The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1907-10-30
DONE AT LAST.
The Completion of a Great Rail-
road Engineering Feat
GOES OUT I'M THE SEA

Some Seyenty-Five Miles-The Line
Passes Through Dense Swamps
and Across Open Sea on Concrete
Arches and Bridges, Constructed
Under Difficulties, Connects Key
West, Fla, With the Main Land.
The completion of the great bridge
at New York over Hell Gate, which is
to connect the Pennsylvania with the
New England railroads, will form
like a link in an unbroken line of
railroad communication between New
England and Key West, the souther-
most city in the United States. The
other link in the line is being con-
structed from point near Miami.
Fla, 81 miles inland, across Is miles
of sea and finally terminating at Key
West
After the links are completed it
will be possible to run direct from
New England to Havana, Cuba, with
out changing cars, as the trains will
be conveyed in unbroken packages
across the strait from Key West to
Havana IN view of the fact that the
Panama region is sure to cause a
boom in trade, there is every rea-
son to believe that the new through
line will make Key West one of the
great shipping stations on the At
lantic Seaboard.
The railroad line that is being con-
structed from the coast OF Florida
across the Key West coral islands
will lie one of the wonders of the
age. 1t will be 156 miles in length,
counting that it begins in the
swamDs of Florida. and is costing
100000 mile for construction.
Henry NJ. Flager is promoter OF the
line.
All the viaducts are built of re-
inforced concrete The railroad Will
be on a line 80 feet above low water
mark. It is found that the highest
waves on the coast are Is feet and
the islands serve to break the high
est sea. The engineers are counting
on this to prevent any washouts or
washovers.
The longest of the viaducts over
open sea is nearly seven miles. 1t is
located near Long Key. At present
$500 men are employed in this work
alone. The viaduct consists OF $50
concrete arches. Of these IS are al
ready complete II will take 2S6,0O0
barrels of cement. $4,000. cubic
Yards of sand. $4,000 lineal feet OF
piling and 500 tons Of reinforcing
steel rods to complete this one VIA
duct, not to speak Of the amount Tor
the other 6S miles being built under
similar conditions.
The support of every one OF the
arches rests on % piles driven deep
into coraline limestone which forms
the bed of the sea. After the pile
drivers have passed a cofferdam is
lowered from catamaran into place
around the piles. Then the concreting
begins, after the frames have been
set. The thick shell of concrete IS
backed on the inside by crushed rock
and other ballast. In the coral reefs
the water varies in depth from l3
to 20 feet. Under normal conditions
the tide flows at the rate OF four
miles an hour.
The 1876 miles OF constructive work
between Miami and Key West pre-
sents practically every problem
known to railroad engineers. From
Miami, for distance. the road passes
through heavy mangrove s"amps,
where there was TOO much water to
use wneelbarrows and not enough 10
work a dredge. This difficulty was
overcome by specially designed
dredges-
The islands in the sea are OF lines
stone formation, and in addition to
being solid, they furnish excellent
ballast. At the present time more
than 5000 men are crowded on the
lob. They are operating nine stern
wheel boats. three tugs, loo barges
and lighters, 2S launches and up
ward of so pile drivers. concrete
mixers, derricks, pump barges and
dredges.