Florida Railroad Museum


The Florida Railroad Museum is a railroad museum located in Parrish, Florida. The museum operates a heritage railroad and offers round-trip tourist excursions along six miles of the former Seaboard Air Line Sarasota Subdivision in Manatee County between Parrish and Willow.

History

The museum was founded in 1981 as the Florida Gulf Coast Railroad Museum, and has been operating weekend excursions out of Parrish since 1992. The museum is also active in the ghost town of Willow, where it has maintenance facilities. At Willow, there is a railroad spur that leads east off of the mainline to a Florida Power & Light Company plant. CSX Transportation provides rail service to the plant. The area of Willow is accessible from Willow Road east off of US 301. The museum has a fence around its facilities at Willow and cameras for security. It has constructed a new depot at Willow within this secured property.
The railroad line that the Florida Railroad Museum uses is a very small part of a 55-mile route that was built south from Durant to Manatee County and into Sarasota with construction starting in 1895. It was first incorporated in 1902 as the United States & West Indies Railroad and Steamship Company. It became the Florida West Shore Railway on May 9, 1903. On November 4, 1909 it was acquired by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad Company. In 1967, the merger of the Seaboard Air Line and the Atlantic Coast Line created the Seaboard Coast Line. The Seaboard Coast Line would later become a part of the Family Lines System. This would lead to the Seaboard System and that would become a part of CSX Transportation in the 1980s, although the segment from Durant to Willow was pulled up in 1986. The line is currently part of the CSX Palmetto Subdivision's Parrish Spur. It is Class I track with jointed, 85-pound rails.
The Florida Railroad Museum is one of three Official State Railroad Museums in Florida. It became a Florida state railroad museum in 1984 when it received statutory recognition by the Florida Legislature as meeting the following four criteria: its purpose is to preserve railroad history, it is devoted primarily to the history of railroading, it is open to the public, and it operates as a non-profit organization. It is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 4pm year-round. The train departs from Parrish at 11am and 2pm on these days, and the excursions from Parrish to Willow last about an hour and a half round trip. The museum also offers specials events throughout the year such as Day Out With Thomas, Pumpkin Patch Express, and North Pole Express.

Rolling stock

Locomotives

BuilderModelYear builtTypeCurrent numberFormer numbers Operational status
EMDCF71950Diesel-electricIMCX 204ATSF 238L, ATSF 2472 In service; primary road power
EMDFP71952Diesel-electricVLIX 904GO Transit 904Stored, no prime mover.
EMDGP71951Diesel-electricFGCX 1835USATC 1835In service; primary road power
EMDGP71951Diesel-electricFGCX 1822USATC 1822Stored, used for parts for GP7 1835
EMDGP101954Diesel-electricFGCX 8330UP 183B, IC 8330Out of service; awaiting repair. Built as G-9 B-unit. Rebuilt to GP10 by Illinois Central Paducah Shops in Paducah, KY
ALCORS31951Diesel-electricSeaboard Air Line 1633NYC 8277, PC 5518,
AMTK 133		Out of service; awaiting repair and restoration.
ALCORS31955Diesel-electricPRR 8604PRR 8604, PC 5404,
AMTK 114		Stored, used for parts initially for RS3 1633
ALCOS-2M1946Diesel-electricCYDZ 251In service; primary road power and switch power.
GE44-ton switcherDiesel-electricFGCX 100US Navy 65-00345In service; primary switcher power in Willow Yard. Also used as a backup locomotive.
EMDNW5Diesel-electricCargill 61Static display in Parrish.
Porter0-6-0TSteamBEDT 12Static display in Parrish.
BLW2-6-2SteamCummer Sons Cypress 104Static display in Willow. Formerly on static display in Leesburg, FL

Cars

BuilderModelYear builtTypeCurrent numberFormer numbers Operational status
Fruit Growers ExpressRefrigerated box carex-TPIX 250TPIX 250Static display
Tank carex-SAL?SAL?Static display
ACFU-121962Covered hopperTBAAtlantic Coast Line 10304; CSXT 651873Static display
PullmanPullman1926PassengerKentucky ClubMt. Langford; Kentucky; Royal American Shows 51Traded w/ Kentucky Railroad Museum for Seaboard Air Line coach #821.
PullmanPullmanSleeperTBAFormerly owned by RBBX circus. To be used as crew quarters for crews who stay overnight.In service in Willow Yard.
PullmanPullman1954PassengerCape TormentineOriginally operated by Canadian National Railway and later Via Rail Canada.In service
EMU1930PassengerFGCX 3518Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad 3518; New Jersey Transit 3518Out of service
EMU1930PassengerFGCX 3572Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad 3572; New Jersey Transit 3572Out of service
Baggage-RPO1925PassengerSouthern Railway 142Stored
Coach1914PassengerIllinois Central Railroad 2682Royal American Shows 2682Stored, partially restored
Coach1950PassengerFGCX 2002Union Pacific 5416, Alaska RR 5416, New Georgia 2002In service
Caboose1929FreightTexas and Pacific Railway 12070In Service
N&WCaboose1942FreightNorfolk and Western Railway 518415In Service for special events.
B&OCaboose1945FreightBaltimore and Ohio Railroad C-2417Originally on static display in Willow. Now sold to a church group.
PullmanPine-series1953PassengerShort Leaf PineLouisville and Nashville Railroad #3464Under restoration
Bethlehem SteelCoach1938PassengerAtlantic Coast Line Railroad 1116In storage