Back from Florida

I'm back from a two-week road trip to Florida, and it was quite enjoyable.  As usual, there wasn't a lot of railfanning to do, but I will have a report on our visit to the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in a day or two.  Meanwhile, a couple of miscellaneous things from the Keys:

Five years ago, we last visited the Keys, and there was a Pullman on display near the highway, as seen in this post.  The car has since been moved several miles and put in a better location, and nicely repainted.

It doesn't seem to be open to the public, but is used as office space.

And on Long Key, a severe hurricane a couple of years ago uncovered some relics from a siding there.  And the park district has made an interesting display.

This handcar uses several metal parts they found nearby; the wood is all new, of course.

This is (or was) a Sheffield handcar, the same manufacturer as Buzz's velocipede.

Look closely at these rails.  I've seen examples of the base being somewhat worn out, but never anything like this.  That's the result of salt water constantly washing over the islands.

And then look closer at these wheels.  Only slightly out-of-round!

One of these days I should get myself a book about the construction of the Overseas Railroad.

And also, back in the good old days:

Finally, in Florida when they say "No Swimming" they're not joking: