Like America, the Sunshine State also rises

TO UNDERSTAND FLORIDA, drive south from Miami across the highway spans that arc over the glassy sea. A century ago, trains took a similar path, winding 153 miles (246km) down to Key West, the southernmost city in the continental United States. Crowned the “eighth wonder of the world” when it opened in 1912, the Overseas Railroad was the creation of Henry Flagler, a founder of Standard Oil who spent $50m building railways and hotels in Florida, equivalent to more than $1.6bn today.