Additional track starting from Sulphur Springs running west towards Clearwater and south to St. Petersburg was built shortly after.

The railroad was informally known as the "Tug n' Grunt"[1] and the "Pea Vine"[2] due to its frequent twists and turns.

While it was the second railroad to serve St. Petersburg and Clearwater after the Orange Belt Railway, it had the advantage of being the first to connect the area directly with Tampa.

The resulting company after the merger was the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad (SCL), who connected the two Pinellas County routes where they crossed near Belleair.

[1] In 1980, the Seaboard Coast Line's parent company merged with the Chessie System, creating the CSX Corporation.

[1] In 1983, the company sold the original Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad right of way from Belleair to 34th Street South in St. Petersburg to the Florida Department of Transportation.

[12] This segment is now part of the Pinellas Trail (which also continues north from Belleair along the former Orange Belt/Atlantic Coast Line route).

[13] CSX continues to operate the remaining tracks of the Tampa and Gulf Coast Railroad, which is now part of their Clearwater Subdivision.