FORT MYERS, Fla. — Aerial photos from Trains News Wire contributor Sol Tucker provide some indication of the extent of the damage sustained by southwest Florida’s Seminole Gulf Railway as a result of Hurricane Ian.
The photos were taken Friday (Oct. 7).
Railroad officials said earlier this week that at least a half-dozen bridges on the 100-mile railroad based in Fort Myers had been lost as a result of the Category 4 hurricane which devastated Florida’s west coast on Sept. 28. That includes three bridges over the Caloosahatchee River in the Fort Myers area [see “Seminole Gulf Railway faces lengthy closure …,” Trains News Wire, Oct. 5, 2022].
Railroad executives indicated they would seek Federal Railroad Administration assistance to help reopen the line, citing its potential role in transporting construction materials to help with rebuilding in Fort Myers.
They have been very lucky for the past 35 years of operation that a hurricane never wiped out these old bridges. I would of assumed they would of updated these old structures with cement pilings years ago. Well, here’s your chance.
Jeff, a lot of lead up stories to the hurricane mentioned the area hadn’t been hit with a hurricane in 100 years. Given that, why/how would/could a RR like Seminole Gulf upgrade their bridges? Money is not free.
Henry Flagler could have said the same thing about the Key West Extension. It was around only 30 years before it was wiped from the earth by a hurricane. Fortunately for Henry, he wasn’t around to see his railroad end up in the Gulf Of Mexico.
In all fairness, Seminole Gulf is not a wealthy short line operator. They are well known in SW Florida for their dinner trains, not building up against 100 year hurricanes.
I drove down I-95 today and between Port Orange and Titusville, the ranch land is nothing but water for miles as far as the eye can see. FL-46 is still closed for flooding and this is on the east side of Florida. I would be curious to see if the new Brightline ROW from Cocoa to OIA suffered any damage, especially where the St John’s River Bridge is. The flooding through this area is very bad.