The Seaboard–All Florida Railway was a subsidiary of the

Seaboard Air Line Railroad The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , known colloquially as the Seaboard Railroad during its time, was an American railroad that existed from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime ri ...

that was created in June 1925. It oversaw two major extensions of the system to southern Florida on each coast in response to the

Florida land boom of the 1920s The first real estate bubble in Florida was primarily caused by the economic prosperity of the 1920s coupled with a lack of knowledge about List of Florida hurricanes, storm frequency and poor Building code, building standards. This pioneering e ...

. The company gave the construction contract for the extension to Foley Brothers of

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...

, who was one of the largest railroad contractors in the country at the time. Both extensions were heavily championed by Seaboard Air Line president S. Davies Warfield (who died months after its completion), and were constructed by Foley Brothers railroad contractors. Both extensions also allowed the Seaboard to better compete with the

Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a p ...

and the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...

, who already served the lower east and west coasts of Florida respectively.

East coast

On the east coast, the Seaboard–All Florida Railway oversaw the extension of the Seaboard Air Line's line at West Palm Beach south to

Fort Lauderdale Fort Lauderdale ( ) is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and most populous city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it ...

and

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. Seaboard's line to West Palm Beach, which originated at their main line in

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(just south of Wildwood), was built a year prior by another Seaboard Air Line subsidiary, the Florida Western and Northern Railroad. Upon completion of the extension, the Seaboard–All Florida Railway from West Palm Beach to Miami (along with track north of West Palm Beach to Coleman) was designated as the Seaboard Air Line Railroad's

Miami Subdivision The Seaboard Air Line Railroad's Miami Subdivision was a railroad line in Florida connecting the network to the city of Miami, Florida, Miami. Officially beginning in Wildwood, Florida, Wildwood on the company's Main Line (Seaboard Air Line Rail ...

.Seaboard Air Line Railroad North Florida Division Timetable (1951)
/ref> The east coast route is still in service today and is now the state-owned South Florida Rail Corridor (which notably hosts

Tri-Rail Tri-Rail is a commuter rail service linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in Florida, United States. The ''Tri'' prefix in the name refers to the three counties served by the railroad: Palm Beach County, Palm Beach, Broward Count ...

and

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

service for South Florida).

West coast

On the west coast, the Seaboard–All Florida Railway oversaw construction of a line from

Hull Hull may refer to: Structures * The hull of an armored fighting vehicle, housing the chassis * Fuselage, of an aircraft * Hull (botany), the outer covering of seeds * Hull (watercraft), the body or frame of a sea-going craft * Submarine hull Ma ...

(near Fort Ogden) south to

Fort Myers A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

to the Estero River in

Estero Estero ( Spanish for "estuary") is an incorporated village in Lee County, Florida, United States, located directly beside the first aquatic nature preserve established in Florida: The Estero Bay Aquatic Preserve, otherwise referred to as Estero ...

, with branches from Fort Myers to

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and Punta Rassa. Another Seaboard Air Line subsidiary, the Naples, Seaboard and Gulf Railway, oversaw the construction of the line from the Estero River to

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

. Unlike the east coast route, the west coast route was not as successful and would exist for less than thirty years. It was gradually abandoned from 1942 to 1952.

Grand opening celebration

The route west coast route commenced operation on January 7, 1927, and the east coast route began service the following day. On each opening day, President S. Davies Warfield rode aboard a special section of the Seaboard's Orange Blossom Special with a number of special guests and dignitaries including Florida Governor John W. Martin.

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, mother of U.S. President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

was also aboard the first train to Miami. The train stopped at points along the lines for public ovation with nearly 20,000 people attending. The two-day celebration is considered to be one of the largest public relations events in the history of American railroads.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seaboard-All Florida Railway Defunct Florida railroads Predecessors of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad 1927 establishments in Florida Seaboard Air Line Railroad