FDOT - Roads

Public Information Office
Dick Kane

Rails

The history of rails in Florida spans more than 160 years. The opening of peninsular Florida following the Civil War was in large part driven by railroad expansion. While the sound of the steam whistle echoing through the north Florida pine forests evoke images of the past, it was the passenger trains of Henry Plant and Henry Flagler that established the urbanized Florida of today. Trains evolved from the rural short lines to the present major rail systems.

Now, the commercial freight railroads set new ton-mile records almost yearly. Amtrak has re-established the conventional passenger train as a viable transportation option, there has been a resurgence of commuter rail services such as southeast Florida's Tri-Rail, and a revolution in rail technology stands ready to bring a new age of high speed rail service to Florida.

	Paving Roads in Miami (1921) (18 k)		Tallahassee Street Scene (1948) (25 k)
	Sunshine State Parkway (1959) (31 k)		Orlando Street Scene (1926) (28 k)
	Polk County Paving Plant (1917) (31 k)		Tampa's Twig Street (1919) (43 k)
	Miami Transit Company (1927) (38 k)		Brooksville Road Construction (1926) (52 k)
	City of Coral Gables Bus (1930) (56 k)		Jacksonville Buses (1943) (68 k)
	Jacksonville Transit Changes (1936) (25 k)		Tampa Street Scene (1926) (21 k)