Located between Tampa and Lakeland on I-4 is the town of Plant City, FL. Named in commemoration of the railroad tycoon Henry B. Plant, this historically agricultural town has a long history with the railroad as it sits at the junction of the former Seaboard Air Line (SAL)
and Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) railroads in central Florida. In the center of town at 102 N Palmer St. is the old Union Station Depot. The Depot was jointly built by both the SAL and ACL between 1908-1909 and remained in operation until 1971. It was placed on the national register of historic places in 1975. In more recent years the old Depot has been the home of the Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum and in 2013 a two-story viewing platform was added much to the delight of local rail fans. Now widely considered one of the best railfanning sites in Florida, Plant City is a popular day trip destination for Central Florida locals and tourists alike.
Our own family day trip to Plant City was on August 13, 2022. We were traveling from the Sarasota area and since we wanted to take our time getting there we chose the slower and more scenic route east on State Road 62 to Duette and then north on S. County Road 39 all the way to Plant City. This route took us through rural tomato farming country east of Bradenton and then through Florida's phosphate mining heartland often called "Bone Valley." Our advice if you are planning a day trip to the area is to be mindful of the museum hours as they are limited to noon-4pm Tues-Sat as of this writing. The viewing platform is open 24/7 so one option if you arrive before the museum is open is to spend some time watching for trains.
The centerpiece of the museum is definitely the fully restored 1963 Seaboard Air Line caboose. It is featured prominently in the courtyard along with a 1942 Whitcomb locomotive that has been painted in Atlantic Coast Line purple and silver livery. The museum is fairly
small but features several railroad memorabilia exhibits. Of note is the collection of railroad motor cars and the operating HO scale model of downtown Plant City. Once you've toured the Union Station Depot there is also a walking scavenger hunt that guides you through the center of downtown Plant City. There are brochures with details about the scavenger hunt available in the museum.
The viewing platform sits across the tracks from the old Union Station Depot. The platform is open 24/7 and there is a well-lit parking lot that offers free parking. The platform even provides an elevator for those who need it to get to the upper floor. The 2nd floor of the platform provides a commanding view of the double diamond formed by the junction of CSX's A line and S line. Viewers have a chance of catching Amtrak passenger trains (2 daily) as well as CSX trains such as the Tropicana juice train out of Bradenton and various phosphate, coal and local freight trains. A more complete railfan guide can be found HERE. If you want to see live webcam footage from the platform you can see it on the museum website HERE.
Also located in Plant City is the H.B. Plant Railroad Historical Society, a model train club that is located in the old Plant City Public School that was built in 1914. Unfortunately, we were unsuccessful in contacting anybody from the club at the email address provided on their website to setup a tour. A lot of model train clubs in Florida have limited activity outside of the winter months so we hope to get in touch with somebody in the future to get more details about the club. In the meantime HERE is a short video of one of their layouts.
Other interesting places worth a visit in downtown Plant City include McCall Park which is directly across the street from the museum and runs along to the CSX A line that heads into Tampa. The Mercantile at 208 S. Collins Street is an antique mall housed in a 100 year old brick building within walking distance from Union Depot. Auction Mike's at 203 East Laura Street holds live estate auctions every Saturday at 10am with all manner of treasures to bid on. When hunger calls the Whistle Stop Cafe at 102 S Collins Street is a popular place to eat however they are only open seasonally and were closed during our visit. Our family ended up down the road at the Strawberry Hut Sandwich Shop at 1505 N Wheeler St and we highly recommend you give it a try for some of the best milk shakes and "Cuban" style sandwiches we've ever had.
If you or somebody in your family is an avid train fan you should definitely put a day trip to Plant City on your list of things to do while in central Florida.
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