The heyday of railway travel may long be gone, but the nostalgic allure of architecturally inspiring infrastructure and traveling the country by rail has ensured we’ll never tire of seeing the grandeur and timelessness of our historic station buildings.
With the recent publicity of an admitted long-shot effort to bring Amtrak’s Sunset Limited back to the Gulf Coast — including a special publicity ride of the once-transcontinental train from New Orleans to Jacksonville this week — we decided to take a look back at the railroad’s glory days on the Gulf Coast.
1. Pensacola & Atlantic Railroad Passenger Station
The Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad passenger station in Pensacola, located at Wright and Tarragona streets in downtown Pensacola, opened in August 1882. The station was among the grandest in the South and served through the first decade of the 20th century.
Pensacola Louisville and Nashville Railway station, 1910. (Special to The Pulse)
The Pensacola Railroad connected Pensacola with the large, prosperous Louisville and Nashville Railroad. The Pensacola Railroad became a subsidiary of the L&N on October 20, 1880. After the L&N took control of P&A, construction on the station was completed in 22 months. This two-story wooden structure was replaced in 1912 by a larger L&N passenger station of brick and stucco at the corner of Wright and Alcaniz streets.
A closer view of the L&N station in 1910 looking west towards Tarragona Street. (Special to The Pulse)
2. Louisville & Nashville Depot and Express Office, Pensacola
The L&N Passenger Depot and Express Office was built in 1912 as the major passenger station for the Louisville & Nashville Railroad that serviced Pensacola. The depot remained in service until the last passenger train rolled out in April 1971.
(Special to The Pulse)
The depot was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979 and is now home to the lobby of the Crowne Plaza Pensacola Grand Hotel and the CAVU Club bar and restaurant 1912.
Crowne Plaza Grand Hotel. (Special to The Pulse)
3. Frisco Passenger Station, Pensacola
The Frisco passenger station was a Mission Revival–style structure at the corner of Garden Street and Coyle Street in downtown Pensacola, now the site of AT&T offices. Frisco locomotive #1355 is placed at this location in commemoration of the former depot, which was demolished in 1967.
(Special to The Pulse)
The St. Louis–San Francisco Railway Company, widely known as the “Frisco,” operated from the late 1800s into the early 1980s. It was one of two railways that directly served Pensacola, sharing Port of Pensacola access with the Louisville & Nashville Railroad. Frisco provided passenger service to and from Pensacola from its arrival in 1928 until passenger operations ended in 1955.
4. Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Passenger Terminal, Mobile
The Gulf Mobile & Ohio Railroad constructed its corporate headquarters and home terminal in Mobile, Alabama, in 1907. Designed by P. Thornton Mayre in the Mission Revival style, the structure served as a major regional terminal.
(Special to The Pulse)
In 1975, the building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The railroad discontinued use of the building in 1986, leaving it to deteriorate for the next decade.
A closer look at the terminal on Beauregard Street. (Special to The Pulse)
In 2001, the City of Mobile and private developers invested more than $18 million to restore the landmark, taking advantage of the Federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentive program. Today, the building houses private offices and the city’s Metro Transit Authority.
(Special to The Pulse)
5. Louisville & Nashville Passenger Depot, Milton
The original depot in Milton included a ticket office and waiting room to the right, with an elevated freight section to the left. Water barrels attached to the roofline served as an early fire-control measure.
(Special to The Pulse)
6. Molino Railroad Depot
View of the Molino, Florida, Railroad Depot in 1918. (Special to The Pulse)
7. Louisville & Nashville Railroad Depot, Crestview
In the 19th century, travelers across the Gulf Coast would make a brief stop at a small make-shift depot operating out of a single boxcar at the crest of the hill between the Yellow and Shoal Rivers — the future site of Crestview.
In 1890, the P&A Railroad constructed an official wood-frame depot building with separate waiting areas and a freight room.
The Crestview L&N Depot, built in 1891, was the original namesake of the town Crest View Station. (Special to The Pulse)
8. Louisville & Nashville Railroad Depot, DeFuniak Springs
DeFuniak Springs was founded by officers of the Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad, a subsidiary of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad.
The L&N helped develop DeFuniak Springs — named after Frederick R. De Funiak, a vice president of the railroad — by supporting the Florida Chautauqua Assembly, an influential adult education movement in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
DeFuniak Springs passenger depot. (Special to The Pulse)