Tampa Southern Railroad

With optimism for the company's petition to the Interstate Commerce Commission,[17] in 1925 surveyors were plotting a line beyond Sarasota to connect with Florida's east coast.[18] By 1927, the line was extended southeast from Sarasota to Fort Ogden in Desoto County. From the Sarasota depot, the line turned east through Fruitville, briefly running directly beside the Seaboard line before that line turned south towards Venice. Once out of Sarasota, the line turned southeast passing through Utopia before crossing the Myakka River and continuing through Honore and Sidell. It crossed the Seaboard Air Line Railroad's Boca Grande Subdivision at Platt. The line then crossed Peace River just before merging with the ACL's Lakeland–Fort Myers Line at Southfort (just south of Fort Ogden). Today, Desoto County Road 761 runs along the former right of way from the Peace River to Fort Ogden. Freight stations were built at Belspur, Palmersville, Honore, and Sidell. The extension included a spur to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Sarasota headquarters near Fruitville. The extension also served Palmer Farms and their packinghouse at Belspur. Adrian Honore, brother of local socialite Bertha Honore Palmer, also owned significant amounts of land along the line east of Sarasota.[19]

While freight was the primary intent of the Fort Ogden extension, it ended up having the additional benefit of providing a direct route for passenger trains traveling from Tampa and Sarasota further down the coast to Fort Myers and Naples. The extension would initially serve a pair of passenger trains from Tampa Union Station to Fort Myers and Naples that included through Pullman coaches from the Dixie Limited and the Palmetto.[19]

Most of the Fort Ogden extension was removed by 1949 since it did not generate the freight traffic the Atlantic Coast Line had hoped for. The line was truncated at Belspur just east of Fruitville.[20]

Bascule bridge over the Manatee River

By 1949, the line had daily service from Tampa Union Station to Sarasota by the Atlantic Coast Line's West Coast Champion as well as a daily local passenger train. Two freight trains also ran to Sarasota six days a week.[21]

In 1967, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad merged with the Seaboard Air Line to form the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL). Connections were established between the Tampa Southern and the Seaboard route in a number of locations. Former Tampa Southern track from Bradenton to Matoaka was removed and the parallel east-west track through Fruitville was consolidated on to the former SAL track. The Tampa Southern track from Fruitville to Belspur would remain as a spur until the late 1970s.[22]

The merger also resulted in the removal of the SAL's swing bridge over the Manatee River (which was located a short distance upstream of both the Tampa Southern's bascule bridge and the Desoto Bridge). The city of Bradenton unsuccessfully attempted to have the Seaboard Coast Line remove the Tampa Southern bridge instead since it went right through downtown Bradenton's waterfront.[23]

The Tampa Southern route (as well as the remaining SAL route south from Bradenton to Venice) was then designated as the Palmetto Subdivision by the Seaboard Coast Line after the merger. It became the main route for all trains between Palmetto and Tampa since it provided a more direct route to the Tampa yards. The Champion continued to run the line and continued south to Venice after the merger.[24] All passenger service ended in 1971 after all of the Seaboard Coast Line's passenger operations were taken over by Amtrak. The line would later become the route of Tropicana's Juice Train, which was originally operated on the former Seaboard Air Line tracks to bypass Tampa. The juice train continues to run the line today.

At the north end, the line was connected with the S Line (the former SAL main line) into Yeoman Yard, the Seaboard Air Line's classification yard that subsequently became the Seaboard Coast Line's main yard. Uceta Yard, the Atlantic Coast Line's main yard, has since become an intermodal terminal and car storage facility. The connection with the A Line (the former ACL main line) was severed after the cessation of passenger service.[25]

In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line's parent company merged with the Chessie System, creating the CSX Corporation. The CSX Corporation initially operated the Chessie and Seaboard Systems separately until 1986, when they were merged into CSX Transportation. The Seaboard Air Line's original route between Durant and Willow was then removed in 1986, leaving the Tampa Southern route as the only thru route.[26]