Just finished reading the book entitled "Isaac's Storm" by Erik Larson. This non-fiction book tells the story of the hurricane that struck Galveston, TX in 1900 and resulted in the loss of approximately 6000 people.

One chapter in the book tells the story of a train that was headed for Galveston from the east. The train's route would take it to Bolivar Point where it would then be ferried across the bay to Galveston. On the day the hurricane struck the ferry from Galveston made numerous attempts to land at Bolivar Point to no avail and it had to return to Galveston. The train, that was carrying 95 passengers, then began backing up but was forced to stop 1/4 mile from the lighthouse. The water was so high it was entering the coaches. A man named John Poe from Louisiana and 9 other passengers decided to leave the train and head for the lighthouse. Poe and the other passengers joined almost 200 other people who had gone there to seek shelter. They were the last admitted. As the water rose the refugees were forced higher up the stairway. The train Poe and his fellow passengers had been on never got out of harm's way. They all perished.

OK, that's the lighthouse bit of the story. For the rest of it you'll have to read the book!