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Author: Seth H. Bramson
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1625844530
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 193
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Book Description
All aboard for the history of one of the most audacious and innovative railroad engineering feats in history from the celebrated Floridian author. Although several people had considered constructing a railroad to Key West beginning in the early 1800s, it took a bold industrialist with unparalleled vision to make it happen. In 1902, Henry Flagler made the decision to extend the Florida East Coast Railway to “the nearest deepwater American port.” In this book, renowned Florida historian Seth H. Bramson reveals how the Key West Extension of the Flagler-owned FEC became the greatest railroad engineering and construction feat in United States, and possibly world, history, an accomplishment that would cement Flagler’s fame and legend for all time. Join Bramson as he recounts the years of operation of this great railroad, what it did for the Florida Keys and what it meant to the resident conchs. Includes photos
Author: Seth H. Bramson
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1625844530
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 193
Get Book Here
Book Description
All aboard for the history of one of the most audacious and innovative railroad engineering feats in history from the celebrated Floridian author. Although several people had considered constructing a railroad to Key West beginning in the early 1800s, it took a bold industrialist with unparalleled vision to make it happen. In 1902, Henry Flagler made the decision to extend the Florida East Coast Railway to “the nearest deepwater American port.” In this book, renowned Florida historian Seth H. Bramson reveals how the Key West Extension of the Flagler-owned FEC became the greatest railroad engineering and construction feat in United States, and possibly world, history, an accomplishment that would cement Flagler’s fame and legend for all time. Join Bramson as he recounts the years of operation of this great railroad, what it did for the Florida Keys and what it meant to the resident conchs. Includes photos
Author: Seth Bramson
Publisher: Transportation
ISBN: 9781609493998
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 0
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Book Description
Although several people had considered constructing a railroad to Key West beginning in the early 1800s, it took a bold industrialist with unparalleled vision to make it happen. In 1902, Henry Flagler made the decision to extend the Florida East Coast Railway to "the nearest deepwater American port." In this book, renowned Florida historian Seth H. Bramson reveals how the Key West Extension of the Flagler-owned FEC became the greatest railroad engineering and construction feat in U.S., and possibly world, history, an accomplishment that would cement Flagler's fame and legend for all time. Join Bramson as he recounts the years of operation of this great railroad, what it did for the Florida Keys and what it meant to the resident conchs.
Author: Seth Bramson
Publisher: Boston Mills Press
ISBN: 9781550463583
Category : Transportation
Languages : en
Pages : 364
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Book Description
A revised and expanded illustrated history of the railroad from its inception, through the building of the Key West extension, to the present day.
Author: John Sedgwick
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1982104309
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352
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Book Description
“Riveting...A great read, full of colorful characters and outrageous confrontations back when the west was still wild.” —George R.R. Martin A propulsive and panoramic history of one of the most dramatic stories never told—the greatest railroad war of all time, fought by the daring leaders of the Santa Fe and the Rio Grande to seize, control, and create the American West. It is difficult to imagine now, but for all its gorgeous scenery, the American West might have been barren tundra as far as most Americans knew well into the 19th century. While the West was advertised as a paradise on earth to citizens in the East and Midwest, many believed the journey too hazardous to be worthwhile—until 1869, when the first transcontinental railroad changed the face of transportation. Railroad companies soon became the rulers of western expansion, choosing routes, creating brand-new railroad towns, and building up remote settlements like Santa Fe, Albuquerque, San Diego, and El Paso into proper cities. But thinning federal grants left the routes incomplete, an opportunity that two brash new railroad men, armed with private investments and determination to build an empire across the Southwest clear to the Pacific, soon seized, leading to the greatest railroad war in American history. In From the River to the Sea, bestselling author John Sedgwick recounts, in vivid and thrilling detail, the decade-long fight between General William J. Palmer, the Civil War hero leading the “little family” of his Rio Grande, and William Barstow Strong, the hard-nosed manager of the corporate-minded Santa Fe. What begins as an accidental rivalry when the two lines cross in Colorado soon evolves into an all-out battle as each man tries to outdo the other—claiming exclusive routes through mountains, narrow passes, and the richest silver mines in the world; enlisting private armies to protect their land and lawyers to find loopholes; dispatching spies to gain information; and even using the power of the press and incurring the wrath of the God-like Robber Baron Jay Gould—to emerge victorious. By the end of the century, one man will fade into anonymity and disgrace. The other will achieve unparalleled success—and in the process, transform a sleepy backwater of thirty thousand called “Los Angeles” into a booming metropolis that will forever change the United States. Filled with colorful characters and high drama, told at the speed of a locomotive, From the River to the Sea is an unforgettable piece of American history “that seems to demand a big-screen treatment” (The New Yorker).
Author: Seth H. Bramson
Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser
ISBN: 9780738543413
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 138
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Book Description
Florida East Coast Railway has been the speedway to America's playground for more than 110 years. FEC offered some of America's finest rail passenger service until 1968 and remains the freight lifeline of Florida's east coast. The railroad arrived on the shores of Biscayne Bay on April 15, 1896, and it reached Key West in January 1912. That feat etched both Henry Flagler's and the railroad's names in Florida and U.S. railroad history. FEC's operation is so precise and punctual, its roadbed and motive power so well maintained, that it is the benchmark for every other railroad in the country.
