As I was returning to my office a little while ago from the Marathon Lower Keys Association of REALTORS annual meeting, I was reminded of the feeling of amazement that I experienced years ago when I made my first road trip from the mainland of Florida down through the Keys. Being a railroad fan and living and working in a place where there are no railroads (but used to be!), it is still a fascination to me to observe the landmarks of the "Railroad That Went to Sea". To see it's remains, one has to wonder how the hands of men could ever have created it, especially back in those days. Kind of like wondering how anyone could ever have built the Pyramids.
In 1908, a wealthy industrialist and hotelier named Henry Morrison Flagler commenced construction of the Keys Extension of the Florida East Coast Railroad, which, when completed in 1912, connected Key West with mainland South Florida. Prior to the railroad, access to Key West was restricted to passage by steamship or sailing craft. Flagler's grand scheme included the Railroad being key to opening up trade with Cuba and Panama. The undertaking of this incredible project involved filling through shallow mangrove flats with coral marl to create the railbed. It also required construction of various designs of bridges to span the ocean between the islands of the Keys. Concrete was used in all of the bridges, and it had to be a special type shipped over here from Germany. There was a staggering toll in human lives, due to the sweltering tropical environment, squadrons of mosquitos, malaria, and storms. As the famous Seven Mile Bridge (it was called the Eigth Wonder of the World) was nearing completion, one of of the construction engineers was heard to exclaim "what a Marathon!!!-----and the name stuck as the name of the City of Marathon, which lies at the eastern foot of the Seven Mile Bridge.
On Labor Day of 1935, a horrendous hurricane destroyed the "Railroad That Went to Sea". Today, U.S. Route 1, the ONLY highway through the keys, sits atop the old railbed. The original bridges were widened to serve automobiles, and the siderails on the Seven Mile Bridge and a few other bridges were constructed with the rails of the Railroad. Today, the original bridges have been bypassed by replacements, and many of the old bridges serve today as "fishing bridges".
For a rail fan and history buff like me, what a treat to ride down the road here, looking over at those old bridges and to the azure sea beyond. It was truly "The Railroad That Went to Sea"!
Old Bahia Honda Bridge Old Seven Mile Bridge
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