Passenger service

Passenger service to and from Boca Grande was a primary means of transportation until the installation of a roadway bridge in the late 1950s. It was primarily handled by the Seaboard Air Line's venerable Baldwin passenger units, the DR6-4-1500A, which were used on the southern end of the system. The units were frequent visitors to Sarasota, Boca Grande and Tampa and were typically in charge of the southern connections.

The units while not available in HO scale, are some of the most interesting locomotives on the Seaboard roster. The units were purchased in November 1947, and two additional units were purchased in January 1948. The locomotives were numbered SAL 2700-2702 and were powered by a 1500 horsepower Baldwin 608SC, 8 cylinder prime mover which was turbo equipped.

The units were ultimately sold to EMD as trade in credit and scrapped in the early 1960s. Several unique images are contained on the Baldwin Diesel Zone website.

In this image above, SAL 2702, a 1948 built unit, is seen stopping at the Boca Grande passenger depot in 1952. Pullman service from New York was available, and it was not uncommon for a Pullman 12-1 sleeper to be in train, supplemented by various coaches and head end equipment. The loading dock south of the station and sidings provide interesting contrast to the mainline.