The Last Train to Paradise by Lew Standiford

    Paradise is Key West, and Henry Flagler is spending millions in 1900s dollars to build a railroad down the Keys after opening Florida to "civilization." Despite hurricanes of awesome force and even worse, the mosquitoes, the work was completed. Flagler died, and the storms won. The railroad failed, now replaced by a highway. Good descriptions of Flagler, storms, and the engineering of bridge spans.