Swampy's Florida

Railroad and oil magnate, Henry Flagler had wanted to extend his railroad from south of Miami to Key West but knew it was a daunting challenge. The opening of the Panama Canal  spurred his want and in 1905 the adventurous railroad project began. It including building more than 7 miles of railroad bridge across open water connecting the islands of the Keys. there were those that named the project “Flagler’s Folly”. The project opened in 1912 and Flagler road the train to Key West to celebrate. One year later he died.

The train continued to run, even through the depression. In 1935 a hurricane came that ended Flagler’s dream. A train was making it’s way south to move those working on another massive project, building a highway to Key West from the main land. The train made it to the workers on the island of Islamorada, but as the men and women boarded the train a storm surge smashed into the train and flipped it off the tracks. The continuing surge wiped most everything off the island. The photos show the devastation of the storm and the condition of the train. Most everyone on and off the train were killed. A couple of railroad engineers survived by hanging onto the railroad engine, one of the few things left standing after the storm.

Photos are from ‘Florida’s Hurricane History’ by Jay Barnes and ‘Florida Hurricanes & Tropical Storms’ by John Williams & Iver Duedall.

You can purchase a copy of the book yourself by clicking each title or below.
‘Florida’s Hurricane History’ by Jay Barnes:
https://amzn.to/3kYb69l

‘Florida Hurricanes & Tropical Storms’ by John Williams & Iver Duedall
https://amzn.to/3B143CF