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Overseas Railroad

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Railway transport

     Florida East Coast Railway, Key West Extension, express train at sea,
       crossing Long Key Viaduct, Florida. photo from Florida Photographic
                                                                Collection
                                                                   Enlarge
     Florida East Coast Railway, Key West Extension, express train at sea,
       crossing Long Key Viaduct, Florida. photo from Florida Photographic
                                                                Collection

   Florida East Coast Railway train traveling on an Overseas Railroad (Key
          West Extension) railroad bridge. photo from Florida Photographic
                                                                Collection
                                                                   Enlarge
   Florida East Coast Railway train traveling on an Overseas Railroad (Key
          West Extension) railroad bridge. photo from Florida Photographic
                                                                Collection

   Henry Flagler's train with his private car "Rambler" returning from Key
     West, Florida on the Overseas Railroad, completed in 1912. photo from
                                           Florida Photographic Collection
                                                                   Enlarge
   Henry Flagler's train with his private car "Rambler" returning from Key
     West, Florida on the Overseas Railroad, completed in 1912. photo from
                                           Florida Photographic Collection

    Rescue Train wrecked in Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 photo from Florida
                                                   Photographic Collection
                                                                   Enlarge
    Rescue Train wrecked in Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 photo from Florida
                                                   Photographic Collection

   Overseas Railroad (also known as Florida Overseas Railroad) was the
   extension of the Florida East Coast Railway to Key West, a city of
   almost 20,000 inhabitants located 128 miles beyond the end of the
   Florida peninsula. It operated from 1912 to 1935.

Henry Flagler: Florida's east coast

   Henry Morrison Flagler (1830-1913), was a principal in Rockefeller,
   Andrews & Flagler and later, Standard Oil during the Gilded Age in the
   United States. The wealthy man took interest in Florida while seeking a
   warmer climate for his ailing first wife in the late 1870s. Returning
   to Florida in 1881, he became the builder and developer of resort
   hotels and railroads along the east coast of Florida.

   Beginning with St. Augustine, he moved progressively south. Flagler
   helped develop Ormond Beach, Daytona Beach, Palm Beach, and became
   known as the Father of Miami, Florida.

   Flagler's rail network became known as the Florida East Coast Railway
   (FEC). By 1904, the FEC had reached Homestead, south of Miami.

Key West Extension: Eighth Wonder of the World

   After the United States announced in 1905 the construction of the
   Panama Canal, Flagler became particularly interested in linking Key
   West to the mainland. Key West, the United States' closest deep-water
   port to the Canal, could not only take advantage of Cuban and Latin
   America trade, but the opening of the Canal would allow significant
   trade possibilities with the west.

   Initially called "Flagler's Folly", the construction of the overseas
   railroad required many engineering innovations as well as vast amounts
   of labor and monetary resources. At one time during construction, four
   thousand men were employed. During the seven year construction, five
   hurricanes threatened to halt the project. Costs were estimated at
   between $20 million and $40 million.

   Despite the hardships, the final link of the Florida East Coast Railway
   was completed in 1912. In that year, a proud Henry Flagler rode the
   first train into Key West aboard his private railcar "Rambler", marking
   the completion of the railroad's overseas connection to Key West and
   the linkage by railway of the entire east coast of Florida. It was
   widely known as the "Eighth Wonder of the World".

Demise

   The portion of the Overseas Railroad in the Middle Keys was heavily
   damaged and partially destroyed in the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, a
   Category 5 hurricane which is often called "The Storm of the Century".
   The September 2, 1935 storm killed between 400 and 700 people and
   devastated Long Key and adjacent areas. The FEC's Long Key Fishing Camp
   was destroyed, as was a FEC rescue train which became swamped at
   Islamorada.

   The Florida East Coast Railway was financially unable to rebuild the
   destroyed sections, so the roadbed and remaining bridges were sold to
   the State of Florida, which built the Overseas Highway to Key West,
   using much of the remaining railway infrastructure. Rebuilt in the
   1980s, following Flagler's dream, the Overseas Highway ( U.S. Route 1)
   continues to provide a highway link to Key West, ending at the buoy
   which marks the southernmost point in the continental United States.
   Many old concrete bridges of the Overseas Railroad remain in use as
   fishing piers.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overseas_Railroad"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
