After his first wife died from yellow fever, Haines married Anna H. Davies, daughter of a prominent Episcopalian bishop from Michigan.
He was said to be able to "lay track, run an engine, mend a boiler, issue payroll, and balance the books - all in the same morning".
Even though Haines was not college educated, he was widely considered one of the leading experts in the world on railroad construction and operation.
[3] Henry Plant had long wanted to connect the deep water, natural harbors in Tampa Bay to the national railroad system.
He knew that Tampa would quickly develop into an important port city serving ships headed to Cuba and Central America.
[5] However, because of political wrangling in the state, Plant's charter was only good for seven months, from June 1883 until the end of January 1884.
[3] Haines organized thousands of men, working together like clockwork, to complete this impressive engineering achievement.
Haines and his men struggled to move forward, and finally reached Tampa Bay with just a few days to spare.
It also changed the history of central Florida, causing rapid growth all along the new railroad line, in towns including Orlando, Tampa, and Lakeland.