Thursday Jan 18 2007
The First Shots of 2007
Clouds and rainy weather dogged us on New Year’s Day as we drove the roughly 200 miles from Tallahassee to Ocoee, Florida near Disney World. I had only done limited research on the local railroads as this was a family vacation, so it was a surprise as we passed through Mount Dora, Florida that we saw a passenger car parked on an overpass with a sign advertising a local train ride. We detoured through downtown and soon discovered the ex-Atlantic Coast Line depot next to some active rails.
One block to the east was the departure point for the “Mount Dora Champion,” a two-car train pulled by a GE 45-ton side-rod locomotive #101 named “Herbie.” As this was a holiday, most of the local shops were closed, and the train silent. The grounded car on the left serves as a ticket booth and gift shop.
A brochure indicated this is part of the Inland Lakes Railway ( http://inlandlakesrailway.com/ ) and this train normally runs along the shore of Lake Dora several miles to Tavares. The same group also operates a lunch and dinner train out of Eustis back to the north that we had missed. My limited research had noted the headquarters for the Florida Central Railroad of the Pinsly Railroad Company was located a few miles further ahead in Plymouth. When we arrived the area was deserted, so I took a few minutes and photographed what I could from a respectful distance. A billboard above a well-maintained passenger car indicated this is a viable operation now in its 20th year.
The depot is in excellent shape, and I made sure to include the semaphore signal and caboose in the portrait.
What looks like an ex-ATSF GP7 #55 was the only locomotive that could be photographed from across the tracks without any obstructions in the way.
The other item of interest that was out in the open was this round-end observation car parked across the street, the “Sam Pinsly.”
A half-hour later we checked in at motel in Ocoee to rest up for the night before driving the last few miles and checking in on Tuesday for four nights at the Disney Pop Century Resort. For each of the four following days visiting Epcot, the Animal Kingdom, the Magic Kingdom and MGM Grand Studios I was able to find something that visualized a railroad theme.
