Growing up in Northern Florida, we had our fair share of storms, but the old timers would talk about "the Mother" of all storms, the 1935 hurricane that wiped out the FEC main to the Keys. For years, I didn’t believe the story that the storm surge pushed an entire train off the tracks, but it did, with #447 sitting upright at what is now Islamorada: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4d/N041535.jpg I wonder whatever happened to the engine since the tracks were gone and Flagler’s dream died right there. I read a vague reference that it was barged back to the mainland? Does anyone know whatever happened to this engine? In a way, it would have made a darned fitting memorial for it to have remained in place (even though it probably would have been scrapped either for WW2 or later) for those who died right there.

According to "Speedway to Sunshine", the FEC history by Seth Bramson (the official FEC historian), 447 was sold to NdeM (National of Mexico) in October 1945. Many FEC 4-8-2s were sold to NdeM, inckuding the entire batch of Alco engines built in May 1926 (443-452).

As mentioned in the book, FEC laid just enough sho-fly track to get 447, and presumably the coaches, back to the mainland.

Howard P.

That's probably the Miami Herald article about the return of the undamaged train that was marooned at the end of the line in Key West, South of the hurricane.