Bramson - The Greatest Railroad Story Ever Told: Henry Flagler & the Florida East Coast Railways Key West Extension

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2011 by Seth H. Bramson

All rights reserved

All images are courtesy of the author unless otherwise noted.

First published 2011

Second printing 2012

Third printing 2013

e-book edition 2013

Manufactured in the United States

ISBN 978.1.62584.453.8

Library of Congress CIP data applied for.

print edition ISBN 978.1.60949.399.8

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

CONTENTS

He is, unquestionably and undoubtedly, Our Founder, for with the exception of such as Henry Huntington in California or James J. Hill and Henry Villard in the Pacific Northwest, no one person has ever done as much to build an entire region as Henry Morrison Flagler (18301913). The single greatest name in the history of the Sunshine State, Flagler was, is and always will be known as Floridas Empire Builder.

DEDICATION

This book must be doubly dedicated. First, to all those who are no longer with us but who played a part in the construction, maintenance and operation of the Key West Extension, a special salute, in memoriam, is long overdue and is given with unending gratitude for all they did those many years ago.

Second, this book must also be dedicated to Claudia Pennington, executive director, and David Harrison Wright, president of the board of directors of the Key West Art and Historical Society. It has been through their guidance and leadership that the societys museum at the Custom House in Key West has become one of Americas finest. Additionally, it must also be noted that it was only through their foresight and perseverance that this book was commissioned in order to present to the American public, on the 100th anniversary of the arrival of Henry Flagler into Key West on the first passenger train, the greatest railroad story ever told. Gratefully, I, as author, quote a wise and beloved personage in saying to Claudia and David, not only thank you, but also live long and prosper.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Unlike all of my previous books, and with only one exception in this book, the listing of the groups and individuals who helped to make this book possible is, truly, one of those Where do I start? moments!

The one exception to that question is, of course, with our (now) dear and close friends at the Key West Art and Historical Society, owners and operators of the Custom House and its incredible Florida Keys history museum. Simply put, without executive director Claudia Pennington and president of the board of directors David Harrison Wright it is entirely possible that this book might not have been written, and my gratitude to them for their total support and complete faith in me is boundless.

Since we have to start somewhere now that the initial thank you has been written, the next statement of complete appreciation must be given to the beloved Jeane and Irving R. Eyster; their daughter, Barbara Edgar; Barbaras gentleman admirer, David Purdo; and Barbaras beautiful daughter, Cinnamon, who means so much and has been such an inspiration to us all.

Jeane and Irving founded the Matecumbe Historical Trust, and after years of dedication to the preservation of Florida Keys history, the beautiful Irving R. Eyster Museum of Florida Keys History, named in honor of Mr. Eyster, is scheduled to open with a grand ceremony on April 12, 2012. (The trusts website is www.matecumbehistoricaltrust.com.) Dr. Dan Gallagher can certainly not be overlooked. His tremendous research and writings on the extension have provided incredible amounts of information, and we are beyond grateful to Dan for all he has done to record the history of the Key West Extension.

Tom Hambright, longtime director of the Florida collection of the Monroe County Public Library in Key West has not only done a yeomans job of preserving Florida Keys historic memorabilia but also was beyond gracious in loaning several rare images and providing information for this book available from no other known source.

Also in Key West, Ed Swift and Phyllis and Steve Strunk have been great advocates of Oversea Railway memorabilia preservation, and Eds and Steves contributions must be and are noted with great gratitude.

In Miami, Jonathan Nelson has, for many years, worked to preserve FEC memorabilia, while HistoryMiami, particularly Dawn Hughes in the reference and research center, has, for a good few years, warmly welcomed my requests for assistance and information. In West Palm Beach, the beloved Jim Ponce has spent innumerable years keeping the Flagler Hotels story alive.

Joan Langley and her dear husband, the late Wright Langley, spent many years preserving Keys history and the history of the railroad, and I want Joan to be aware of how appreciative all are who knew Wright and know her for everything they have done for the preservation of Keys history.

Calvin Winter, president of the FEC Railway Society, wrote a marvelous history of the car ferry service in the societys Speedway magazine, and I thank him for a great article, a good bit of which is quoted in the Trumbo Island Terminal chapter. I am also indebted to Mark Poormon for furnishing the great photo of mile post marker KW 275/JAX 247, which has a place of honor on display in his home, as well as to Jerry Groothouse of Fort Pierce, who so graciously provided the September 5, 1935 view of the injured veterans who survived the storm being tended to next to a freight car.

Special thanks must also be extended to Max Imberman, who, while interning with me during the summer of 2011, assisted greatly in filing and cataloguing much of the stuff.

The thank yous would not be complete without a word of great appreciation to our IT director and webmaster, Adam Rogers, who has once again come through like the champ he is.

Finallyand it does not go without saying but rather needs to be saidnone of this could have been done without the complete support of my bride. A mere thank you in showing my appreciation for Myrnas forbearance and tolerance as I laid stuff out all over the house in preparation for the writing of this book is simply not enough to tell her that I couldnt a done it without you!

While it is, at this juncture, important for me to state that, in several cases, requests for input or information were either ignored or overlooked, nobody who helped, volunteered to help or tried to help was intentionally left out, but if I did not mention one or more individuals who contributed thoughts, ideas, information or memorabilia, they have my sincere apologies, as well as assurances that their involvement will be included in future editions.

INTRODUCTION

This book is a story of superlatives. Henry Morrison FlaglerFloridas Empire Builderwas, is and always will be the single greatest name in the history of Florida, while the Key West Extension of the Flagler-owned Florida East Coast Railway was, is and will always remainabsolutely, positively, unequivocally, inarguably and incontestablythe greatest railroad engineering and construction feat in U.S. (and, possibly, world) history.