The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-10-07

~ sno SAeeD IN HOusebOats By Night.
everage railroad Standardization
$95,000 mile, which Is perhaps three
times greater than in ordinary fiat
country where no long bridges have
to be built. The total involved is from
fifteen to twenty million dollars.
The construction work began in 1905
on the basis of surveys which had been
made previously. All the grading OF
the section Of the road on the mainland
has now been finished. and part of the
viaduct work completed. Over nearly
all the distance. fortunately, there Is
foundation of coral, which allows the
concrete, REINFORCED with steel, to be
firmly moored with steel supports. No
roadway in the world, anywhere ex-
ports say. will be safer than this: and
none more beautiful as 1t lies cleaning
white in the tropical sun. In a few
places, where the foundation IL sand,
piling Is used to afford foundation
Every here and there dredges are ac-
lively pumping up sand from deep wa
ter, conveying 1t through pipes ana
depositing 1t In shallow water to help
in the construction of the line. Else
where are to be found dredges which
eat their way over the fiat land leav-
ing O shallow canal on either side OF
the roadbed which they throw up.
The pioneers of "the railroad that Is
going to sea" are at this writing push
ing their way across the keys. many OF
which are barren and 0ntenanted
though a few are inhabited by fisher
men and wreckers. some of them living
in queer, picturesque houses built on
stills. AS the narrow passages Of wa
ter between the islands are crossed the
construction crews find themselves
often amidst the feet of sponge fishers
from Key West, who lift their VAL
liable cargoes from the shoals about
these Islands.
\ Building a railway line across such
series Of islands and stretches or open
water naturally presents practical prob
lens in the housing of men. After the
negro laborers have cleared out tho
dense tropical jungle on the uninhao-
tied islands, the construction crews or
white men of various national1ties ar
rive. On the land they live In tenn
porary wooden houses. or in some cases
in well-arranged tents Fourteeh
camps have been established, each In
a favorable location on firm grounds.
The water for drinking and cooking
has to be transported from Miami; tins
food is as we'll cooked and varied as Is
possible so far from urban markets.
A hospital tent enables the camp ply
sician properly to treat any case OF
illness. The men in every way are
made comfortable. Even an impro-
vised barber shop gives facilities TOT
shaving and hair-cutting at surpris-
inely low rates. The men who do the
work on the water live in floating dor
mitories, two stories high. neat and
commodious, which are anchored some
where near the great floating dredges.
Some of the men labor constantly IN
water and naturally receive hlsher
wages than the others.
The details Of the engineering task
give a conception of the enormity of
the undertaking. From Homestead to
Kew West the line will consist of sew
enty- four land miles, while twenty-five
miles are built over swamp and nearly
thirty over water. Ten bridges are
called for and several miles OF steel
span work and concrete arch. -Four
long viaducts will have an aggregate
length of nearly six miles. From Long
Key to Conch Key 1t is 10.400 feet.
across knights Key channel, 1900 feet
over Moser Key Chanel 1890 feet, while
Bahia Honda channel has width OF
1880 feet. These viaducts will con-
sist of a series of reinforced copcrete,
circular arch spans and piers, bringing
the base of the rails somewhat more
than thirty feet above the mean low
water level and insuring that tho
passing trains will always be above
the spray Of the dashing waves below.
The greatest of these viaducts will be
the longest marine bridge in existence.
It has about double the length Of
Brooklyn bridge.
This extension OF the Florida East
Coast Railroad Is being made with
view to having ultimately a double
track all the way. BY means OF nu-
merous sidings the line will have al
most the efficiency of a double track
road from the start. Most of the sid
ings are to be located on the keys.
Modern safety devices will be installed
throughout
This latest Flagler enterprise is fur
nishing work for about 1000 men. 1t
will later on open up new commercial
possibilities to Southern Florida and
to the entire United States and Cuba
as well. The natural connection of
the new railroad with the, Panama Ca
nal has already been suggested The
chances are that some of the existing
lines OF trade will be greatly modified
by its influence. Such considerations
acter, Mr.. Flagler has all along had
in mind. In a recent address at Miami,
he said:
What use would 1t have been to
build a railroad to Miami If you, in
whose faces l look tonight, would not
have found II useful in the development
of your career, your plans and pur-
poses? No man can live unto himself:'
We are all dependent upon each other.
There must be a class of people who
need our services If we are to make q
place in the community we live In"