G.E. Nordell's Florida Railroads Pages
Florida East Coast Railway
[est. 1885]
Henry M. Flagler [1830-1913] began the Florida East Coast Railway in 1885; he built southward along the east coast of Florida
and out to the Florida Keys by 1912. The Key West extension was destroyed by a hurricane in 1935 and the current mainline
runs 366 miles (599km) from Jacksonville to Miami, Florida.
The Florida East Coast Railway began as the narrow-gauge Jacksonville, St. Augustine & Halifax River Railroad in 1881, which was purchased in 1885 by Henry Flagler [1830-1913] and renamed; he also acquired the St. Augustine Palatka Railroad and the St. John’s Railroad, and by 1889 had laid track as far south as Daytona. By 1894, the railroad was extended to West Palm Beach, and by 1901 it had reached Miami. Before and during construction, the new railroad extension to Key West, Florida was called "Flagler's Folly"; after it opened, it became known as “The Eighth Wonder of the World”. The Key West line was destroyed in a hurricane in 1935.
The DuPont family purchased the F.E.C. Railway during The Great Depression but the drop in freight business and lack of investment in maintenance made the line unsafe for workers; management chose to blame the cost of labor and hired non-union workers. The St. Joe Company (land developers) bought the bankrupt F.E.C. Railway from the DuPont Trust in 1960. A violent labor strike took place from 1963 until 1977, when federal authorities intervened. Unprofitable passenger service was ended in 1968. A hard-fought court case decided in favor of management, establishing their right to hire strikebreakers.
St. Joe spun off FOXX Holdings in 1983 and renamed it F.E.C. Industries in 2006. The F.E.C. Railway was operated (but not owned) by RailAmerica
from about 2000 until the 2007 sale of F.E.C.I. to Fortress Investment Group, the current owners, for $3.5B.
official F.E.C. Railway website •
FEC Railway entry at Wikipedia
Florida East Coast Railway Society [est. 1999] of Palmetto Bay, Florida
official F.E.C. Industries website • F.E.C.I entry at Wikipedia
official Fortress Investment Group website • Fortress Investment Group entry at Wikipedia
Florida East Coast Railway Society [est. 1999] of Palmetto Bay, Florida
JD's F.E.C. Railway fansite
Florida East Coast Railway Route and Stations
  |
The official Florida East Coast Railway stations or water stops are (moving southward): [MP345, elev. 7871]. Jacksonville St. Augustine Fort Pierce West Palm Beach Miami Key West |
Jacksonville
St. Augustine
Fort Pierce
West Palm Beach
Miami
Gold Coast Railway Museum [est. 1957] near the Miami Zoo
Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) 4-6-2 steam locomotive #113 {in storage}
F.E.C. Railway 1922 4-6-2 locomotive #153 on exhibit since 1959
F.E.C. Railway 1946 passenger coach 'Belle Glade' on exhibit since 1995
F.E.C. Railway track section car donated in 1962
F.E.C. caboose #715 recently arrived at Gold Coast Railway Museum [10/2012]
F.E.C. 1925 passenger coach #136 donated 1959, in storage
F.E.C. Equipment Rosters
list of surviving F.E.C. steam locomotives
year whyte name/number history disposition/status 19-- 4-6-2 Pacific FEC #113 at Gold Coast Railway Museum operational? but in storage 1922 ALCO 4-6-2 Pacific FEC #153 at Gold Coast Railway Museum since 1959 on exhibit 19-- 0-8-0 switcher KCS, L&A, FEC #253 at GCRM to 2002, moved to FEC yards 2009, then to Ft. Pierce, then Clewiston being restored from rusty hulk by private party
F.E.C. Railway 1946 passenger coach 'Belle Glade' on exhibit at Gold Coast Railway Museum since 1995
