Nashville, abandoned its line into Graceville on January 16, 1984, A&SAB acquired the small yard and wye track from Seaboard and maintained service to Graceville. However, due to diminishing traffic volumes, this branch was abandoned by the mid-1990s.
Abbeville branch
On March 1, 1989, Stone Container Corporation purchased the rail segment between Grimes and Abbeville. The main freight on this line consisted of woodchips from a mill near Abbeville destined for the Panama City paper facility. The Bay Line accessed this branch through trackage rights granted by CSX between Grimes and Dothan. This Abbeville branch was included when Stone Container sold its assets to Bay Line Railroad; subsequently, the Abbeville & Grimes Railway was officially merged into Bay Line on June 26, 1996.