Old photos of a Galloping Goose-like vehicle on the Trans-Florida RR at Fellsmere, Florida:

http://www.80acres.com/History_and_Maps ... mere_2.jpg

http://www.80acres.com/History_and_Maps ... ere_Fl.jpg

Plus this information, from the Critterslist:

I have seen that bit about shutting down
during WWI but according to the Florida RR
Commission they operated as usual during the
war and their equipment stats stayed the same
during that period except they scrapped a
steam locomotive in 1919. Also there is no
mention of USRA control in these records, but
why would the USRA even be interested in such
a puny railroad? The only shortline in
Florida that was controlled by the USRA was
the Standard & Hernando, a busy phosphate
hauler near Dunnelon, Fla.
They did owned an all time total of 5 steam
locomotives, but with the closing of the peat
mine in 1928 there just wasn't any reason to
fire a steamer up just to carry the mail,
express and the ocassional passenger. The
last steamer was off the roster in 1934, yet
it rusted away in Fellsmere for years and a
few photographers did take photos of it.
According to the RR Commission they first
started using rail cars in 1912. The 1927
Florida Tax Returns show three Ford 1 ton
trucks so converted for the rails. After the
peat mine closing in 1928 the road reverted
to agriculture, first with citrus and then
with sugar. The motor cars were used to bring
cane in to the mill using homemade cane cars.
There was even home made tank cars for
carrying molasses, which leads to another
question, where did they haul the molasses to
that was on line? Those one ton Fords would
have to handle a box car or two. The road was
never that busy, during the depression they
only handle about 50-70 cars a year. When
WWII picked up they handled 100-150 cars a
year and the post war they handled 200 plus a
year which is why they and the sugar mill
that owned them bought all those 8 ton Whitcombs.

For loco number 103 the date that the engine
was bought by the TFC was 1924 as the TFC
was incorporated that year and assumed
operations of the Fellsmere. The ICC did not
recognize this purchase until 1927, when they
belatedly ok the deal. My bad with the date
in my catalog, that was the date SI&E
purchased it from the Cape Girardeau Northern
# 5.

The five steamers:

100 4-4-0 Rogers from GC&L#120 on 11/3/1910.
Traded back to GC&L for(1st) 101 in 1912.

(1st) 101 4-4-0 Baldwin 4790 /79 GC&L 183 on
4/20/1912 with 100 as trade in plus cash.
Scrapped in 1919.

102 4-4-0 Cooke 1812 /87 from GC&L 136 on
3/28/1913. Off roster in 1921-No steamers in
use between 1921 and 1923. Also no carload
freight was hauled in 1923!

(2nd)101 4-4-0 Pittsburgh 740 /84 Purchased
in 1923 by the Standard Agriculture Chemical
Corp. from the Florida Tie & Lbr Co. # 101.
Last steamer used on road-off roster in
1934-still derelict in 1936, probably
scrapped during WWII. In 1936 was
photographed with 103's tender rusting away.

103 4-4-0 Schenectady 2729 /88 from SI&E 1824
on 4/4/1924 for $5,267.56. Scrapped in
1932-tender to (2nd)101.

That online photo is indeed of the TFC. More
on-line photos can be seen at the Florida
Photographic Archives web site.

Don