The Florida East Coast's Havana Special

The Florida East Coast Railway is fondly remembered for the numerous streamliners it either owned and operated itself (like the Dixie Flagler) or those which it ferried to cities like Miami and Fort Lauderdale (such as the City of Miami, Silver Meteor, Champion, and many others). However, its most exotic train was not even a streamliner at all and is usually forgotten, the fabled Havana Special. This train offered passengers to the most tropical region in the continental United States as well as the most southern point in the country, and it was only possible because of the vastly expensive Key West Extension the FEC had constructed during the early 20th century. Unfortunately, the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 destroyed the extension as well as rail service to the islands. However, it's likely a safe assumption that had the line survived into the streamliner era, those trains mentioned above would have continued further south than Miami.

The Special, however, was not meant as a regional train serving only the east coast of Florida between Key West and Jacksonville. The FEC intended the train to operate up and down the U.S. eastern seaboard, almost literally the entire length. To do so required a partnership with other lines including the Atlantic Coast Line (between Jacksonville and Richmond, Virginia), Richmond Fredericksburg & Potomac (between Richmond and Washington, D.C.), and the Pennsylvania Railroad (to New York City). Additionally, the train offered connecting service northward to Boston and even to Havana, Cuba via the Peninsular & Occidental Steamship Company (which was also owned by Flagler).

Some of the Havana Special's on board amenities included fine dining from the tropics such as fresh citrus fruits, local seafood, and other delicacies. The lounge car, located within the center of the train was perhaps the most interesting in the consist; it offered separate areas for men and women to relax and even included baths. Despite the fact that this was during the era of heavyweight, non-streamlined trains the Special was certainly one-of-a-kind. In 1930, nearly 10 years after the train commenced operations passengers had the option of traveling by plane to Havana and other Caribbean destinations as the FEC worked in conjunction with the Pan American airlines to provide this service via both Miami and Key West.

The Havana Special lost much of its glamorous allure when the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane destroyed the extension forcing the train to be cutback to Miami. However, air and ship service continued on for 25 additional years until Fidel Castro took over the Cuban government in 1960 forcing both to be discontinued. Diesel power replaced the Class P-5a 4-6-2 Pacifics in 1942 as the FEC purchased new EMD E6s and later E7s for passenger services. Finally, in October, 1962 the railroad replaced the Havana Special name with the East Coast Special considering it no longer offered connections to Cuba.

It's interesting to wonder how this train would have fared if the extension had survived considering that the Seaboard Air Line's Silver Meteor, Atlantic Coast Line's Champion, and even the Pennsylvania Railroad's South Wind saw relatively high patronage all of the way through the 1960s with their connections to Miami. For more reading about the history of the Havana Special please click here. Also, for consist and timetable information about the train please click here. Finally, for a history of the Key West Extension please click here.

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