florida east coast railroad history

The original bridge span was commissioned in the late 1800s by railroad magnate Henry Flagler, who founded Florida East Coast Railway. Florida East Coast Railway. It is the exclusive rail provider to South Florida’s ports, linking them with the rest of the U.S. rail network. We sat down to speak with Seth Bramson, the company historian for the Florida East Coast Railway, for a fascinating discussion on what it took to crisscross the state with tracks, connecting cities long before cars were invented. The others are used as available in road service. These ex UP locomotives remained in their original colors with FEC markings, however as of 2014 seven of them have been repainted into the "retro" Champion scheme. In 1912 Henry Flagler arrived aboard the first train into Key West, marking the completion of the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railway's Over-Sea Railroad to Key West. [7] Track to East Palatka remained in service but was downgraded to branch status and is now largely abandoned. Henry Flagler built the spur to deliver passengers to his two hotels on the island: the Royal Poinciana and The Breakers. It runs along most of the same tracks as Flagler’s original. Improve Safety, Enhance Mobility, Inspire Innovation, Public Information Office / Historical FDOT Photos / Florida East Coast Railroad, Florida Department of Transportation Delivered in November–December 2014; painted in the "champion" scheme. 406 / 2000 along with the 403 left the property in 2013. [22][23] Fortress Investment acquired Florida East Coast Railway from Florida East Coast Industries in March 2008. South Central Florida Express began leasing the line from FEC in 1998 and now fully operates the line from milepost K 15 south. When the FEC's line from the mainland to Key West was heavily damaged by the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, the State of Florida purchased the remaining right-of-way and bridges south of Dade County, and they were rebuilt into road bridges for vehicle traffic and became known as the Overseas Highway. Because the strike was by the non-operating unions, a federal judge ordered the railroad to continue observing their work rules, while the railroad was free to change the work rules for the operating unions, who were technically not on strike and thus had no standing in the federal court regarding the strike. It was the first electronically lighted and vestibuled train in the country. The East and West Coast Railway was a railroad line running from Bradenton on the … Starting in 2012 the FEC began an aggressive project to reopen direct rail service to the ports of Miami, and Port Everglades. Ball was determined to save the railroad from the bankruptcy that had continued for more than a decade. The East Coast Champion was one of many Florida East Coast Name Passenger Trains that served the Ocean Resorts on the East Coast of Florida ... Florida East Coast Florida Home It may have been the Atlantic and Western Railroad in between. Flagler announced in 1904 that the FEC would be extended 128 miles (206 km) to Key West over the ocean. The main line would be restored to single track in the 1970s due to changing rail operations and the absence of passenger operations, though double track is currently being reinstalled south of Cocoa to accommodate Brightline. [32], The railroad from Palatka to Moultrie Junction, outside St. Augustine, was built by the Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Halifax River Railway. Flagler's non-Standard Oil interests went in a different direction, however, when in 1878, on the advice of his physician, he traveled to Jacksonville, Florida for the winter with his first wife, Mary, who was quite ill. Two years after she died in 1881, he married Mary's former caregiver, Ida Alice Shourds. Hertwig had recently retired from CSX, most recently having served as president of CSX Intermodal, one of CSX's major operating units.[13]. The Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Indian River Railway took it over by 1894, and changed its name to the Florida East Coast Railway in 1895. No. In 1924, the line became known as the Trans-Florida Central Railroad.[38]. Flagler next purchased three additional existing railroads: the St. John's Railway, the St. Augustine and Palatka Railway, and the St. Johns and Halifax River Railway so that he could provide extended rail service on standard gauge tracks. Formed at Cleveland, Ohio as Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler in 1867, Standard Oil moved its headquarters in 1877 to New York City. Florida's LSTA program is administered by the Department of State's Division of Library and Information Services.. For FY2020-21, the percentage of total costs for the Florida Memory program financed with federal money is 66%; … A team of outside railroad preservation experts and more than two dozen U.S. Sugar employees completed the project in April 2020. In 1883, Henry Flagler, now retired from Standard Oil, moved to St. Augustine, built the previously mentioned Ponce de Leon and the Alcazar Hotels, and purchased the Casa Monica, just east of the Alcazar, changing the name to Cordova. This