The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1911-02-10
FORCES ARE DOUBLED ON KEY
WEST EXTENSION
Trains Will BE Running to the Island
City During Present Year


A late special from Key West says
tnat the Florida East Coast Railway
Company has decided to double the
FORCES employed on the Key West Elk
tension in order that a train may be
run over the line before the year ends
and regular schedule put into effect
wnen the season opens next January,
and laborers are arriving from New
York in greatly increased numbers.
There is a great demand for caulkers
and carpenters just now and good
wages are being paid to capable me-
chanics.
Between this city and Knights Key
dock four new camps are being estab-
llshed. besides the stationing of quar-
ter boats in Pine Key Channel and
at West Summerland. Forces are al
ready at work reconstructing the
West Summerland camp and they will
be through in another week. At that
time forces will be sent down the line
the Bahia Honda channel bridge will
be commenced with a large force of
men and as much of the floating plant
as can be spared from the Pigeon Key
camp.
During the past month about one
third of the Pigeon Key bridge which
will oOnDan+ Mocar CbapnoI br;doo
with Knights Key bridge has been
completed. 1t is expected that in an
other month this will be finished.
and then the work of erecting the 225
arches across Facet Channel will be
commenced. To this end docks are
being built on Facet Key, and the car
penters and caulkers will establish
themselves there in order to save the
time that would be consumed in do
ing the work at Pigeon Key, and
transporting the massive forms for
lne concrete viaduct all the way from
that camp, four miles distant
While the viaduct is being erected
another force that the West Summer
land camp is being prepared for will
| finish the Bahia Honda bridge. Still
another will be finishing up the grade
work at Bahia Honda and another is
| already at Long Pine Key, beginning
to get the land work in good shape
there. This work suffered a good deal
from the hurricane two years ago,
and will take three months hard work
to get. it in good condition.
With these forces all working at
once and smaller crews going over
completed work and making perma-
nent some temporary work the Key
West camp will be able to devote it's
attention to the terminal work, and
this will be rushed. Everything is
practically completed between this
city and Boca Chica now. There are
few temporary fills that will need
some attention, but these will be all
in perfect shape by the time the Ba-
Ia Honda bridge is complete
While this end of the road is pre-
senting such a busy aspect, reports
from the Maticombe Keys and Grassy
Key indicate that every dredge pos
sible is busy getting mari. This mari
and the natural stone will be used to
great extent on the arch work and
the fills. 1t has demonstrated its val
ue on fills, subjected to the last hur-
ricane, and that portion where mari
has been used shows that it is a most
valued substance to withstand the
storms
This will be hurried down the line
as fast as the road is completed and
the steel gangs now having finished
the Moser Channel bridge and draw,
are being shipped to Bahia Honda to
finish that bridge. BY the time Bahia
Honda bridge is done all steel will be
In place over the waterways and then
It will be an easy matter for the con-
struction gangs to run down on the
trains and complete the grade work
with the mari and rock brought from
Grassy Key and that section.