Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-11
THE ROAD TO KEY WEY
No One but Mr.. FIagIer Knows
What 1t Will Cost.
ITS TERMINAL FACILITIES
Delightful Ride on the Boat Down
From Miami.
MANY TOURISTS ATTRACTED
Large, Modern Hotel Should Be Built
at Havana-Various Prof.
ects Talked Of.
MANY TOURISTS ATTRACTED
BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS.

ectS Talked VI.
BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence of The Star and the Chicago
Record Herald.
KEY WEST, March 6, 1907
Nobody but Mr.. Flagler knows what the
railroad along the Florida keys will cost,
but it will be one of the most expensive
ever constructed. The concrete viaducts
alone will represent more than three mil
lion dollars, but that portion which runs
over the keys is comparatively inexpensive.
Some engineers are of the opinion that,
taking the entire 154 miles, the average
cost will not exceed that of ordinary rail-
roads in the tfickly settled northern states.
Mr.. F1agler escapes many ordinary ex-
penses. He does not have to buy right
of-way; he does not have to condemn any
property. The greater part of his ma
terial Is on the ground, and there is very
little hauling and very little excavation.
There are no hills to cut away, no hollows
to I'LL up. The right-of-way is practically
level l have heard estimates all the way
from eight to twenty millions for the ag-
gregate cost of the road, but no one knows
except Mr.. F1agler, and he never boasts OF
his investments.
The terminal facilities at Key West will
be expensive and extensive. They will
comprise a dry dock and ten covered piers
equipped with every modern device for
loading and discharging cargoes. There
will be room for forty ships 400 feet long.
with draught of thirty feet. The piers
will be 500 feet in length and $50 feet in
width with basin 20 feet wide between
the piers. Mr.. Flagler is evidently making
preparations for a heavy freight traffic.
He undoubtedly anticipates a large bust
ness from the isthmus. If you will glance
a will dis
cover that Key West is situated in a very
favorable position regarding the Panama
canal. a line drawn from Miami south
ward will pass through the middle of Cuba
and go straight to Colon. Key West is
therefore the nearest and the quickest point
on United States territory to be reached
from the isthmus. 1t is two days nearer
than New Orleans, Mobile or Pensacola,
and five days nearer than New York. AS
soon as the railway is finished it is pro-
posed to establish a steamship line from
Key West to Colon and other South Ameri-
can ports
1t is Mr.. Flagler's intention to build a
great ferryboat to run between Key West
and Havana in six hours-the distance be-
ing ninety-one miles-carrying freight cars
on the lower and passengers on the upper
decks at a speed of fifteen miles an hour.
The present steamers cross from Key West
in eight or nine hours. 1t takes little
more than twenty-four hours to go from
Miami and thirty-six hours from Tampa to
Havana.
The Ride to Key West.
1t is now 165 miles by boat from Miami
to Key West, and a delightful voyage. The
boat keeps inside the keys and under their
protection, so that the water is smooth,
and the passengers are within sight of land
almost all day. AS we came down we
could see the dredges at work between the
keys throwing up entertainments for the
railway tracks the big floats that are used
in concrete work and the tents of the
camps of the construction crew upon the
cocOanut- fringed beach of the larger keys.
We went near the Long Key viaduct
that We could count the arches, see the
concrete mixers and recognize the men at
work. Altogether, it is a novel and inter-
esting voyage, although, if you go straight
through, you are given no opportunity to
see the attractions of the island. You ar
rive at Key West at or 10 o'clock at
night, leave at l in the morning, and reach
Havana between and 10 o'clock in the
morning. Passengers change boats at Key
West, because 1t requires one of light
draught to come down the keys. and no
steamer can be too large or draw too much
water to make the voyage comfortable
across the Straits of Cuba, which is al
most as bad as the English channel. Inc
tide from the Gulf of Mexico meets the tide
from the Atlantic ocean twice day in
that narrow passage, and the contact of the
waters makes disturbance that is not
at all agreeable to passengers who are
what they ought to be. The Shinnecock.
which plies between Miami and Key West.
is used as an excursion steamer on Long
Island Sound in the summer time, and
comes down here for it's health in the win
ter 1t is comfortable and we'll adapted
for the purpose. The Halifax, which
runs between Key West and Havana, is
old and ''ratty.' and 1 suppose will be re-
placed with something more appropriate as
soon as the railroad is done.
When the track is completed to Bahia
Blanca. through trains will be put on and
that little port will be made the terminus
until the rest of the distance to Key West
is completed. Bahia Blanca has small
but excellent harbor, twenty miles from
Key West, and Is approached by a wide,
deep and straight channel from the ocean.
The railway managers expect to establish
railway facilities there temporarily. and
trains will run through from Jacksonville
in sixteen hours. This will make the jour
ney from Washington about ffty-six hours;
from New York and Chicago. about sixty
hours.
Attractions for Tourists.
The novelty of the ride will attract
good many people. Trains will run for
nearly hundred miles along a narrow
ledge with the ocean on one side of the
car windows and the Gulf Of -Iexico on
the other Already tourists are going to
Cuba by thousands. Every boat during
the winter season is crowded. The hotels
capacity and dozen new ones have sprung
up to accommodate American visitors. Ev-
erybody who makes the trip has a good
story to tell Of his experience and be-
comes an enthusiastic advertiser for win
ters tour to the Pearl of the Antilles"
As soon as people who are accustomed to
luxury can be taken care Of in a proper
manner they will go there in preference
to Florida or Egypt, but before the tour
list business can be developed to its full
possibilities some one must build a large,
modern hotel at Hayana. Various projects
are talked of, and Sir William Van Horn
has already undertaken to secure one of
the most attractive sites offered by the
city, now occupied by the city Jail; one of
in the fashionable quarter of Havana. but
his negotiations are still pending. Other
people are also interested In the subject.
Every few days we hear Of their plans
and prospects in the newspapers.
There ought to be big hotel at Key
West also. That island is sixty miles out