Author: Les Standiford
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 1400051185
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 263
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Book Description
The fast-paced and gripping true account of the extraordinary construction and spectacular demise of the Key West Railroad—one of the greatest engineering feats ever undertaken, destroyed in one fell swoop by the strongest storm ever to hit U.S. shores. In 1904, the brilliant and driven entrepreneur Henry Flagler, partner to John D. Rockefeller, dreamed of a railway connecting the island of Key West to the Florida mainland, crossing a staggering 153 miles of open ocean—an engineering challenge beyond even that of the Panama Canal. Many considered the project impossible, but build it they did. The railroad stood as a magnificent achievement for more than twenty-two years, heralded as “the Eighth Wonder of the World,” until its total destruction in 1935's deadly storm of the century. In Last Train to Paradise, Standiford celebrates this crowning achievement of Gilded Age ambition, bringing to life a sweeping tale of the powerful forces of human ingenuity colliding with the even greater forces of nature’s wrath.
Author: H.A. Branham
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
ISBN: 0771017685
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 258
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Book Description
The first major authorized biography of NASCAR founder, Bill France Sr. Big Bill is the consummate "insider" book on the life and legend of NASCAR founder Bill France and tells the tale of a classic American success story. France Sr. brought his family to Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1934, put down roots and immersed himself in the business of racing, both as a driver and an owner. Nicknamed "Big Bill" because of his 6-foot-5 stature, he made significant contributions to the racing world - he founded NASCAR in December 1947, built Daytona International Speedway in 1959 and built Talladega Superspeedway in 1969, and landed the landmark R.J. Reynolds/Winston sponsorship deal in 1971 that not only transformed NASCAR but also transformed corporate sponsorship of sports in America. The France family has spent the last 30 years gathering a vast collection of files and material about their family patriarch and has turned over countless interviews -- both written and taped -- as well as NASCAR documents, memorabilia, memos, letters and various other materials to the author for this definitive biography. Big Bill offers NASCAR fans a rich, entertaining, emotional, and detailed story about America's most recognized and admired racing family.
Author: Christopher Knowlton
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN: 1982128380
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 432
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Book Description
Christopher Knowlton, author of Cattle Kingdom and former Fortune writer, takes an in-depth look at the spectacular Florida land boom of the 1920s and shows how it led directly to the Great Depression. The 1920s in Florida was a time of incredible excess, immense wealth, and precipitous collapse. The decade there produced the largest human migration in American history, far exceeding the settlement of the West, as millions flocked to the grand hotels and the new cities that rose rapidly from the teeming wetlands. The boom spawned a new subdivision civilization—and the most egregious large-scale assault on the environment in the name of “progress.” Nowhere was the glitz and froth of the Roaring Twenties more excessive than in Florida. Here was Vegas before there was a Vegas: gambling was condoned and so was drinking, since prohibition was not enforced. Tycoons, crooks, and celebrities arrived en masse to promote or exploit this new and dazzling American frontier in the sunshine. Yet, the import and deep impact of these historical events have never been explored thoroughly until now. In Bubble in the Sun Christopher Knowlton examines the grand artistic and entrepreneurial visions behind Coral Gables, Boca Raton, Miami Beach, and other storied sites, as well as the darker side of the frenzy. For while giant fortunes were being made and lost and the nightlife raged more raucously than anywhere else, the pure beauty of the Everglades suffered wanton ruination and the workers, mostly black, who built and maintained the boom, endured grievous abuses. Knowlton breathes dynamic life into the forces that made and wrecked Florida during the decade: the real estate moguls Carl Fisher, George Merrick, and Addison Mizner, and the once-in-a-century hurricane whose aftermath triggered the stock market crash. This essential account is a revelatory—and riveting—history of an era that still affects our country today.
Author: Willie Drye
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1493037986
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 401
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Book Description
In 1934, hundreds of jobless World War I veterans were sent to the remote Florida Keys to build a highway from Miami to Key West. The Roosevelt Administration was making a genuine effort to help these down-and-out vets, many of whom suffered from what is known today as post-traumatic stress disorder. But the attempt to help them turned into a tragedy. The supervisors in charge of the veterans misunderstood the danger posed by hurricanes in the low-lying Florida Keys. In late August 1935, a small, stealthy tropical storm crossed the Bahamas, causing little damage. When it entered the Straits of Florida, however, it exploded into one of the most powerful hurricanes on record. But US Weather Bureau forecasters could only guess at its exact position, and their calculations were well off the mark. The hurricane that struck the Upper Florida Keys on the evening of September 2, 1935 is still the most powerful hurricane to make landfall in the US. Supervisors waited too long to call for an evacuation train from Miami to move the vets out of harm’s way. The train was slammed by the storm surge soon after it reached Islamorada. Only the 160-ton locomotive was left upright on the tracks. About 400 veterans were left unprotected in flimsy work camps. Around 260 of them were killed. This is their story, with newly discovered photos and stories of some of the heroes of the Labor Day 1935 calamity.
Author: Greg Guffey
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 9780253216311
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 260
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Book Description
"Nothing in basketball beats Hoosier Hysteria, and this true-life Cinderella story of the 1954 Milan Indians has it all--courage, heart, suspense, and triumph. Greg Guffey brings the team and its championship odyssey to life again in this action-packed book. A great read " --Digger Phelps With the release of the movie Hoosiers starring Gene Hackman, the whole world discovered the "Milan Miracle." The true story of the Milan miracle is even better, and Greg Guffey tells it here in graphic and gripping detail. Here we get to know the real Coach Marvin Wood and the remarkable group of high school players who defeated mighty Muncie Central. In his new introduction, Guffey talks about the switch to class basketball in Indiana and the legacy of this story for the town and for the legendary team.
