The Washington herald., 1908-01-26
TO HAVANA By RAIL
Sixty Miles Of Track Over
Florida Keys.
ROAD IS OPEN TO TRAFFIC
FIREIer's Sca-going Railway Higgins
Operation This MOnth-Ti e markabIe
Engineering Feat Accomplished
Year Ahead of Time-ObstacIcs
Confronted and Overcome.

little party Of passengers on board. pulled
slowly southwark out OF the station OF
Miami. on the extreme southeastern coast
of Florida, its unosteugatious departure
marked a dramatic moment in the his
tory Of man and "A railroad and an
event the bearing of which upon The fu.
ture relations Of the United States ard
her neighbors Of the West Indies can
only be fully told by time.
The train WAS the first over lhc a..
nous "sea-goisg railroad" which Henry
NJ. Flagler has been pushing. with an
the resources of the Florida East Coast
system which he rules. literally out over
and foremost of the party of passengers
was Mr.. Flagler himself vigorous and
alert In spite of the weight Of nearly
four-score years. who had come 10 see
the realization Of the ambition Of years.
Around him, as the train rum0ied over
the 109 miles of track from Miami %
the temporary terminus Of the extension
at Knights Key, were the men who have
stood by him in this remarkable under
taking and upon whom have rested the
burden Of its successful accomplishment.
by Rail- 10 Havana.
Il is map-chaneing work. CAS- wei "a
a unique piece Of railroad building which
these men have done when the trains
began running TO Knights Key few days
ago. Cuba was brought half dag nearer
the United States. Havana was for the
first time placed iu direct rail connection
with New York and Chicago
Key West is bat ninety miles from
Havana. II is planned % join the two
by "a ferry service which shall take 'tbc
trains themselves straight through. max
ing the Journey an alI-rau one.
The sOOn-tO-bC terminus or C0ntiuen-
tai railway system. the island city 0f Key
West. is already dreaming dreams Of Il
splendid future as great commercial
port, To which shall come ships and
traders from an these countries. while us
hotels are filled with thousands 0f wan
dering Americans fleeing from Northern
winters 10 the blissfui climate where frost
is unknOW and islands of palms and
white beeches bssk in perpetual sunshine
amid azure seas.
Foundations on Bed of Sea.
It NAV have baen - vision so-,.,t.i-,s
IH.. tbs. to,,-t., ,..f,t, .,.- -
-. - .,.--
" i-o --si' -''7 courage l'
man ii d i,alii1' "AleA inspired Mi-
Flagler TO undertake the apparently inn
possible task Of building a railroad the
foundations Of which for nearly half its
TEs east rosst ~ ,Io-45. ,.s l,' 80. &c - -,
cd Mfr FIagIer's bobbg- hTr rs rir1ggls
has never made any secret OF the fact
that his interest iu It and the tremen-
a'us odllays made I'D constructing the
'"iL"a' ana Aoleis "hltA nave made IL
d Ia. .oi''s american WINTER resort were
q. uiclaleu py sIlcIiy practical coHsidera-
''oli9'
IL any or ms various Florida enter
~ 'seS oouio ne considered the nduiging
'i hoDpyr me East Coast extension
iillEHt nave seemed To deserve the term,
30 out OF int realm oI practical things
liu Ihe ldea look az hTst sight 10 all but
Its P'oJeslo'. 10 at. flaEler, I'm whose
Iiill'u' a'e"Ioins 10 MS own statement
tHe Iian had been terminating since the
] tSulI OF l-e spanish war made IL certain
That the United States was EencefOrth 20
MAJ lLil'ih closer relations with the island
4aA"a s"uth or her, II seemed steadily
more ueslI'toie. untI ne determined that
lHe Ioau sh'uid pe bliiJ II It could bc
uoHe' iHeh came the preliminary work
81 surveying, exploring. and drawing
pans upon winch engineers spent months.
FIaEIer Directs Construction.
When their worl- WAS dome yfro pros
al, -. -. -.
r-1aorer
can if no done7- y-ss his o,r,. ,u.s
tion
IT can, was the ,rs,re-
Then do il directed 2fr f,lac1er
Since then. for three years filled with
hard work and with triumphs over all
sorts OF obstacles and discouras semeuts,
.hey nave Deeh ooins 1t to the reality
e,j,,i,l. s IN i'i',l.,I tie
The condition tbat coI7f1or+a5 10
builders was this: From the southern
mainland of Florida IN a long curving
line To the southwestward the coral fsIets
called the Florida KEYS stretch away 10
Key West the last of the chain. East
ward lies the Atlantic. westward the
Bay Of Florida.
Beginning at Homestead twenty-eight
miles south Of Miami, where the road
ended, they must build along the line of
these keys and across the scores. of chan
nels and passages which separate them
one from another, road which should
be so sOlidly based as to withstand the
dreaded autumn hurricanes which have
their breeding place among the West In
dian islands.
Five and Ouc-bnIf Mile SDan
SoD,o of tl,o of,.r,,l-
- lee'
".,'7 SUM 'lou'di'uS oi Ieel, ana some
llllies- Inc "ldest oI ALL the spanning of
which was the last piece of work IN
the completion of the section now op-
ened. is five and half miles across
from island to island.
everything except the rock for the