name itself was short-lived; on September 9, 1895 Flagler's railroads became collectively known as the Florida East Coast Railway. The Florida Special was known for its red carpet treatment including fresh pompano on the northbound menus and the Miami Daily Herald under every stateroom door. 416 repainted into the 1960s "retro blue" in 2013 and a number of others have followed. It is the exclusive rail provider for PortMiami, Port Everglades and Port of Palm Beach. [32]  At the same time, the remaining line south of Marcy to Lake Harbor was connected to the Main Line at Fort Pierce via new track known as the Glades Cutoff. John Giles was named chairman, and David Rohal was named president. He built a modern depot facility as well as schools, hospitals and churches, systematically revitalizing the largely abandoned historic city. In 2001, rail service resumed up to this point and track was rehabilitated when new industries were located there. Automatic Block Signals were also installed at the same time. Two pages from the "History of Duval County, Florida," are enclosed concerning the history of the railroad in the 1800's. A steam locomotive pulled the first train over the line onto the wharf on the Indian River at Titusville on the afternoon of December 30, 1885, and greatly accelerated the transportation of passengers, produce, seafood, and supplies to and from central Florida. The truth is that she wired him to advise him that "the region around the shores of Biscayne Bay is untouched by the freezes." In the mid-1880s it became the Atlantic and Western Branch of the Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Indian River Railway, which changed its name to the Florida East Coast Railway in 1895. Because the railroad has only minor grades, it takes very little horsepower to pull very long trains at speed. Railroads- Florida East Coast Railway Description: This folder contains documents related to the Florida East Coast Railway. For the passenger service between West Palm Beach and Miami, see. The entire railroad is controlled by centralized traffic control with constant radio communication. [39] They also have a car haulage arrangement with FEC to Jacksonville to interchange with CSX and Norfolk Southern. The mini-streamliner operated all of the way across three previously observed crew districts (Jacksonville to New Smyrna Beach to Fort Pierce to Miami). On May 16, 2006, FEC was the recipient of the Gold E. H. Harriman Award for safety in Group C (line-haul railroad companies with fewer than 4 million employee hours per year).[20]. The east coast of Florida was relatively undeveloped at that time, and Flagler found it difficult to obtain the construction materials he needed. In 2002, the FEC acquired 20 ex-UP SD40-2s, which were numbered in 700s. The Little River Branch connects to the mainline near Little River and heads south west toward Hialeah, where it turns south towards Hialeah Yard and Miami International Airport. The railroad declared bankruptcy and was in receivership by September 1931, 18 years after Flagler's death. The FEC completed its "second generation" dieselization with the purchase of 49 GP40s and GP40-2s and 11 GP38-2s, ranging in the 400's. On September 7, 1895, the name of Flagler's system was changed from the Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Indian River Railway Company to the Florida East Coast Railway Company and incorporated. rebuilt in 2018 a short distant north of original station for, named for Henry Flagler's third wife, Mary Lily Kenan, 351 miles (565 km) of mainline track between Jacksonville and Miami, Florida, 277 miles (446 km) of branch, switching, and other secondary track, Notable passenger trains operated over FEC rails: (sponsoring railroads and destinations), This page was last edited on 29 January 2021, at 05:35. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection took ownership of the rail bed on December 31, 2007. Flagler next sought perhaps his greatest challenge: the extension of the Florida East Coast Railway to Key West, a city of almost 20,000 inhabitants located 128 miles (206 km) beyond the end of the Florida peninsula. He declined the honor, persuading them to retain its old Indian name, Miami. The other subsidiaries are Orlando-based carrier, "EPIK Communication" and the logistics firm, "International Transit".[21]. He was joined by Henry H. Rogers, another leader of Standard Oil who also became involved in the devel… As of 2015 the majority of these were leased to CSXT. [32] The Florida East Coast Railway considered extending the line further south to Hialeah to have an alternative route for the main line, but the line was never built past Lake Harbor. 