Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1907-12-10
SEA GOING PULLMAN
ON FLORIDA EAST
COAST ROAD
CONNECTING CUBA WITH
UNCLE SANS LAND BY RAIL
Wonderful Railroad Uses Road
bed Which Coral Insects Be-
gan Building Hundred Thou
sand Years Ago.,
Especial Correspondents Morning JOurnal.i

lSpeeial correspondence MORNING JOurnai.l
New York. Dec. I'm the early
days Of next January it will be possi-
BILE for the first time for Americans to
make an ocean journey by rail. From
a comfortable seat in a 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 Flor
ida, the two commingling directly be-
meath the tracks which support his
train. The tracks themselves will be
invisible, of course so he can enjoy
the novel sensation of going to sea by
train.
Here and there the voyage 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
southermost point In the United
States. reached by rail. and the tenn
porary terminus of the only scafarlng
railroad ever built. There he may
step board a fast steamer and six
hours later land in Havana, having
Travelled all but rs miles of the dis
stance from his starting point by
train.
The effect, so far as the traveller is
concerned, will be the same as If a
wonder-working genil should pick up
the Pearl of the Antilles and move II
a hundred miles or more nearer 10 the
United States. The j~ournay to Cuba
from New York or Chicago or any
point in the eastern half of the
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 forty-eight hours.
This will be made possible by the
opening to traffic of a section of the
railroad at sea" that Henry NJ.
Flagler has been pushing out over
land and sea along the thickly dotted
line of coral islands that curves from
the Florida mainland southwest to
about W years ago, 1t was announced
that trains would be running in three
years. but so rapidly has construction
gone forward hat already more tina
two-thirds of the distance has been
covered, and the line is almost ready
to be opened for more than 100 of
the 1854 miles Of It's projected length.
The building of this remarkable
ocean highway is regarded by Mr..
Flagler as the GROWING achievement
of the great development he has been
carrying on in Florida, Though he
has long been prominent in other
great Industrial enterprises, Mr.. Flag
ler's real worS-or, at least. that IN
which he takes the keenest interest
has been transforming the eastern
half of Florida from a barren waste
of sand into a thriving Industrial Sec
ton and the winter playground of the
country, the only counterpart in the
United States of the far-famed Rivi-
era of Europe. Though sometimes
1 gnalEAr nf ~ "a hnhhN HE nqNp1nnnnan
of Ponce dc Icons land of perpetual
youth has been conducted as a bust
ness enterprise, pure and simple.
According to Mr.. Flagler, himself,
the scheme Of carrying his railroad
line out across the coral islands to
from there by rapid car ferries di-
rectly to the Cuban capital, first took
tangible shane i'm his mind during the
Spanish war. At that time tlc GER
tainty Of closer political ana trade
relations between this lCouutyN and
cuba became evident, as did the COM
mercial and strategic Importance Of
some means Of quickly reaching the
island republic from the United
States. The dream grew in Mr.. Flag
ler's mind and he directed that "a sur
vey be made by engineers to deter
mine whether such a road as he i'm
agined could be constructed. When
the NNlulnllbnN ItDbItNs tSAlNldltos
drawings and blue prints Of the en-
gineers were submitted, Mr.. Flagler
glanced at them hastily and turning
to J. r. Parrot. vice president of his
railway and his right hand man. In
all hts Florida undertakings. said
"All I want to now is whether the
road can be built
YES: it can" replied Mr.. PARROT.
Then go ahead and build H." Mr..
Flagler directed. q
That was I'm 1905. Since then the
dirt has been flying ceasclessly. I'm
mense pile drivers have been sinking
foundations. huge dredges have been
sucking up sand from the bottom of
the sea 10 construct "A road bed, and
an army af hetryeon 2 nan and 4 nnn
men has been pushing its way stead
ily southwark from Miami out owe
the waves and the tiny Islands to-
wards Key West.
There was no precedent IN the his
tory OF railway construction for the
building OF this sort of a road. COnse-
auentiy the difficulties were manv and
the problems 10 be solved unusual
In the first place. II was necessary TO
assemble a veritable aVy including
steamboats,, tugs. lighters, hundreds Of
barges and bateauN, launches. noat-
ing derricks. pumps. pile drivers and
repair shops for. since this was 10 be
"a railroad at sea. sea craft had 10 be
utilized chiefly in its construction. The
Florida KEYS reversed by the line are
mostly uninhabited and afforded
shelter nor support for the
army Of men employed. II was neces-
sary TO establish CAMPS transport
supplies. build hospitals for the sick.
and establish reading and club rooms
IN which the workers could ind re-
taxation from the mOnotony Of their
isolated lives. IN some cases big
house boats or floating dormitories
were anchored In protected spots TO
serve a. living quarters. wen the
drinking water must DE transported in
huge tanks on bargcs a distance OF a
hundred miles or more.
Nearly an the building materialss
including the ingredients Of the con-
crete. the timber FOR piling. the heavy
stone for ahutments. and the crushed
tone for the rip-rap work put IN a.
b protection against the action OF the
were brought 20 he points
thev were used IN barges towed
by tugs and steamers. Only n ball
last or nlllng for the rpadbed was Sc
cured on the spot on the various
this vas obtained by cXcavat-
Ing and breaking up the coral rock
which makes a bed Of cleaning white
where the line crosses omen water
wHa nhfaGuoH hw the Use Of huge