The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1907-11-30
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| by engineers to determine whether
such road as he imagined could be
constructed. When the voluminous re.
| ports, estimates, drawings and blue
prints of the engineers We're sub
mitted, Mr.. Flagler glanced at them
hastily and turning to Mr.. J. r. Par
rott, vice-president of his railway and
his right-hand man in all his Florida
undertakings, said:
"All l want to know is whether tho
road can be built"
Yes, it can" replied Mr.. PARROT.
Then go ahead and build it, Mr.
Flagler directed.
That was in 1906. Since then the
dirt has been flying ceaselessly. I'M
mense pile-drivers have been sinking
foundations, huge dredges have been
sucking up sand from the bottom OF
the sea to construct rOadbed, and
an army of between 5000 and 1000
men has been pushing its way stead
lily southwark from Miami out over
the waves and the tiny islands toward
Key West.
There was no precedent in the his,
tory of railway construction fer the
building of this sort of a road Con-
sequently the difficulties were many
and the problems to be solved I'M
usual. In the first place, it was nee.
essary to assemble a veritable navy.
including steamboats,, tugs, lighters.
hundreds of barges and bateauX,
launches, floating derricks, pumps.
pile drivers and repair shops, for
since this was to be a railroad at sea.
seacraft had to be utilized chiefly in
its construction. The Florida keys
traversed by the line are mostly UNI
inhabited, and afforded neither shelter
nor support for the army Of men en-
ployed 1t was necessary to establish
camps, transport supplies, build hos
pitfalls for the sick and to establish
reading and club rooms in which the
workers could find relaxation from
the monotony of their isolated lives. In
some cases big households or floating
dormitories were anchored in pro
tected spots to serve as living quar-,
tiers. Even the drinking water must
be transported in huge tanks on
barges a distance of a hundred miles
or more.
At the northern end of the line the
route for number of miles IS on the
mainland and extends through the
borders of the Everglades Here it
was impossible to use ordinary means
of land construction and barges were
employed. The water was so shallow,
not be hoated and canals had first to
be made for them. These canals eX,
tend along either side of the railroad,
and through them the barges worked
their way digging their own channels
as they moved along and throwing up
at one side the earth taken out, so as
TO form the roadbed Further down.
where the railway crosses to Key
Largo and begins its real career as an
oCean-going line, problems of another
sort presented themselves for sOlu,
ton. Even the building of the road
ACROSS lut inherent htNS DIS lIOl d
simple matter, for there palms, vines
and various tropical vegetation grow
in such luXuriance that they formed 4
dense Jungle that had to be cleared
away before digging could begin
Where long, open stretches OF water
were trayersed, 1t was necessary 10
put down caissons or to build Golfer
dams in which the men worked while
laying the foundations for the huge
concrete yiaducts that carry the rails
over the sections of the route.
Although the road from the nature
of it's construction, is one Of tho most
extensive ever undertaken, costing
approximately 100000 per mile, the
task Of financing it is being borne en-
tirely by the man who planned and is
building If. 1t represents an expendi.
ture of between Sl5,000,000 and $50.
10000 for the realization Of an idea
the linking together Of Cuba and the
United States by the peaceful but
effective bond Of the steel highway