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    Florida Railroads in the 1920's
    Florida Railroads in the 1920's
    Florida Railroads in the 1920's
    Ebook200 pages1 hour

    Florida Railroads in the 1920's

    By Gregg Turner

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    Florida s railroads emerged in the 1830s amid Native American upheaval and territorial colonization. Many periods of development marked this fascinating heritage, but one era towers above the rest: the 1920s. It was then that Florida experienced a colossal land boom, one of the greatest migration and building stories in American history. People poured into the state as never before, real estate traded hands at breakneck speed, and the landscape added countless new homes, hotels, apartments, and commercial buildings. Florida s biggest railroads the Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard Air Line, and Florida East Coast were unprepared for the tidal wave of traffic. Thus, the Big Three had to rapidly expand and increase capacity. Dozens of projects unfolded at great cost, by one estimate over $100 million. When the building frenzy ended, the railway map of the state stood at its greatest extent some 5,700 miles. Further, the frequency of railway service within and to the Sunshine State reached an unprecedented level, never again to be repeated.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateFeb 22, 2006
    ISBN9781439617250
    Florida Railroads in the 1920's
    Author

    Gregg Turner

    Using antique postcards, period brochures, and maps, author Gregg Turner presents a visual retrospective of the �City of Palms� from the 1890s to the 1960s. His other Arcadia titles include Railroads of Southwest Florida, Venice in the 1920s, Fort Myers (with historian Stan Mulford), and A Short History of Florida Railroads.

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      Book preview

      Florida Railroads in the 1920's - Gregg Turner

      cost.

      INTRODUCTION

      Florida’s railroad heritage began in the 1830s amidst Native American upheaval and territorial colonization. Eventually the Iron Horse conquered the state’s vast interior; linked every population center; brought in the tourists; and ably conveyed the wealth of Florida’s mines, forests, factories, groves, and farms. Today, nearly 175 years later, railroads still remain a dependable source of transportation within the Sunshine State, even if their golden age has come and gone.

      Thus far, Florida railroad history has embraced two extraordinary periods of development: that which manifested in the 1880s and the epic chapter that unfolded in the 1920s. When the first era began, about 500 miles of railroads existed in Florida, a somewhat diminutive figure in light of the Sunshine State being larger than England and Wales combined. However, when that decade closed, nearly 2,500 miles could be counted—a 480 percent increase. The surge was attributable to many factors, including the resumption of state land grants, the ready availability of capital, and the work of several spectacular developers like Henry Plant, Henry Flagler, Henry Sanford, and William Chipley.

      Eclipsing this era were the prolific events and milestones of the 1920s. Virtually every initiative of that fabulous period was undertaken by Florida’s three biggest companies—the Florida East Coast, the Seaboard Air Line, and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroads. Never before had the Big Three invested so much capital in Florida, by one estimate well in excess of $100 million. New lines and shortcuts resulted, hundreds of miles of double track were installed, heavier steel rail was laid, countless bridges were strengthened or replaced, new cars and locomotives appeared, automatic signal systems were activated, yard and terminal facilities were built or enlarged, new trains were inaugurated, and dozens of new stations arose. Further the frequency of railway service within and to the state reached an unprecedented level. When the 1920s ended, the railway map of Florida stood at its greatest extent—some 6,500 miles (double tracks, yards, branches, and sidings included) compared to the 2,800 or so that are in service today.

      The primary reason why the Big Three undertook these expansionary and improvement measures was simple: Florida was experiencing a colossal land boom, one of the greatest migration and building episodes in American history. During the 1920s, people flocked to the Sunshine State as never before, where real estate transactions and get-rich-quick schemes abounded. Countless new homes were built that decade along with hotels, apartments, and commercial buildings. Even new cities surfaced, such as Hollywood-by-the-Sea, Boca Raton, Coral Gables, and Venice. All this generated an enormous railroad passenger and freight business.

      Before the boom, railway traffic on the Big Three moved in a predictable fashion. Citrus and vegetables went north between October and May. Heavy southbound passenger traffic began in late fall and reached its peak in the latter part of February, only to shift north until late April. The remainder of the year was marked by light business of all kinds, with train service reduced to a minimum.

      According to the November 26, 1927, issue of Railway Age magazine, the first traffic abnormalities were detected in March 1920 when many new people came to Florida, a growing interest in real estate surfaced, and numerous construction projects were started in Miami, West Palm Beach and points north along the east coast. By 1925, the usual May lull never occurred, as people from every section of the country poured into Florida as never before. Orders placed by Florida merchants, the up-tick of passengers, coupled with one of the largest citrus and vegetable crops ever, placed an enormous burden upon the Big Three that became increasingly difficult to carry. There was also wild speculation in all classes of commodities, for brokers and dealers ordered supplies far in excess of actual requirements. Often shipments were sent to Florida with no definitive destination, changing hands many times en route and arriving at destinations where inadequate or no service tracks existed. Before long, thousands of freight cars became stranded in the state and choked the movement of traffic. The scenario was also complicated by the arrival of thousands of empty refrigerated cars, which were used to move perishables to northern markets.

      This unprecedented congestion produced a gridlock, which prompted a hurried meeting of traffic officials. An embargo was subsequently called that took effect October 1925. Except for foodstuffs, fuel, perishables, and a few essential commodities, no other freight traffic was permitted to enter or move within the state. When the embargo was called, about 4,000 freight cars were jammed in the Jacksonville yards. Another 8,000 were held at outlying points such as Atlanta; Cincinnati; Washington, D.C.; St. Louis; and New Orleans. Gradually order was restored,

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