The Central Florida Railroad Museum, opened in 1983, is located in the historic Tavares and Gulf Railroad depot, located one block south of Winter Garden’s thriving historic Plant Street and the West Orange Trail. The station, built in 1913, was purchased by the Central Florida Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society in 1979 and rehabilitated for use as a railroad museum. In 2003, the W
inter Garden Heritage Foundation became partners with the Central Florida Chapter of the National Railway Society and the City of Winter Garden to make the extensive private collections of local, state and national memorabilia and photographs of Central Florida’s railway history accessible to the public. On January 1, 2013, the Central Florida Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, Inc. withdrew from the national organization and reorganized as the Central Florida Railway Historical Society, Inc., a 501c3 educational organization. One of Florida’s virtually undiscovered gems, the museum holds a large collection of dining car china and silverware, a 1938 Fairmont motor car, a velocipede hand car and historical artifacts from railroads in Central Florida and elsewhere. Junior train enthusiasts will be delighted visiting the Chessie System caboose (located at the Heritage Museum on Plant Street), an HO scale train layout, and an interactive Thomas wooden train set and layout. The Central Florida Railway Historical Society hosts several special events throughout the year. To learn more, visit the Central Florida Railway Historical Society web site www.cfrhs.org.
