Greetings and welcome to another edition of "At The Throttle". I would like to thank Ted Rita, General Manager of the Hesston Steam Museum, and his associates for giving us an entertaining and informative presentation on the history and present operation of the museum. There were questions asked and prizes given out. Well enjoyed by those in attendance.

Remember this is Chicago’s time to shine in August with the National Garden Railway Convention and the call for volunteer help is being sounded. No matter in what capacity you volunteer to do, it can be a lot of fun. So if you are interested you might want to attend the next NGRC 2012 meeting on February 19th at 6:30pm at the Pheasant Run Resort located in St. Charles.

I am putting out a call for a volunteer to step forth and take charge of the clubs Annual Picnic. Contact any board member or myself if you are interested. Also if you want to make a difference with what is done with our club, you might want to try your hand at running for office. The post of President and Secretary are open for election this year to be held at our Annual Banquet on Saturday, April 21, 2012.

I just learned that HIT Entertainment, owner of the Thomas the Tank Engine rights and a firm that has clashed with several Heritage Railways and Tourist Lines over terms and conditions, is being bought by our own toy maker Mattel in a deal reportedly worth approximately $650 million. Mattel, best known for its Barbie Dolls and Hot Wheels, produces (under its Fisher-Price brand) many of HIT products under license will now own the rights to make Thomas toys.

January 22, 2012 marked the 100th Anniversary of the opening of Florida East Coast’s Key West Extension, "The Railroad That Went To Sea." This was Henry M. Flagler’s last big dream. With a little back history, in 1885 Flagler took over the Jacksonville, St. Augustine & Halifax, a 36 mile, narrow gauge railroad extending south from Jacksonville, Florida.
He converted the line to standard gauge, built a bridge across the St. Johns River to connect with other railroads in Jacksonville, and pushed the line southward, reaching Miami in 1896. Flagler was not content to rest. The Florida Keys, a string of islands, reached more then 100 miles southwest from the southern tip of mainland Florida. The outermost, only 90 miles from Havana, Cuba, is Key West. It was, at the time, the closest port to the Panama Canal, then under construction. In 1904 Flagler decided to extend his line to Key West.

The construction problems were formidable and labor turnover was high. The first portion of the line, from Homestead to Key Largo, was across a swamp. The dredging of drainage canals provided material for the roadbed. Along Key Largo the problem was not terrain but insects. Worst than either terrain or insects was the weather. A hurricane in September 1906 destroyed the initial work on the Long Key Viaduct and killed more than 100 Laborers. In 1907 the opening of the Long Key Viaduct, more than 2 miles of concrete arches (it became FEC’s trademark), allowed service to begin to Knights Key, where a marine terminal was built. Hurricanes in 1909 and 1910 wiped out much of the completed railroad. After both hurricanes work resumed at a faster pace. Flagler was getting old and wanted to ride all the way to Key West on his railroad. He did so on January 22, 1912. Regular service began the next day, with through sleepers between New York and Key West, and connections at Key West with passenger steamers and car ferries for Havana. Henry M. Flagler passed away in May 1913 at his home in Palm Beach, Florida.

A hurricane of 2 September 1935 washed away approximately 40 miles of the Key West Extension. The railroad chose not to rebuild the line and cut back service to Florida City just 30 miles south of Miami. What remained was used a right of way for U.S. Highway 1 to reach Key West. The original route bridges were retired in 1982 so when you are traveling the new route look to the side and you still see the original railroad bridges stand as they are being used as fishing piers and this is the story of "The Railroad That Went To and Died At Sea". Our next meeting will be our "Pot Luck and Movie" on Saturday 25 February starting at approximately 5pm at the St Aubin Hobby Shop & Nursery. The store will be open, the food plentiful, the movie good and great companionship. The movie for the evening will be the 1941 comedy classic "Broadway Limited" starring Marjorie Woolworth, Dennis O’Keefe, Patsy Kelly, Victor McLaglen and Zazu Pitts.

Look, Listen and Live,

Brian

NOTES:
1. There is a PDF copy of the list of Train Videos that were donated to CAGRS and compiled by our librarian, in the Members Area for you to download.

2. There is a PDF copy of the invitation and registration form to the Winter Pot Luck - Dinner & A Movie in the Members Area for you to download.