The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1907-11-30

An ocean journey by rail! Who ever
heard Of such thing? Great heavy en-
gines pulling long trains Of heavy Pull
man coaches along the surface Of the
water with the limitless eXpanse OF
blue ocean stretching out on either
hand. Incredible as it may seem this
very thing will be possible by the first
of next year; for the road being built
along the coral reefs Of southern
Florida is nearing completion, and
when finished will enable one to get
within lis miles Of Havana by train
and the rest of the distance to the
Cuban capital can be covered by fast
steamer in six hours time. From q
comfortable seat in parlor car the
traveller will be able to look out on
one side across the rolling pillows OF
the Atlantic and on the other side
over the bluer waters Of the Gulf OF
Florida, the two commingling directly
beneath the tracks which support his
train The tracks themselves will be
invisible, of course, so he can enjoy
tAlt HONSl SellSdlIou VI SOiHS W oSd
by train.
Here and there the voyager by
ocean railway will cross diminutive
coral keys and at intervals he will
traverse larger islets through groves
Of tangled palms. He will be set down
at length on Knights Key, the south.
ernmost point IN the United States
reached by rail, and the temporary
terminus of the only seafaring rail
road ever built. There he may step
land in Havana, having travelled all
but 115 miles of the distance from
his starting point by train.
The effect, so far as the traveller is
concerned, will be the same as IL a
woodworking genii should pick up
the Pearl of the Antilles and move it
a hundred miles or more nearer to the
United States. The journey to Cuba
from New York or Chicago, or any
point in the eastern half of the coun-
try, will be shortened in point of time
nearly One-third. Leaving New York
on any wintry evening, the traveller
will be able on the second afternoon
to step ashore in the Cuban capital,
having made the entire trip in less
than IS hours.
This will be made possible by the
opening to traffic Of a section of the
railroad at sea" that has been push
ing out over land and water along the
thickly dotted line of coral islands
that curves from the Florida mainland
southwest to Key West. When work
was begun, about two years ago, it
was announced that trains would be
running in three years, but so rapidly
has construction gone forward that
already more than two-thrds of the
distance has been covered. and the
line is almost ready to be opened for
more than 100 of the 15i miles of its
projected length.
The building of this remarkable
ocean highway is regarded by Mr.,
Tlagler as the browning achievement
of the great development that he has
been carrying on in Florida. Though
he has been engaged in other indus
trial enterprises, Mr.. Flaglers real
work-or, at least, that in which he
takes the keenest inteTcst-has been
transforming the eastern half of Flor.
ida from a barren waste of sand into
a thriving industrial section and the
winter playground Of the country.
Though sometimes spoken of as a
hobby, his development Of Ponce de
Icons land Of perpetual youth has
been conducted as a business enter
prise pure and simple The building
the ocean railway was undertaken
with an eye to the growth in import,
auce of Key West that is certain to
follow the completion of the Panama
canal and to the steadily increasing
traffic between the United States and
Cuba. At the same time the man who
IS responsible for these great enter
prises has devoted to them all the en-.
thusiasm that some men give to go,t
or yachting or raising thoroughbreds.
In this sense they have been his hob
BY it is true.
According to Mr. Flagler himself.
the scheme of carrying his railroad
line out across the coral islands to
Key West and Of conveying his trains
f,Nm there - rapid car ferries direct
!, to the Cuban capital first took tan
gible shape in his mind during the
Epanish-American war At that time
the certainty of closer political and
trade relations between this country
and Cuba became evident, as did the
commercial and strategic Importance
Of some means Of quickly reaching the
island republic from the United States
The dream grew in Mr. Flagler's Minis
and be directed that survey be made