MUSEUM & CULTURE
Railroad Museum of South Florida
Lee County · Gulf Coast
A thirty-two hundred square foot railroad museum inside Lakes Regional Park at 7330 Gladiolus Drive, free to enter.
ABOUT THIS PLACE
The collection is laid out by scale rather than by date, which makes it unusually easy to follow. An S scale layout shows Florida railroading as it was in the late 1950s. A G scale train runs on track overhead. There is a live steam scale locomotive, seven HO scale dioramas covering moments in railroad history including the Golden Spike and the Burlington Zephyr, and an O scale western mountain scene with a trestle bridge built by hand. A working locomotive simulator uses the actual control console taken out of a decommissioned diesel. The artifact cases hold lanterns, ticket punches, spikes, tools, rail and baggage carts, and there is a brass bell off a steam locomotive that every visitor is invited to ring once. A small theater shows railroad films and there is a shop. Outside, the miniature Lakes Park and Gulf Railroad runs fifteen minute rides on a separate ticket. Hours change with the season and drop to weekends only in August and September, so telephone 239-267-1905 before driving out
Keep comparing