100–107 were leased from EMD and returned by the end of 2014. The Overseas Railroad (also known as Florida Overseas Railroad, the Overseas Extension, and Flagler's Folly) was an extension of the Florida East Coast Railway to Key West, a city located 128 miles (206 km) beyond the end of the Florida peninsula.Work on the line started in 1905 and it operated from 1912 to 1935, when it was partially destroyed by the Labor Day Hurricane. We also have members who are interested in learning about and preserving the vast history of the railroad, including its famed Key West Extension. Ball was certain that if the company didn't become profitable, the equipment and track would deteriorate to the point where some lines would become unsafe or unusable and require partial abandonment. provides transportation services. Flagler and his family relocated there as well. It was built to ferry the wealthy, winter-weary northerner to sunny Florida. Florida East Coast Railway has been the speedway to America's playground for more than 110 years. junction with Atlantic and Western Branch, later replaced by Cocoa-Rockledge station, moved to a grove on Bridge Road west of Hobe Sound and still extant (Land purchased and developed into the Hobe Sound Polo Club and the old station now serves as the grounds office). Any resumed service later in the 1960s was strictly intrastate trains operated by the FEC. Apr 12, 2018 - Explore charles haycock's board "Railroad" on Pinterest. (A historical marker located in Melbourne in Brevard County, Florida.) The entire railroad adopted positive train control (PTC) after a fatal 1987 collision caused by a crew not obeying signaling. It passed through Belle Glade and South Bay before terminating at Lake Harbor on the south side of the lake at the Miami Canal. Beginning in 1892, when landowners south of Daytona petitioned him to extend the railroad 80 miles (130 km) south, Flagler began laying new railroad tracks; no longer did he follow his traditional practice of purchasing existing railroads and merging them into his growing rail system. 1983: Florida East Coast Industries, a descendent of Flagler's railroad, is incorporated. Palm Beach was to be the terminus of the Flagler railroad, but during 1894 and 1895, severe freezes hit all of Central Florida, whereas the Miami area remained unaffected, causing Flagler to rethink his original decision not to move the railroad south of Palm Beach. The main line was also expanded to double track from Jacksonville to Miami in 1926, along with the installation of automatic block signaling.[7][8]. Henry Flagler: developing Florida's east coast, Little River Branch (Bypass around Miami), "Orlando Sun-Sentinel," February 22, 2013, Angel Streeter, "Amtrak still hopeful for service on FEC tracks", 'Official Guide of the Railways,' June 1961, Florida East Coast section, Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Halifax River Railway, Atlantic Coast, St. Johns and Indian River Railroad, Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railroad, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, North American Rail Passenger Car Owners' Association, Blue Spring, Orange City and Atlantic Railroad, "Florida Railroad Strike Is Symbolic of National Test; Company Challenges Established Labor Relations Pattern", "How slave labor built the state of Florida – decades after the Civil War", National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "Straighter tracks preferred for All Aboard Florida trains", "A powerful man craved little but gave a lot", "The Florida Run: Railroads Anticipating a Busy Winter – New Schedule Effective Dec. 13", "Hertwig named Florida East Coast Railway CEO", http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-02-22/news/fl-amtrak-florida-east-coast-railroad-20130215_1_amtrak-service-fec-passenger-service, "As Trucks Get More Efficient, Railroads' Competitive Edge Is Eroding", http://files.chartindustries.com/FEC-LNG-FloridaEastCoastRailwayCaseStudy.pdf, "Florida East Coast Industries, LLC: Private Company Information - Businessweek", "FEC taps GE Transportation for 24 locomotives", "Railroads Set Another Employee Safety Record in 2005", "Florida East Coast Industries to Be Acquired By Funds Managed By Fortress Investment Group LLC in an All-Cash Transaction Valued at $3.5 Billion", "Grupo Mexico successfully acquires Florida East Coast Railway", "Grupo México Transportes acquires Florida East Coast Railway", Florida Railroad Commission Annual Report (1913), FEC Kissimmee Valley Extension Map Kissimmee Valley Line Map, "North bridge carries Henry Flagler legacy", "The Flagler Memorial Bridge: If this bridge could talk…", https://www.pbcgov.com/papa/Asps/PropertyDetail/PropertyDetail.aspx?parcel=74434322130000040&srchtype=map, "Bote's Florida Sugar Cane Train Chaser's Guide", Florida Department of Environmental Protection: January 3, 2008-State Takes Ownership of Longest Rail-Trail in Florida, Wagner, Jody, Palm Beach Post, "Tequesta gives groups time to try to save old Flagler train depot", "Florida Railroad: Passenger Stations & Stops", Florida East Coast Railway Timetable (1957), Rand McNally Map – 1917, showing Western Kissimmee Valley Branch, Florida East Coast Railway 1960 timetable, Flagler Museum – History of the Florida East Coast Railway, List of United States railroads by political division, List of companies in Jacksonville, Florida, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Florida_East_Coast_Railway&oldid=1003487822, Former Class I railroads in the United States, Transportation in Brevard County, Florida, Standard gauge railways in the United States, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2012, Articles with unsourced