Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-27
SEA-GOING PULLMANS TO BE
PUT ON FLORIDA LINE
CUBA is COMING NEARER TO
UNITED STATES
Coral Insects Began Building Railroad
100000 Years Ago-Temporary
Importance Of Terminals
at Knights Key

the first time for Americans to make an
ocean journey by rail. From a comfort
able 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 sup
port his train. The tracks themselves,
will be invisible, of course, SO he can en-
ioy the novel sensation of going to sea
by train.
Here and there the voyager by ocean
railway will cross .diminutive coral keys
and at intervals he will traverse larger
isiets through groves of tangled pains
He will be set down at length on Knight
key. the southernmost point In the United
States reached by rail, and the temporary
terminus OF the only seafaring railroad
ever built. There he may step aboard a
fast steamer and six hours later land in
Havana, having travelled all but lilo 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 won
der-workng senii should pick up the
Pearl of the Antilles and move II a nun
dred 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 county, 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 forty-eight hours.
Railroad at Sea
This will be made possible by the OPEN
ing to traffic of a section of the railroad
at sea- that Henry M. Flagler has been
pushing out. over land and water along
the thfckly dotted line of canal islands
that curves from the Florida mainland
southwest to Key West. When work was
begun about two years ago, 1t was an
nounced that trains would be running In
three years, but so rapidly has construc-
tion gone forward that already more than
two-thirds of the distance has been COW,
cred, and the line is almost ready to be
opened for more than 100 of the l54 miles
of its projected length.
The building of this remarkable
ocean highway is regarded by Mr.. Flag
Ter as the crowning achievement of the
great development that he has been
carrying on in Florida. Though he has
long been prominent in other great in.
dustria1 enterprises Mr.. Flagler's real
work. or at least that In which he takes
forming the eastern half of Florida
from a barren waste of sand into
thriying Industrial section and the win
tcT play ground of the country, the only
aiterpart in the United States of the
famed Riviera of Europe.
Is Business Enterprise
though sometimes spoken of as a
hobby his development of Ponce de
LeonS land of perpetual youth has been
conducted as a business enterprise pure
and simple The building of the ocean
railway was undertaken with an eve to
the growth in Importance of Key West
that is certain to follow the completion
of the Panama canal, and to the stead
lily increasing traffic between the
United States and Cuba. At the same
time the man who is responsible for
these great enterprises has devoted to
them all the enthusiasm that some men
give to golf or yachting or raising thor
oughbreds. In this sense they have
been his hobby, it is true.
According to Mr. F'lagler himself the
scheme of Carrying his railroad line out
across the coral islands to Key West and
of conveying his strains from there by
rapid car ferries directly to the Cuban
capital. first took tangible shape in his
mind during the Spanish war. AT that
time the certainty of closer political and
trade relations between this country and
Cuba became evident as did the COM
merca and strategic Importance of some
means of quickly reaching the island re-
public from the United States. The
dream grew In Mr. Flaglers mind and he
directed that survey be made by engin-
eers to determine whether such road as
he imagined could be constructed. When
the Vo,uminous reports, estimates, draw
ings and blue prints of the engineers were
submitted, Mr.. Flagler glanced at them
hastily and turning to ]. r.. Parrott
vice president of his railway and his
risht-hand man in all his Florida UNDER
takings, said:
"All want to know is whether the
road can be built"
Eyes it can" replied Mr.. Parrot.
"Then go ahead and build it," Mr.. Flag
Ter directed.
Makes Dirt Fly
That was in 1905 Since then the dirt
has been flying ceaselessly. Immense
pile drivers have been sinking founda-s
tions huge dredges have been sucking
IN sand from the bottom of the sea to
construct a good roadbed and an army of
between 800 and 1000 men has been push
ign its way steadily southwark from
Miami out over the waves and the tiny
islands toward Key West.
There was no precedent III the history OF
rvailway construction for the building of
this sort of a road, Consequently the
difficulties were many and the problems
to he solved unusual. In the first place,
II was necessary to assemble veritable
navy including steamboats,, tugs, light
ers. hundreds of barges and bateaux,
launches, floating derricks, pumps, pile
drivers and repair shops, for, since this
wan to be a railroad at sea, sea craft
had TO be utilized chiefly in its construc-
ton. The Florida keys traversed by the
line are mostly uninhabted and afforded
neither shelter nor support for the army
~ men employed. 1t was necessary to
establish camps transport supplies, build
hospitals for the sick, and establish read
ing and club rooms in which the work
ers could find relaxation from the
monotony of their isolated lives. In some
cases big houseboats or floating -dormi-
tories were anchored in protected spots to
serve as living quarters. Even the drink
ing water must be transported in huge
tanks on barges distance OIL hundred
miles or more
Route on Mainland
AT the northern end of the line the
route for a number of miles is on the
mainland and extends through the bor-
ders of the Everglades Here 1t was
impossible to use ordinary means OF
land construction and barges We're em-
ployed. The water was so shallow,
4 1.