F.E.C. Railway track section car donated in 1962
F.E.C. caboose #715 recently arrived at Gold Coast Railway Museum [10/2012]
F.E.C. 1925 passenger coach #136 donated 1959, in storage at Gold Coast Railway Museum
FEC Private Railcar 90 [1898 yellow] restored/exhibited at Indiana Transportation Museum since 1970
FEC Private Railcar 91 [1886 green] restored/exhibited at Kenan Pavilion, Whitehall, Palm Beach since 2003
F.E.C. Railway 1924 0-8-0 locomotive #253 being restored at F.E.C. Historical Railway & Transportation Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida
11-window passenger coach in use as gift shop on Pigeon Key
the 0-8-0 switcher #253 is in storage at Clewiston, Florida with an F.E.C. steam crane, passenger car, tank car, and caboose
Reading Material
 | "The Railroad That Died At Sea: The Florida East Coast's Key West Extension" [1969] by Pat Parks
Ketch & Yawl, LLC 64-page 8¼x5½ pb [rev 4/2010] for $11.13 Langley Press 48-page 8½x5½ pb [3/2006] out of print/40+ used Stephen Greene Press 8¾x5½ pb [1975] out of print/used Stephen Greene Press 44-page 8½x5¾ hardcover [1969] out of print/used |
 | "Speedway To Sunshine: The Story of The Florida East Coast Railway" [1984] by Seth H. Bramson Boston Mills Press 11x8¼ pb [9/2010] for $25.62 Boston Mills Press 11x8½ hardcover [rev 3/2003] out of print/many used Boston Mills Press hardcover [6/84] out of print/used |
 | "Pigeon Key and The Seven-Mile Bridge, 1908-1912" [1995] by Dan Gallagher, PhD Pigeon Key Foundation 8½x5¾ pb [1995] out of print/used |
 | "By Streamliner New York To Florida" [2002] by Joseph M. Welsh A history of passenger service to Florida via Seaboard Air Line, Atlantic Coast Line, and Florida East Coast Railway, from the late 1800s until Amtrak Motorbooks Intl 11x8½ pb [3/2002] out of print/used |
 | "Florida's Great Ocean Railway: Building The Key West Extension" [2003] by Dan Gallagher Pineapple Press 11x8¾ hardcover [5/2003] for $13.56 |
 | "Last Train To Paradise: Henry Flagler and The Spectacular Rise and Fall of The Railroad That Crossed An Ocean" [2002] by Les Standiford
Kindle Edition from Random House Digital [2003 edition] for $11.99 Broadway Books 8x5¼ pb [8/2003] for $10.17 Crown Books 9½x6 hardcover [9/2002] out of print/many used |
 | "Florida Railroads In The 1920s (Images of Rail)" [2006] by Gregg Turner focuses on the Atlantic Coast Line, the Seaboard Air Line, the Florida East Coast Railway, and the Frisco Line Kindle Edition from Arcadia Publng [9/2012] for $9.99 Arcadia Publng 9¼x6½ pb [2/2006] for $17.15 |
 | "The Florida Keys Overseas Railway" [2006] by Warren Zeiller Signature Press 11x8½ hardcover [2006] out of print/used |
 | "Florida East Coast Railway (Images of Rail Series)" [2006] by Seth H. Bramson Arcadia Publng 9¼x6½ pb [10/2006] for $16.05 |
 | "The Two Henrys: Henry Plant and Henry Flagler and Their Railroads" [ages 9 & up; 2010] by Sandra Wallus Sammons Pineapple Press Biographies 9x6 pb [3/2010] for $9.95 Pineapple Press Biographies 9½x6 hardcover [3/2010] for $11.96 |
 | "The Greatest Railroad Story Ever Told: Henry Flagler & The Florida East Coast Railway's Key West Extension" [2011] by Seth H. Bramson The History Press 8¾x5¾ pb [11/2011] for $18.74 |
 | "Long Key: Flagler's Island Getaway For The Rich and Famous" [2014] by Thomas Neil Knowles Kindle Edition from Univ Press of Florida [4/2014] for $10.69 Univ Press of Florida 9½x6½ hardcover [4/2014] for $17.13 |
Films & TV, Other Media
