When the first Iron Horse arrived in Southwest Floridaat Charlotte Harbor in 1886nearly 150,000 miles of railroads already existed in America, the transcontinental route was open, and Pullman sleeping cars were in wide use. But despite a late start, railroads forever transformed this beautiful region of the Sunshine State and connected its people to the outside world. In Railroads of Southwest Florida, the golden age of railroading is documented with captivating images of stations, machines, and the people whose lives were affected by this significant form of transportation. From interior views of well-furnished passenger cars to scenes of hardworking men who made it all possible, this collection provides a thorough look at a fascinating, almost forgotten heritage.

Floridas 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. Floridas biggest railroadsthe Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard Air Line, and Florida East Coastwere 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 extentsome 5,700 miles. Further, the frequency of railway service within and to the Sunshine State reached an unprecedented level, never again to be repeated.

When the first "Iron Horse" arrived in Southwest Florida--at Charlotte Harbor in 1886--nearly 150,000 miles of railroads already existed in America, the transcontinental route was open, and Pullman sleeping cars were in wide use. But despite a late start, railroads forever transformed this beautiful region of the Sunshine State and connected its people to the outside world. In Railroads of Southwest Florida, the golden age of railroading is documented with captivating images of stations, machines, and the people whose lives were affected by this significant form of transportation. From interior views of well-furnished passenger cars to scenes of hardworking men who made it all possible, this collection provides a thorough look at a fascinating, almost forgotten heritage.

Florida's railroad heritage began in the 1830s amidst Native American upheaval and territorial colonization. Surpassing waterways as the primary mode of transport, the "Iron Horse" linked practically every town and city, carried tourists and locals, and ably conveyed the wealth of Florida's mines, factories, forests, groves, and farms. Nearly 175 years later, railroads still remain a dependable source of transport within the Sunshine State.

Railroads have served the northern counties of Central Florida since before the Civil War. Following the war, railroads expanded down the peninsula to bring transportation services to even more people and places throughout the region. By 1929, the railroad network in the state had reached its peak, with some communities being served by two or more railroad lines. Trains provided the means for growth and development, and the local depot was the focal point of every town throughout Florida's central region. Stretching across the middle section of the peninsula from coast to coast, the Central Florida area includes Levy, Gilchrist, Alachua, Putnam, and Volusia Counties to the north, while the counties of Sarasota, Desoto, Highland, Osceola, and Brevard define the southern boundary. Featuring depots of the Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard Air Line, Florida East Coast, and their predecessor railroads, the photographs used by the author were obtained from local historical groups, the Florida State Archives, and private collections.

During Florida’s land boom of the 1920s Americans flocked to the Sunshine State as never before. Countless new homes arose, as did commercial buildings and municipal projects. Famous cities of today, including Boca Raton, Hollywood, Coral Gables, and Venice, sprang to life during those heady times. Eager for boom traffic, the Seaboard Air Line Railway connected both coasts of the state and advanced rails down to West Palm Beach, but President S. Davies Warfield wanted more! In 1926, two major extensions were rushed to completion - one to Naples, the other to the “Magic City” of Miami. To open the additions, Warfield invited 700 guests from 18 states and pampered them aboard five identical passenger train sections of the Orange Blossom Special. Afterwards, he sent each invitee a souvenir: a leather slipcase containing two privately printed booklets, one describing the Seaboard and the territory it served, the other recounting the fabled journey just completed. Rarely seen by the public and today treasured by collectors, the booklets are reproduced herein along with - for the first time - many historic images. Together they record a remarkable celebration of American railroad history.

The following report documents an initial planning and feasibility study for intercity passenger rail service in the Southwest Florida Corridor from Tampa to Naples. This corridor is proposed as a Phase 3 Corridor in the Florida Intercity Rail Service Vision Plan1 to be implemented in the ten-year period between 2006 and 2015 and was analyzed as an extension of initial Tampa-Orlando-Miami Corridor Service.

The history of Florida railroads began as early as 1834, when the Tallahassee-St. Marks Railroad incorporated. On April 14, 1836, the St. Joseph-Lake Wimico line was the first to be put into service, with trains operating between the boomtown of St. Joseph and the Apalachicola River. Although the Florida railroad "boom" began with Henry Flagler and Henry Bradley Plant, the expansion continued into the 1920s when the president of Seaboard Railway, S. Davies Warfield, extended his lines to Miami and Naples. With the passage of time, numerous railroads were bought, merged, or abandoned. Today, 12 full-service railroads are still operating as well as several port railroads.