Product Details

• Format: NTSC
• Number of tapes: 1
• VHS Release Date: December 27, 2000
• Run Time: 26 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: 0970567200
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #241,697 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

It was the beginning of the 20th Century - America's Gilded Age. And Henry Flagler, one of America's wealthiest men, set out to build the "Eighth Wonder of the World" - a railroad over the Florida Keys from Miami to Key West, 128 miles out to sea.

Learn about Henry Flagler, the man who transformed Florida's East Coast from a wilderness into a winter wonderland for America's rich and famous. Marvel at the innovative engineering techniques that conquered the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and brutal conditions that tried the mightiest of men.

Experience the day the first train arived in Key West in 1912, and the magic of gliding by rail over a Seven Mile Bridge, while stingrays dance in the waters below. Witness the fury of the 1935 hurricane that destroyed the railroad, and the building of the Overseas Highway that today carries visitors over the railbed Henry Flagler built.

This award-winning video is rich with archival photographs and film footage, eyewitness accounts, and interviews with historians. Together, the weave a spellbinding story of the greatest American railroad engineering feat of the 20th Century.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the Most Interesting Stories People Have Never Heard, April 18, 2003

By 

Darcy L. Mott "carmenbee" (Minot, ND) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Railroad That Went to Sea - Florida East Coast Railway's Overseas Train to Key West [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I purchased this video not long ago and it sparked my great interest in the Florida Overseas Railraod. If you have ever driven from Miami to Key West you can still see the remnants of this railroad today. The story behind this railroad is so amazing! There is so much to this story. Take for example the hurricane of 1935... the most powerful storm to ever strike American shores and hundreds of people (even Ernest Hemingway) were in the keys waiting for an evacuation train to be sent down for them.

Henry Flagler, a former partner of Rockefeller, was the creator of this railroad and many people think of him as the founder of Florida. I used to live in Florida and you see his name everywhere. He poured his vast fortune into improving Florida and succeeded in ways that many people of the time never even thought possible. His idea to build an overseas railroad was first dubbed "Flagler's Folly" and was later looked upon as the 8th wonder of the world.

I recommend everyone take a trip to the Keys after viewing this video to see in person the marvel that is the many overseas railroad and highway bridges... especially the Seven Mile Bridge! Wow! This video is a must have for anyone interested in railroads. Five stars! Terrific story!