JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — We know Henry Flagler's name really well around these parts. There's his namesake college in St. Augustine, the site of one of his multiple hotels and resorts that used to pepper the state.
But what many don't know is that by 1885, Flagler had established a railroad up and down the east coast of Florida. It would serve as a framework for the future of Florida's logistics and infrastructure empire.
Flagler built his railroad as a part of his bevy of business successes, flooding the same towns that he built his hotels and resorts in.
Today, it's essentially the same 351 mile stretch of railroad that runs resources, people and other necessities from Jacksonville to Miami.
Lewis and Clark took a visit to the current Florida East Coast Railway headquarters to learn more. For years they were based in St. Augustine, but now their old offices are dorms for Flagler College.
They have a stretch off U.S. 1 near J. Turner Butler Boulevard where they put together the trains and offload cargo containers to be taken across the country.
"We get ready here," said Nate Asplund, president and CEO of Florida East Coast Railway. "We take our intermodal from the north end, load them on rail cars, assemble the trains and then six to eight of them go south to Miami each day and six to eight of them come northbound."
Basically any freight train you see on the lines running parallel to U.S. Highway 1 is theirs.
Take a look at the video below for an idea of what goes on in the busy rail yard.