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Tuesday 11am - 3pm Wednesday 11am - 3pm Thursday 11am - 3pm Friday 11am - 3pm Saturday 10am - 3pm

Central Florida Railroad Museum

Name: Central Florida Railroad Museum
Address: 101 S Boyd Street, Winter Garden, FL, 34787, US
Telephone: (407) 656-0559
Price range: Not Applicable

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Central Florida Railroad Museum

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The Central Florida Railroad Museum is located in downtown Winter Garden. Free admission.

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 Winter 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.

10/09/2026

In the Headlight at CFRHS Library:

From the dust jacket of Short Line to Cripple Creek: The Story of The Colorado Springs & Cripple Creek District Railway by Tivis E. Wilkins:

“The Cripple Creek gold rush which began in 1891 created a need for railroad transportation to serve the boomtown that eventually grew to over 50,000 population. The Cripple Creek Short Line was one of three railroads which fought for a share of this business…

The fine text is supplemented by over 150 photographs plus a unique collection of 15 postcards and other advertising material reproduced in full color…Several maps have been especially drawn for this book including a large system map…”

The CFRHS Library and Archives holds materials on railroading from across the United States. Please visit us on Saturdays from 11 am to 3 pm.

10/08/2026

In the Headlight at CFRHS Archives:

A.C.L. Ry. Station, St. Petersburg, Fla.

We hope you enjoy viewing this postcard from our collection at the Central Florida Railroad Museum in Winter Garden, Florida.

Our library and archives house materials covering railroading in North America from the age of steam to that of diesels. We hope you’ll come visit us soon!

10/06/2026

In the Headlight at CFRHS Library and Archives:

Forest Products Move by Rail – The forest industry is a large user of transportation. After trees are felled and trimmed in the forest, they must be taken to the mills. Then the lumber and products of the mills must be taken to the places where they are needed. Railroads take things from where they are produced and deliver them to places where they are needed.

In the larger picture, lumber from the mill is being unloaded from freight cars and stacked in neat piles in the lumber yard. Each pile in the yard is made up of lumber of a certain size.

The smaller picture shows a carload of pulpwood being made ready for shipment to the paper mill. Lumber is usually loaded on flat cars, in box cars, or in gondola cars.

From the 1940s into the 1960s, the Association of American Railroads produced Teacher’s Kits with photos of railroad scenes and explanatory booklets to educate students and their families about the railroad industry. Our CFRHS Archives is fortunate to have materials from 4 slightly different Kits from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.

The weekly posts will feature these photos and the stories behind them. We will also contrast earlier and later photos of the same topic as much as possible. Notice that the rail equipment is either unmarked or is from the “East and West Railroad.”

The CFRHS Library and Archives hold materials on railroading from across the United States. Please visit us on Saturdays from 11 am to 3 pm.

10/05/2026

In the Headlight at CFRHS Library and Archives:

Reverse: Union Pacific Railroad, Pictorial Post Card.

Smartly Appointed Main Dining Room on the Domeliner “City of Portland.” Regal splendor aptly describes the atmosphere of this beautiful dining car. A stairway leads to the Astra Dome diner where wide picture windows frame thrilling scenes of the legendary West.

We hope you enjoy viewing this postcard from our collection at the Central Florida Railroad Museum in Winter Garden, Florida.

Our library and archives house materials covering railroading in North America from the age of steam to that of diesels. We hope you’ll visit us soon!

10/02/2026

In the Headlight at CFRHS Library and Archives:

These comic books were issued by the Association of American Railroads in the late 1950s as a means of explaining and promoting the country’s railroads.

“Ride the High Iron!” illustrates a young man’s train trip across the country, covering topics such as the variety of passenger accomodations and different types of cars making up the train. “Special Agent” opens with a case of theft from a railcar and goes on to describe all the varied duties of the railroad police force.

Come visit us on Saturdays from 11 am to 3 pm.

10/01/2026

In the Headlight at CFRHS Archives:

L-23. Union Station, Lakeland, Fla. [1]

We hope you enjoy viewing this postcard from our collection at the Central Florida Railroad Museum in Winter Garden, Florida.

Our library and archives house materials covering railroading in North America from the age of steam to that of diesels. We hope you’ll come visit us soon!

09/29/2026

In the Headlight at CFRHS Library and Archives:

Bringing Milk to the City – Millions of Americans depend upon the railroads to bring their daily supply of fresh milk and cream. In many instances, milk and cream are carried hundreds of miles to market. Philadelphia, for example, receives milk and cream by train from as far away as Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Milk and cream require the utmost care from the time they leave the farms until they reach our tables. They must be kept perfectly clean. They must be kept cold, but not too cold. Some milk is transported in insulated glass-lined steel tank cars; some is shipped in large cans like the ones in the picture. Cars are sometimes fitted with shelves so that the cans can be loaded in tiers.

From the 1940s into the 1960s, the Association of American Railroads produced Teacher’s Kits with photos of railroad scenes and explanatory booklets to educate students and their families about the railroad industry. Our CFRHS Archives is fortunate to have materials from 4 slightly different Kits from the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.

The weekly posts will feature these photos and the stories behind them. We will also contrast earlier and later photos of the same topic as much as possible. Notice that the rail equipment is either unmarked or is from the “East and West Railroad.”

Please visit our CFRHS Library and Archives from 11 am to 3 pm on Saturdays.

09/28/2026

In the Headlight at CFRHS Library and Archives:

Western Maryland Railway. September 23, 1961 was a clear Autumn Day and we find a Western Maryland Freight Train with F-Unit Number 234 at the point passing through Highfield, Maryland.

Photo Courtesy: Ralph Shockey, Hagerstown Model Railroad Club, Inc.

We hope you enjoy viewing this postcard from our collection at the Central Florida Railroad Museum in Winter Garden, Florida.

Our library and archives house materials covering railroading in North America from the age of steam to that of diesels. We hope you’ll visit us soon!

09/25/2026

In the Headlight at CFRHS Library:

The Hiawatha Story by Jim Scribbins. From the dust jacket:

“Hiawatha was speed, comfort, luxury. Hiawatha was a genre of imperishable passenger-car memories: Tip Top Tap, Touralux, Skytop, Super Dome. The Hiawatha earned a reputation and a following that would have pleasantly dumbfounded its creators.

The Hiawatha is all but gone now…except in this book, where the writer who knows it best brings it all back.”

Holdings in the CFRHS Library cover many different aspects of railroading present and past. Open Saturdays from 11 am to 3 pm, we invite you to visit us.

09/24/2026

In the Headlight at CFRHS Library and Archives:

Viaduct at Union Terminal, Jacksonville, Fla. – 3.

We hope you enjoy viewing this postcard from our collection at the Central Florida Railroad Museum in Winter Garden, Florida.

Our library and archives house materials covering railroading in North America from the age of steam to that of diesels. We hope you’ll come visit us soon!

Address

101 S Boyd Street
Winter Garden, FL
34787

Opening Hours

Tuesday	11am - 3pm
Wednesday	11am - 3pm
Thursday	11am - 3pm
Friday	11am - 3pm
Saturday	10am - 3pm

Telephone

(407) 656-0559

Website

https://www.cfrhs.org/

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