At one time or another the company employed more than 4,000 men. The Florida Overseas Railroad was built to the highest construction standards, often utilizing concrete viaducts to bridge the distances across the tiny patches of land. The elderly Flagler nearly bet everything on the railroad's gamble to reach Key West. The extension covered a total of 156 miles via Miami. * Removed and replaced with solid fill in 1916. Flagler quickly converted the JStA&HR to standard gauge and then set about expanding his growing rail network southward, once a direct rail connection was established across the St. The road also had a connection with the little Jacksonville & Atlantic Railway which ran due east to Pablo Beach. It ran southeasterly from South Jacksonville and reached St. Augustine & Halifax River Railway (JStA&HR).Īs George Hilton points out in his book, " American Narrow Gauge Railroads," the JStA&HR was a disconnected system from the national rail network at the time. Henry Flagler began his rail empire in 1885 when he acquired a rickety, 36-mile narrow-gauge property known as the Jacksonville, St. The extension was already in decline when the Labor Day Hurricane struck in 1935 and would almost certainly have been abandoned at a later date. However, it was built as a freight corridor and, unfortunately, Key West never materialized into the deep water port Henry Flagler had envisioned. There is no question that if the line was still active it would be an incredible tourist attraction drawing thousands annually to Florida's popular southern beaches. It is always fun to daydream over what could have been with the Key West Extension. The former rail bridges no longer carry vehicle traffic. 1), the route still serves Key West today albeit What became known as the Overseas Highway (U.S. Which subsequently turned the former railbed into a major roadway As a result, the property was sold to the state of Florida, Industry's most celebrated accomplishments was destroyedĪt the time the FEC was bankrupt and could not afford repairs to the line. The city of Key West's deep water port failed to develop into either a major generator of freight or a coal refueling point for marine vessels.Īfter struggling for two decades, one of the railroad Rockefeller and Standard Oil, had high hopes for what became known as the Key West Extension.īy the early 20th century, the FEC had not only singlehandedly developed Florida's Atlantic coastline into the vacation paradise for which it is known today, but also offered the only rail service along the state's East Coast.ĭespite its monumental expense and impressive nature, the Florida Overseas Railroad never blossomed into the great extension Flagler envisioned. The mogul, who made his millions in oil alongside John D. The legend of the Florida East Coast was cemented when its leader, Henry Flagler, took his railroad to sea in 1905.
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