Before the Iron Horse

 There were real horses. And in Florida that meant cowboys.

OK, Cowgirls. The 31 annual Florida Cracker Trail Ride across the state ended Saturday, February 24, 2018 with a parade in Fort Pierce. The ride started Feb. 17 on the west coast in Bradenton honoring the Florida cowboy pioneers.

After the War Between the States (recent unpleasantness) a group of pioneers were know as Florida Crackers because of the cracking sound from the whips they used to drive cattle and oxen pulling carts and wagons. Every year they would drive the scrub cattle across the state from west of Ft. Pierce to Bradenton and then to Punta Rassa for shipment to Havana, Cuba. Other sources say the cattle operations started earlier.

The Cracker Trail was the only dry route across Florida with the Kissimmee River and its floodplains to the north and Lake Okeechobee and the Everglades to the south. For more information, go to crackertrail.org.

For another interesting read see:  Jacob Summerlin (February 20, 1820 – November 4, 1893), aka the King of the Crackers and King of the Cracker Cow Hunters, was reputed to be the first child born in Florida after the land was ceded by Spain.

Chesapeake and Ohio 614 -- A Link

Chickenmon did a great Friday Night Steam post on the C & O 614 locomotive. I did a bit of looking around and found this video and wanted to share.

C&O 614 - 80+mph From The Air!

The information on the FNS post gave the top speed as 125 mph. 

Chickenmom

Happy Valentine's Day

Last years post featured Valentine's Day supper trains. Check it out.

Maeklong Railway Market

This is a little different. Kim Komando posted it recently and I had to share.

In Samut Songkhram, about an hour outside Bangkok, is Maeklong Railway Market, one of the largest produce and seafood markets in Thailand. But beyond the selection of fresh fruit and fish, the market has become infamous for one thing—the train that runs directly through it. In 1905, the Maeklong Railway built a commuter train line through the center of the popular market. But rather than move, the vendors adapted to the new conditions, working around the train that passes through eight times a day, seven days a week.