statements from April 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2018, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from March 2010, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. However, in 1906, a powerful hurricane killed 135 of Flagler's workers. The company—using replacement workers—and some of its employees engaged from 1963 until 1977 in one of the longest and more violent labor conflicts of the 20th century. In 2015, AAF announced they will operate the service under the name Brightline, since 2018 operated by Brightline, after a few delays, service on an initial stretch between West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale, and shortly after MiamiCentral started in January 2018 with future extensions planned towards Orlando and Tampa. In 2006 The FEC leased four SD70M-2's numbered in the 100 series (100-103) in a blue and yellow livery known by fans as the "Classic" or the "Alaskan" schemes. Additionally, the FEC currently transports Tropicana Products "Juice Train" cars to and from one of the company's processing facilities located on the "K" Line. Ball's use of replacement workers to keep the railroad running during the strike led to violence by strikers that included shootings and bombings. The FEC operations today are dominated by "intermodal" trains and unit rock (limestone) trains. He also discovered that a major problem facing the existing Florida railway systems was that each operated on different gauge systems, making interconnection impossible. He also built the Breakers Hotel on the ocean side of Palm Beach, and Whitehall, his private 55-room, 60,000 square foot (5,600 m²) winter home. The Enterprise Branch also crossed the Kissimmee Valley Line at a location known as Maytown. Flagler constructed the Royal Poinciana Hotel in Palm Beach overlooking the Lake Worth Lagoon. 509 acquired by Missouri and Northern Arkansas Railroad. later moved to 479 Seabrook Road, Tequesta to be used as a house. Through the operation of these three railroads, by spring 1889 Flagler's system offered service from Jacksonville to Daytona. Trains are not held for missed connections or late loadings. [23][clarification needed], On July 7, 2017, Grupo México Transportes, subsidiary of Grupo México, completed the acquisition of Florida East Railway.[24][25]. The milepost numbers on the main line still reflect the original route, causing the mileposts to abruptly jump from 65 to 88 in Bunnell. The branch continued south past the airport and reconnected with the mainline at Kendall. Continuing to develop hotel facilities to entice northern tourists to visit Florida, Flagler bought and expanded the Ormond Hotel, located along the railroad's route north of Daytona in Ormond Beach. The Florida East Coast Railway (reporting mark FEC) is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida; in the past, it has been a Class I railroad.. Before it became the FEC, the Jacksonville, St. Augustine & Indian River was constructing a line southwards from Daytona Beach in 1894. The name was changed to the Florida East Coast Railway Company on September 7, 1895. The line ran from St. Augustine southwest to East Palatka, then turned southeast to Bunnell. The Florida East Coast Railway operates from its relocated headquarters in Jacksonville after selling the original General Office Building in St. Augustine to Flagler College in late 2006. Flagler’s railroad provided multiple benefits not only to Flagler, but also to the wealthy visitors and new residents that it delivered to southeast Florida. All of the SD70M-2's served on the railway until the end of 2014 when they were replaced with new power. The plant has been demolished outside of one smokestack that will become a "lighthouse" for a new development. The branch’s wooden trestle over Lake Worth Lagoon also included a pedestrian walkway. The crossing gates and signals were removed before the summer 2004 hurricanes and the track is being removed by a steel salvage company. In 1979, the FEC's mainline was cut back to its current terminus in downtown Miami when a 9.5 mile segment of the mainline between there and Kendall was sold to Miami-Dade Transit, which then built the southern half of Miami's elevated Metrorail system on the former right-of-way. The railroad has mostly 136 pound-per-yard (66 kg/m) continuous-welded rail attached to concrete ties, which sits on a high quality granite roadbed. [10] Although a new station was planned at NE 36th Street and NE 2nd Avenue,[11] it was never built. Numbers 104–107 are painted in RailAmerica's red, pearl and blue colors; Numbers 100–103 were sold off to the Vermont Railway and Providence and Worcester. 140–142 are leased from CITX and scheduled to be returned by the end of 2014. After 30 years of fragile financial condition, the FEC, under leadership of a new president, Ed Ball, took on the labor unions. With the completion of the Over-Sea Railroad the entire east coast of Florida, from Jacksonville to Key West, was linked by a single railroad system. Up until mid 2017, only one rock train remained, which is called the "unit train" and operates between Miami and City Point.

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