Local
historian Ed Vosatka collects artifacts of the Union Cypress
Railway. He sets up displays in libraries and
civic centers and gives talks about the old railway and
its importance in the early history of Melbourne and
the east-central Florida area.
Ed has
some good historical souveniers of the railway, but he
also wanted a rail. One time he hired an airboater to take
him as far as possible by boat, and let me come along for
the ride. When the boat could go no further we hiked along
the levy. On the map below the blue line is where we rode
the airboat and the green line is the path of our hike.
Roll your mouse over the numbers to
see views along the old Union Cypress Railway.
On
that hike we found some cypress supports at a low spot
(#10) and some cement supports (#11), but no rail.
Then
one day Judy and I pulled up to Mosquito Island
and the boat made a funny sound.
Grasses
covered the water at the edge of the levy, but I
gunned the outboard, then cut it off and kicked it
up as we came sliding up onto the sand and weeds.
That
usually works well and we just make a 'shoosh' sound
as we come to a gentle stop, and we can get out without
getting our feet wet.
This
time, instead of a soft landing we heard a 'THUNK'
and came to a sudden stop.
We
had found a 16' rail from the old Union Cypress Railway.
...or
it had found us.
We
pulled the weeds away from a short piece of the thing
we had hit, to find that it looked like a piece of
the Union Cypress rail!
We really hoped no airboats would come flying in too fast and hit the rail, but we couldn't do much about it.
I
was very excited to be able to go home and email
Ed with the great news!
