Been doing a little research on FEC and found out that FEC ran down to Key West FL during the early 1900’s from 1912 to 1935. Offered frieght & passenger service, brought frieght from Key West to Miami on a single track mainline. Even had to build a seven mile bridge close to Key West. There was a ferry service to Havanna Cuba during those years. Interesting to know that railroads were even built near the ocean.
In 1938 a highway was started to Key West using the old railroad bridge supports.
Back in the 70’s, when I lived in south Florida, we would drive down to Key West on U.S. 1 across many of the same bridges that once carried the railroad. Today, a new bridge carries the highway but you can still see many sections of the old bridge which has survived numerous storms. A remarkable feat of engineering!
Seth Bramson wrote an excellent history of the FEC that was reprinted (at a lower price!) by the Boston Press. I’d recommend it. I also believe I saw him make a posting that he had another FEC book (I believe with more later history) is coming out in the Images of America book series.
There’s a cover story in MR of a few years back on this Keys extension - a professionally-built absolutely magnificent layout i(even if it was in HO) - you may wish to look for that issue in the online index.
I live in South Florida - they are still going strong as one the nations most profitable railroads and thanks to their last investments they are able to stay independent. Sadly the line ends in the middle of Dade County near downtown Miami and into the port. In my opinion their passenger service had some of the best colors and decor of all passenger trains in the country. I always wish Lionel would have made a FEC F3 passenger set like the Canadian Pacific set. Another interesting fact is that FEC has only purchased GM Electro-Motive engines since it converted to Diesel in the 1940’s.
Does a train line still run to Homestead? Did when I lived there in 1968-69. Back then, Florida was the first state I had seen stop signs at unsignaled RR crossings. Back then, there were still a lot of tomato canneries in Flordia City and the Homestead area. RR spurs at all of them. Bet they are all gone now. By-passed all of that when I went to the Keys this past Jan. I was at a missile base in the “Hole In The Donut” [watching Castro] in the Everglades National Park. Lived in Homestead. Lots of acres of tomatoes were grown in there then. Lots of sweet corn and beans all around Homestead. Are the farms still there?
The name of the book is “Speedway to Sunshine” and by happy coincidence an FEC train is rumbling by as I type! (I live a block away from the right of way) Seth updated the book in 2003 to include the new direction that the FEC took in the years since he wrote the original edition. There is an exstensive chapter on the Key West Extension, with lots of pictures of the devastation from the 1926 and 1935 storms.
I highly reccomend that if you are interested in the FEC, buy the book, or get it thru your local library-- Bythe way, the list price on the book is $40!
Thanks Chief! Hole in the Dounut is all but gone - National Parks Service has been ripping out all the invasive plants that took over that area once the military and farms left the park. Homestead and Florida City are still an agrucultural area not as much as when I was a kid before Hurricane Andrew. The county took out the tracks from the City of Miami south to Florida City about 20 years ago to build the Metrorail and a bus line south of Kendall Drive. However, much of those packing buildings are still there and in use! I wish that Miami (or MiamA as the natives call it) was still the big small town it was many years ago.
The MiamiA brings back memories. Flew into Ft. Lauderdale [as MiamiA airport is a mess] in Jan. and took the expressway around and down to Homestead. Man that cut out a lot of traffic and time. Took forever to get to Marithon. When I lived there, no I-95 [except pieces in NC, SC, GA and upper FL]. Just before I was discharged, I was duty driver for the battery. I use to drive an Army bus up almost to Coral Gables and back early in the AM and late in the evening. We picked up the guys that lived off base and then took them back home. Went up and down US 1 a many a time. Chrome Ave. still had the white trunked palm trees. Pretty street. On my days off, I sue to help the Napiers with their Texaco station on Chrome. Bo Napier and I use to fish out of Bay Front Park. Caught lots of fish out near the reef. Fond memories.
The ride across that bridge always fascinated me. You had ocean as far as the eye could see in all directions (except when crossing the numerous keys) and a VERY narrow roadway. I always wondered what folks did if they had a flat tire or breakdown on that bridge.
The Florida East Coast’s cab diesels were always the most colorful of the many other southeastern railway cab units[F and E series] that used to congregate in the Jacksonville yard postwar**:**
In addition to the FEC----the Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard, Southern, Central of Georgia and Illinois Central [all of which had very attractively decorated diesel engines].
A farmer friend and 0-gauger from Frostproof, Florida models the FEC, ACL and SAL. The latter two railroads installed their tracks on opposite sides of the town of Frostproof. He notes that for many years in the early part of the century, Frostproof had only a freight depot and was merely a “flag stop” for passenger trains on both railways. A businessman who wanted to go to Washington, New York,etc., simply put the trackside flag down and stoodby for the passenger trains to stop.
Yep, it’s odd that the biggest railroads always seem to go for the simplest, easiest maintanable paint schemes[:)]. The red/yellow/silver scheme of the FEC didn’t last long-- when the railroad went into recievership in the late 50’s, the engines got the very simple blue dip/yellow stripe scheme. Ever since then, until the aquisition of the ex-UP SD40-2’s, the FEC used a blue dip/yellow stripes/logo or blue dip/white stripes/logo’s.
The ex UP units, as far as I know, have only had a minimal repaint job- a blue stripe, and blue road numbers instead of UP red, and the Railroad name in blue.
To clarify something that feclionel mentioned because I lived in Homestead FL when FEC took up the tracks and NOT Dade County, also FEC sold the roadbed that the tracks were on to Dade County before Hurricane Andrew hit. FEC removed tracks south of S.W. 100th street in south Miami to Homestead, removed the sideline to the Air Force Base a year before that.
You can still see the remains of the bridge at Bahia Honda Key (I think this is the most impressive bridge that remains)on the way to Key West, one of the reasons that some of the bridges are still there is the major expense to remove the bridges.
There was rail service to Homestead area in 2001, not sure if CSX still has a line to Florida City.
Have you tried out the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in Miami? I went there back in the early 80’s and it was good then, I am sure it still is, if not better. I think you can actually ride in an engine. I know they have a website should you wish to check it out before making the trip down there. Not sure if Lake Worth has a model railroad club, at least one dealing with “O”, but I know the GCRR does. You may want to check around as I know Lockheed Martin has a engineering facility there and I am sure a good number of those guys would be into trains.
I have been to Gold Coast Railroad Museum in south Miami, it is a nice place. Even has the Presidential Car Ferdinan Magellin, a few model railroad layouts.
Lake Worth is just southwest of West Palm Beach by about five miles. There are two hobby shops here in the Lantana/Lake Worth area, one is on Lantana Rd. the other on Hypoluxo Rd, both east of I-95. Jupiter has a hobby shop on Indiantown Rd. near Wal-Mart.
Just been to a train show saturday on Lake Worth road at the Polish American Center, nice stuff being sold.