 | "The Railroad That Went to Sea: Florida East Coast Railway's Overseas Train To Key West" [2000]
Historic Tours of America 26-minute color/b&w VHS [12/2000] out of prodn/used |
 | "Trains of The Florida East Coast Railway" [2010] 104-minute film shot in 2008 Plets Express color DVD [2010] for $32.95 |
 | "Florida East Coast" on DVD [2012] 74-minute color video featuring day and night footage of Bowden Yard in Jacksonville, Beaver Street Tower, the Jacksonville container yard, the interchange for N.A.S.A., Miami Hialeiah Yard, New Smyrna Beach Yard, and many other locations along the main line Green Frog Prodns color DVD [5/2012] for $19.95 |
Image Gallery
F.E.C. Railway Links
official F.E.C. Railway website •
FEC Railway entry at Wikipedia
Florida East Coast Railway Society [est. 1999] of Palmetto Bay, Florida
official F.E.C. Industries website •
F.E.C.I entry at Wikipedia
official Fortress Investment Group website •
Fortress Investment Group entry at Wikipedia
Gold Coast Railroad Museum [est. 1957] in Miami, Florida
F.E.C. Key West Extension fansite
FECRR/Flagler article at Florida Keys Historical Preservation Society website
possible restoration [2011] of the 1917 FEC station at Tequesta, Florida
JD's F.E.C. Railway fansite
American Railroads Pages at Spirit of America Bookstore
Railroad Film Festival Pages at Spirit of America Bookstore
'Railroads in Fiction' Pages at Spirit of America Bookstore
'Non-Fiction Books About Railroads' Pages at Spirit of America Bookstore
here on the Florida East Coast Railway Page
top of page • short F.E.C. Railway history • route & stations • equipment rosters
reading material • films & other media • image gallery • links
v
Carson & Colorado / Nevada & California / Southern Pacific Narrow-Gauge Railroads [1880-1960] Page
Cass Scenic Railroad [built 1901] of West Virginia Page
Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad [est. 1970] in New Mexico & Colorado Page
Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad [1870-1988] Page
Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad [1876-1942] in California Page
Sierra Railway [est. 1897] in California Page
Virginia & Truckee Railroad [1869-1950, rebuilt 1972 & 2006] in Nevada Page
G.E. Nordell's Travel U.S.A. / Railroad Museums Page
G.E. Nordell's Arizona Travel / Railroads Links Page
G.E. Nordell's California Travel / Railroads Links Page
G.E. Nordell's Colorado Travel / Railroads Links Pages
G.E. Nordell's Nevada Travel / Railroads Links Page
G.E. Nordell's New Mexico Travel / Railroads Links Page
G.E. Nordell's Utah Travel / Railroads Links Page
v
Arizona Travel & Business Links Pages
California Travel & Business Links Pages
Colorado Travel & Business Links Pages
The Dakotas Travel & Business Links Page
Florida Travel & Business Links Page
Idaho Travel & Business Links Page
Kansas Travel & Business Links Page
Montana Travel & Business Links Page
Nebraska Travel & Business Links Page
Nevada Travel & Business Links Page
New Mexico Travel & Business Links Pages
New York State Travel & Business Links Pages
Oklahoma Travel & Business Links Page
Oregon Travel & Business Links Page
Texas Travel & Business Links Pages
Utah Travel & Business Links Page
Washington State Travel Links Pages
Wyoming Travel & Business Links Pages
G.E. Nordell's Main Travel & Business Links Page
Visiting this webpage from outside the U.S.A.? It is possible to make purchases from these coded Amazon (USA) links
via other Amazon sites: just follow
these instructions.
Online sales in association with 
top of this page 
back to G.E. Nordell's homepage