Post Card view

This "1900" era postcard view of Port Boca Grande was offered for sale on Ebay. Not being one to shy away from maximizing opportunities, I wanted to discuss the elements within the post card.

The view of the artist is such that one is looking in a northeasterly direction towards Charlotte Harbor. One of the drying bins is visible to the left of the image while the dock extends to the right. The scene includes various homes that were extant on what would become the Belcher Oil loading facility. The views from this angle are few and far between which makes this image useful for modeling purposes. The likely vantage point may have been the lighthouse.

While no date is given, the presence of the Seaboard-esque hoppers on the dock which is visible to the right of the drying bin suggests this image is a post-1935 image based upon their delivery in that year. The shotgun style homes would make for an interesting scene to include in a model of the area. If only the owner would have known the value of the property at that time? Today, Google aerial imagery is of no or limited use based upon the redevelopment of the area. The value of these images for modeling purposes is great especially when considering post cards are typically containing, "tourist" views and the like.

The Port Boca Grande station and dock visible in the post card are also visible in greater detail in the above image, though the area has undergone some change at this time. The lumber dock has been shortened, and the vegetation immediately south of the drying bins appears to have increased. Smaller structures, likely some of the homes detailed on the map above, also appear south of the bins and headhouse in this westerly looking image. 

Passenger service

Passenger service to and from Boca Grande was a primary means of transportation until the installation of a roadway bridge in the late 1950s. It was primarily handled by the Seaboard Air Line's venerable Baldwin passenger units, the DR6-4-1500A, which were used on the southern end of the system. The units were frequent visitors to Sarasota, Boca Grande and Tampa and were typically in charge of the southern connections.

The units while not available in HO scale, are some of the most interesting locomotives on the Seaboard roster. The units were purchased in November 1947, and two additional units were purchased in January 1948. The locomotives were numbered SAL 2700-2702 and were powered by a 1500 horsepower Baldwin 608SC, 8 cylinder prime mover which was turbo equipped.

The units were ultimately sold to EMD as trade in credit and scrapped in the early 1960s. Several unique images are contained on the Baldwin Diesel Zone website.

In this image above, SAL 2702, a 1948 built unit, is seen stopping at the Boca Grande passenger depot in 1952. Pullman service from New York was available, and it was not uncommon for a Pullman 12-1 sleeper to be in train, supplemented by various coaches and head end equipment. The loading dock south of the station and sidings provide interesting contrast to the mainline.