Pigeon Key and Florida East Coast Railway

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Today we visited Pigeon Key, a small island located about 2 miles west of the east end of the Seven Mile Bridge.  Access to the island was by boat ferry that leaves from Knights Key, which is at the east end of the bridge.

Pigeon Key contained a work camp that housed the workers for four years while the bridge was being built.  It later served as a maintenance headquarters for the Middle Keys.  After the rail was closed and a highway was built on top, around 1938, Pigeon Key became a rest stop with restaurant and motel.  When the new overseas highway opened in the 1980s, the state gave Pigeon Key to the University of Florida where Marine Biology of the Gulf is being studied.

As we have travelled along  US 1, few remnant's of the original railway exist today.  In this area there is about a 10 mile stretch, mostly bridges, of the original rail that had been converted to the first overseas highway.  Some areas have been revamped and are used as fishing piers.  A two mile stretch leading to Pigeon Key from Knights Key is open to foot and bike traffic.  Unfortunately, the ramp down to Pigeon Key was closed for repair a couple weeks ago, so you now must go by boat.

The old bridge is in the foreground, the pilings and the current bridge appear behind. Once the Florida East Coast Railway Extension was complete, one could travel from New York to Key West then onto Cuba by ship in about a day.  The cost to go between Jacksonville and Key West was $28, very affordable in the 1920s.  The Extension was considered the 8th wonder of the world.  The bridges were a mere 2 or 3 feet wider than the train and about 20 feet above the water.  So the sensation of traveling on the water was a big draw.

   

This painting depicts the train traveling on one of the 42 bridges that spanned nearly 80 miles of water.  It also shows the different types of span and pier designs used, depending on the water depth.  The US Army Corps of Engineers recently inspected many of the piers still in existence  and found all to be sound.  A testament to their design and construction.

As we mentioned earlier, on Labor Day 1935, a category 5 hurricane struck the Keys near Islamorada taking out several miles of track stopping the train, then sweeping the cars off the track.  Tragically, the train had been dispatched to rescue 400 WWI veterans who had just arrived to begin work on an overseas highway to link Key West to the mainland.  All aboard were killed.  Only the engineer and foreman survived.

This event signaled the end of the Florida East Coast Railroad Extension.  Henry Flagler spent over $20 million and 11 years to build it in 1912.  It was sold to the state for $640,000.  Florida spent the next three years modifying it for use by cars.  The following shows the extension installed to increase the width for a 2 lane road.

 

Much of the railway was used for car traffic until 1982, when the new highway was constructed.  Note the railing, they used the RR tracks to make the railing on the bridges.  Recycling in the 1930s.  As more truck and RV traffic started using the road, it was clear the bridges were not wide enough.  Today driving US1 is a nonevent, but in the 70s and early 80s, it was probably a white knuckle experience.

If you have made it this far without falling asleep, or dozed off a couple times, you might find the engineering and construction of these bridges interesting.   For example they used a German made concrete that would set up in saltwater.  There is quite a bit of information on the web.  For the early 1900s it was cutting edge.  As you can tell, we have found it to be fascinating.