The East and West Coast Railway was a railroad line running from

Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries A settlement established by Maroons or escaped sl ...

on the west coast of Florida southeast to

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

in the

Peace River The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in th ...

valley. Despite its name, the line never went all the way to the east coast of Florida. The line was often used to transport mail, lumber, grain and other commodities. Opened on May 3, 1915, the nearly fifty mile line began at the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, t ...

's line through Bradenton just south of the

Manatee River The Manatee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 18, 2011 river in Manatee County, Florida. The river forms in the northeastern corner of Manatee County an ...

, and ran southeast closely following the current route of State Road 70 via Myakka City to Arcadia.Interstate Commerce Commission Reports: Decisions of the Interstate Commerce Commission of the United States. Valuation reports, Volume 35
/ref> In Arcadia, the line crossed the

Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway The Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway is a historic railroad line that at its greatest extent serviced Gasparilla Island in Charlotte Harbor (estuary), Charlotte Harbor and a major shipping port that once operated there. The railroad's princi ...

and the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967 it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast L ...

's Lakeland–Fort Myers Line before terminating in the southeast portion of Arcadia. In 1925, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad leased the entire line, who had provided locomotives and rolling stock for the line since its construction. A year later, Seaboard also purchased the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway. As a result, Seaboard used the East and West Coast Railway less frequently to the point where the line was completely removed in 1934. The East and West Coast Railway was one of two railroad lines running from the Bradenton area to the Peace River valley. The other was the southern extension of the Atlantic Coast Line's

Tampa Southern Railroad The Tampa Southern Railroad was a subsidiary of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACL) originally running from Uceta Yard in Tampa, Florida, Tampa south to Palmetto, Florida, Palmetto, Bradenton, Florida, Bradenton, and Sarasota, Florida, Sarasot ...

which ran from

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

to Southfort (near Fort Ogden) in a parallel trajectory to the East and West Coast Railway.

Station listing

References

{{Florida railroads Defunct Florida railroads Predecessors of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad Railway companies established in 1915 Railway companies disestablished in 1925 American companies established in 1915 1915 establishments in Florida 1925 disestablishments in Florida