| AN Railway | |
|---|---|
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The Apalachicola Northern's headquarters in Port St. Joe, Florida. |
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| Reporting mark | AN |
| Locale | Florida Panhandle |
| Dates of operation | 1907– |
| Track gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge) |
| Length | 96 mi (154 km) |
| Headquarters | Port Saint Joe, Florida |
The AN Railway (reporting mark AN) is one of several shortline railroad companies owned by the Genesee & Wyoming parent company. It operates between Port Saint Joe, Florida and a connection with CSX's Pensacola & Atlantic and Tallahassee Subdivisions at Chattahoochee, Florida, with a short spur to Apalachicola, Florida. The railroad operates approximately 96 miles (154 km) of track.
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The Apalachicola Northern Railroad was chartered on April 7, 1903. Construction began on March 21, 1905, and trains began running north from Apalachicola in 1907. The extension to Port St. Joe was completed on May 10, 1910.
The company operated in receivership on three separate occasions: July 1907 to October 1908, May 1914 to February 1916 and May 1932 to December 1936.
The company came under ownership of Alfred I. du Pont in 1933, along with the entire town of Port St. Joe. The railroad's largest customer, the St. Joe Paper Company mill in Port St. Joe, was owned by the Alfred I. duPont Testamentary Trust from 1936 to 1996.[1] On September 30, 1940, Edward Ball, who managed the du Pont trust properties, transferred control of the railroad to the St. Joe Paper Company.[2] When the paper company was sold in 1996, ownership of the railroad was returned to the St. Joe Company.
Rail Management Corporation bought the line from the St. Joe Company on September 1, 2002. It was renamed the AN Railway at that time.[3]
On May 26, 2005, it was announced that all assets of Rail Management Corporation were being acquired by Genesee and Wyoming Inc with an effective date of June 1, 2005. The AN Railway was included in this purchase. As of 2007, the railroad continues operations as part of Genessee and Wyoming's Southern Region.
Unlike most shortlines, the AN Railway's locomotive fleet consisted entirely of originally purchased units direct from the manufacturer, as opposed to the acquirement of used engines.[4] It's diesel roster is primarily EMD hood units, although many of these locomotives were recently sold off after business on the railroad dropped with the closure of some industrial areas. As it currently stands, there are only three GP15T's still on the active roster. These units are all painted into Apalachicola Northern's original blue & white scheme.
| Model[4] | Quantity | Built | Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| EMD GP15T | 3 | 1983 | 720-722 |
| Model[4] | Quantity | Built | Retired | Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EMD NW2 | 3 | 1947 | 1970 | 701-704 |
| EMD SW9 | 7 | 1952-1953 | 2005 | 705-711 |
| EMD SW1500 | 8 | 1969-1970 | 2005 | 712-719 |
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