Riding the memories - Birch State Park Scenic Railway in Fort Lauderdale

 

Scenic Railway station 1964, Florida State Archives

Hugh Taylor Birch State Park Scenic Railway

3109 East Sunrise Blvd, 170-180 acres

https://www.floridastateparks.org/HughTaylorBirch

 

By Jane Feehan

How many rode the train at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park who fondly recall its tooting horn and simulated steam rising from its little engine? Its three-mile track brought passengers on a 30-minute excursion through a lush tropical paradise sitting between the ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway in Fort Lauderdale.

Riders with pleasant memories would be surprised about the “vigorous” opposition the railroad encountered in its early days in 1964.  

 The opposition, local members of the Audubon Society were joined by residents of nearby “exclusive” apartment buildings as well as attorney Phil Dressler, executor of Hugh Birch’s estate. Audubon feared wildlife at the park would be disturbed by noise. Neighboring residents thought noise would also be a problem. Dressler said the railway would commercialize the park and violate conditions set by Birch before it was bequeathed to the Florida Park Service upon his death in 1943.  

The railroad wasn’t the first time the state considered “commercializing” Birch State Park. In 1955 an attempt was made by potential concessioners to install a pool and golf facilities. 

Dressler successfully fended off those plans claiming Birch wanted to leave his property in a natural state. He also said Birch had owned parks in Ohio and Massachusetts and knew what he wanted for the land he was to donate to Florida.

Nevertheless, Florida awarded Bob Heath and Associates of Jacksonville a contract to build the railroad for the park. Heath estimated the project would run about $250,000 and guaranteed the state $7,200 a year in rider proceeds or 10 percent of receipts, whichever was greater. Construction began April 16, 1964.

The opposition had other ideas. Fort Lauderdale attorney Carl Hiaasen (grandfather of today’s novelist and namesake) filed a suit on behalf of Audubon, et al, to halt construction while claiming a need to protect birds and other wildlife.

Despite the injunction, which was delayed until that August, the railroad opened July 3, 1964. On board the six-car train for a 37-minute ride were a reporter and photographer from the Fort Lauderdale News. The train was described as having some noise but not more than that of passing boats from the nearby Intracoastal. The reporter wrote that the engine was a “quiet gas-powered motor” (more on that below). Simulated engine steam, produced by a splash of diesel on a hot metal plate, enhanced the experience.  

Birch train 1964,
Florida State Archives

The train traversed over two trestles and through an artificial tunnel. A student was tapped as narrator for the trip. By the end of the first day, 600 passengers were counted in a total of seven trips. The fare: $1 for adults and 50 cents for children. 

Riders presented positive feedback. One train fan wrote to the Fort Lauderdale News that he saw parts of Birch Park he had never seen before his ride, giving a review of “three toots.”

Popularity—and apparent financial success—of the railway project sat like a wet blanket over pending legal proceedings. The Second District Court of Appeals overturned prior moves to halt the railway in March 1965, ending the case.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Cleo came ashore in Miami August 27, 1964 and traveled north to pummel Fort Lauderdale. The Birch State Scenic Railroad was knocked off its tracks, sending it out of commission, but not for long; it reopened Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 21, 1964.

More on the train

According to Florida State Archives, the train ran with an electric motor, not a gas powered engine as the Fort Lauderdale News claimed. It was produced by the Chance Manufacturing Company of Wichita, Kansas as a replicate of the original 1888 C.P. Huntington model.   

C.P. Huntington Train
1888

Demise of the Scenic Railway

During the 1960s, Hugh T, Birch Park welcomed about one million visitors a year. By 1985, attendance dropped to about 250,000 a year. The railroad fell into disrepair. According to Railroad.net (and some other unsubstantiated claims) the rail cars were sold to a New Jersey car dealer for his business as a marketing tool.

For some reason, today’s Friends of Birch State Park announced on a recent April 1 that the train was to make a return. April Fools, they claimed, provoking annoyance and disappointment.

The Scenic Railway is gone, but not the memories, at times silly. Some jokesters say they used to charge at the train as it went through secluded parts of the park with bags over their heads to scare passengers. Other memories include the appreciation of a ride to nowhere in the tropics with occasional glimpses of the Intracoastal.

_____

Today fees for the park run $6 for adults and $2 for pedestrians. Visit the site for the range of fees, discounts and more. The park is occasionally closed for construction projects during summers. Today, the park is managed by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.

 

Sources:

Fort Lauderdale News – April 17, 1964

Fort Lauderdale News – April 24, 1964

Fort Lauderdale News – May 13, 1964

Fort Lauderdale News, July 3, 1964

Fort Lauderdale News, July 4, 1964

Fort Lauderdale News, July 25, 1964

Fort Lauderdale News, Aug. 8, 1964

Fort Lauderdale News, Aug. 18, 1964

Fort Lauderdale News, Sept.02, 1964

Fort Lauderdale News, Nov. 21, 1964

Fort Lauderdale News, March 13, 1965

Fort Lauderdale News. June 15, 1985

Railroad.net

State of Florida

 

Tags: Hugh T. Birch State Park, Fort Lauderdale in the 1960s, Audubon Society, Birch Park Scenic Railway