PLANT CITY, Fla. — Changes could be coming to what was once a well-traveled train stop in Plant City. The Robert Willaford Railroad Museum Society is looking to renovate its freight tower to showcase more of the museum’s railroad collection.
Robert Woods’ love of trains didn’t start at a young age.
“Getting involved in downtown, I realized trains were a big deal,” he said.
He moved to Plant City in 2008 and joined the Robert Willaford Railroad Museum Society shortly after.
He built this train as a way to draw people into the museum.
“There’s a lot of people that live in Plant City that don’t really know about the museum,” Woods said.
“Plant City brought in trains, 44 trains per day,” says Lloyd Thomas, is the executive director of the museum.
He said that back in 1909, Plant City brought in the most trains to the area next to Jacksonville.
Today, it’s a train depot that still sees trains pass by, but no stops.
But Thomas still wants visitors to stop by and see what’s in the freight tower next door.
“We’re able to share it with people, rotate these things out and educate them,” he said. “That’s part of my mission is preservation of the history, but education is also very important.”
He is asking city commissioners for funding to help renovate the freight tower and expand its memorabilia.
“My goal is to showcase freight and pictures, and stuff that talked about what came in and what came out, aside from passengers,” he said.
The museum saw about 3,500 visitors last month. It’s a number that Thomas says is increasing as they reach more people through local events.
“Even though passenger service doesn’t happen here, we still have freight trains passing on a regular basis,” he says.
It’s a love for trains that’s grown for Thomas, and he hopes others get to experience that too.
The board says the renovation of the freight tower is the first part of several projects to restore the museum, along with painting the seaboard caboose.
