The St. Lucie County tribune. (Fort Pierce, St. Lucie County, Fla.) 1905-1920, 1911-08-04
FLOR|DA'SNEW
SEA RAILROAD
Confident Road viii be Complete
For Celebration in January
KEY WEST IS JUBILANT
Great Tribute of Homage will be Tender
ed Mr.. HenryM. Flasler Work Makes
Splendid fteadway

During the past month the work on
the Florida East Coast Railway extern
sion to Key West has progressed to
such an extent that train schedules are
now being prepared for trains to run
there regularly after January 25th
with proviso that short schedule
will be made for trains going and COM
ing prior to that date.
There seems no doubt now that after
seemingly endless years of anxiou
waiting Key West will be attached to
the United States proper and for that
the people there are most grateful. 1t
means so much to them that they have
begun to count the days between the
fixed time and the present and they
are taking keen interest in daily re-
ports of progress made by the extern
sion constructors.
Bahia Honda Bridge, the one point
upon which it was feared the expecta.
tiOns of the engineers and the hopes of
Mr.. Flagler would be dashed has prov
en- a surprise. Division Engineer C.
S. Coe, who s building it, has in his
resident engineer, r. l.. Langford, u
tireless worker and span after span of
the great truss work is being placed on
the gigantic concrete piers they are
rushing to completion for the bridge
gangs. Bridge Engineer Carter is keep.
ing nip and tuck with Mr. Coe and no
sooner does Mr.. Coe give the word
that pier is completed than Mr.. Car
ter's forces advance upon it. Con-
structing Engineer Krone is watching
this work with marked interest. he
is perfectly confident of the rest of the
work but this place with its deep wa
ter and swift tides is serious problem
and not a second of good weather Is
lost.
While this structure is steadily creep
ing out to West Summerland from
Bahia Honda, Resident Engineer Hunt
at the latter camp is driving his trestles
over to Ohio key. This is nearly done
and then there are but two short trestle
spans to 90 in from the other side to
key and from there to Little
Duck key.
The work this side of Summerland,
barring two short trestles from the
keys to each other, is in
a state whereby the completion far
ahead of schedule time is inevitable.
Division Engineer Smiley has pushed
his arch and grade work along we'll
and Division Engineer Cotton of Key
West has gone out to meet him in good
shape. From tile condition OF things
Mr.. Cotton now finds it is time to finish
his terminal up or the other division
engineers will be ahead of him but he
has the time and material and there is
no worry on that end.
The Flager viaduct, seven miles and
over in length, is being handled by Mr..
COe and his assistant engineers well.
Just at the present time as they are
within a stones throw Of Little Duck
key they. have encountered strip of
water and this is handi-
cap not expected. However the light
er plant is being transferred to Facet
key and while the work to Little Duck
as far as the pile driving is concerned
will be slow from now on the great
force of men will be finishing up be-
hind the pile drivers and by the time
the pile drivers are finished and an
abutment erected at Little Duck there
Is no doubt but the arch work will be
inisheAu to the key.
As the construction work looks now,
all concreting will be done by Deem
Der 1st at the latest unless there is
great damage done by hurricane and
/ will have to be an old time hurricane
to do this.
1t will take month for the arches
to harden sufficiently to run the heavy
trains on although the track gangs will
not be deferred from work and there
Is no reason now why Key Westers
will not be able to ride up to st. Au-
justine in January.
The fact that President Taft and the
officials have announced
heir intention of taking a trip over
the road on the first train with Mr..
tlagler is received with great enthus-
asm. Key Westers will honor the
President with all the patriotism they
nave but Mr.. Flagler will receive
tribute of homage never before accord
I'd a private citizen when he reaches
Key West.