The Overseas Railroad was an extension of the Florida East Coast Railway to Key West, a city located 128 miles beyond the end of the Florida peninsula.
By 1904, the Florida East Coast had reached Homestead, south of Miami. Work on the extension to Key West started in 1905, and the first train arrived in Key West on January 22, 1912.
The line cost more than $50 million to build. As such, it was also nicknamed the Florida Overseas Railroad, the Overseas Extension and Flagler’s Folly (for Florida East Coast’s founder).
The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 largely destroyed the extension. The Florida East Coast was bankrupt and could not afford to rebuild the line.
Portions of the rail line and its associated infrastructure were used to build the Overseas Highway.
