The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1906-05-04
A RAILWAY UPON THE SEA.
Day Allen Wiley in Smiths Magazine

Day Allen Wiley in Smiths Magazine,
The peninsula which forms the south
eastern corner of the country and annexes
to the United States a bit of the land of
the tropics has been singularly interesting
as field of human achievement. Study
the recent history of Florida, and you are
surprised to note what u few men have
done to develop it. On the pages the
names of Plant, Flagler and Disston stand
out conspicuously, for the State owes more
of its present prosperity to this trio, as its
people acknowledge, than to any other
three men who have devoted their time
and energy to its advancement.
Plant and Flagler have been the path
fnders-the path opening up the
central and southern interior with highways
of steel and turning the inland as well as
the coast waters into trade routes. Thus
settlers from not merely the South but
New England, the Central West, the
Northwest, have been able to enter the
forests, the hummocks, and the rich prair-
les that border them. With the saw they
converted the trees into lumber, the soil
was turned over for the vegetable garden,
and fruit trees were thickly planted One
passes through mile after mile of orange
groves so close together that whole coun-
ties are sites for orchards
Not content with the land at once avail
able for agriculture, the work of draining
the water recovered area was carried on TO
such an extent that one Of the most pro-
ductiye regions of the State is to be found
where formerly existed merely a vast
swamp, its site now occupied by thousands
of truck growers.
The story Of what the railroad has done
in changing the map of America reads like
a romance No wonder is it that one of
the pioneers in its progress is honored in
the title of the pathway of commerce he
conceived and completed, for the Plant is
one Of the very few transportation systems
having personal title. The Florida East
Coast Railway, however, is known better
as the Flagler system than BY its legal
name. since 1t Is n memorial to the energy
and ability of one man.
The construction of this band of steel
has been most notable from an engineering
standpoint, while it involved expenditure
running into millions Of dollars-just how
many is probably known only to Mr..
Flagler himself To put down three hun
jFed and sixty six miles of rails and ties
even on the level prairie means an outlay
of fully three million dollars; but, running
their lines almost continually within sight
aud sound Of the Atlantic waves, the en-
gincers were obliged to construct barriers
to prevent the track from being washed
away. and bridge after bridge TO carry the
trains over the numerous channels aud in
lets that connect the great natural canal
trayersiug the peninsula with the sea.
Aud thus was a trail made into 4 veritable
wilderness, speaking from human stand
point
Such Is a brief history of what the rail-
road promoter has accomplished in our most
southern commonwealth It is worth the
telling, however, for it is a prelude TO a
feat which, If performed, viii be by far the
greatest Of the achievements Of which Flo
rida has been the scene. Not content with
laying highway of steel almost to the
Everglades, it Is to penetrate the morass
itself. and then is to extend far out over
the sea.
Ten years ago the man who would have
predicted that one could travel from the
metropolis to Key West without leaving
bis car, would have been regarded as out
Of his mind. but this is understood to be
the height Of Mr. Flagler' ambition. In
the last two years the possible route has
been examined, and other data obtained
FROM the experts called 20 determine if the
projee, is practicable As 2 result Of their
conclusions. it has been determined to carry
out the work When it is completed, the
tourist can indeed venture into the Gulf
Of Mexico aud alight from his train in a
depot seventy miles from the nearest point
on the mainland
True, all Of the track viii not be laid
above the sea The chain of islands lying
off the southeastern coast of the State are
80 located that advantage can be taken of
them, but they are separated by no less
than thirty six miles of open water which
must be crossed
Glaneing at the map, the Florida keys,
which fringe the coast. appear ike step
ping stones in the sea between the island
city aud the mainland Their arrangement
in itself is tempting to the engineer to con-
uect them with a highway OF steel, and
their formation lends itself to such an ex-
ploit
But it can well be said that this will be
highway upon the sea, as it must be
placed upon mile after mile of bridge and
trestle work, some of it directly over the
waves of the Atlantic; for between Key
West and the mainland are sounds and
channels 10 be crossed, each miles in width,
and some deep enough to be navigated by
large steamships. To give a comprehen-
sive idea of the task which must be uu-
dertaken, brief outline of the route be-
tween the southern terminus and the
mainland is essential.
In the direction which the railway has
been surveyed are twenty FIVE keys, rang
ing from Key Largo, which, as its name
implies, Is one of the most important,
stretching away thirty miles from the Flo
rida coast to islets less than mile in length
The group adjacent to Key West consists
of Boca Chica, Saddle Bunch, Sugar Loaf,
Cudjoe, Summeraud, Torch and Big Pine,
each separated by channels varying from
one hundred to one thousand yards in width;
but the greatest depth of water is not over
seven feet, so that this mileage can be
| spanned with comparatively little difficulty.
Between the island known as West
Summerland and Bahia Honda, water
course eighteen feet in depth and fifteen
hundred feet in width must be bridged,
while between Bahia Honda and Knight
Key the railroad must be supported above
the open sea for distance of nearly eight
miles
The next thirty miles is principally over
| land extending from Kpioht's Kew to