Floridians and tourists don’t often get to ride live steam trains outside of Disney World. So during the month of February, for a steam train ride experience outside of the Magic Kingdom, a little railroad that could and will, the Florida Railroad Museum in Parrish, Fl will be running steam excursions for four weekends. Pulling the steam train rides will be the 1930 Flagg Coal Company’s No.75 Vulcan 0-4-0T coal burning tank engine. This is the fourth year the FRM has run these excursions.
After acquiring the #75 in 1991 and performing a 10 year restoration, the this little steamer has now traveled all over the country to various museums and tourist railroads.
The #75 participated in TrainFestival 2009 in Owsso, Michigan and appeared again last fall double heading steam train excursions in October on the scenic Hope Valley Railway in North Carolina.
This is a truly a unique chance to get up close and experience a live steam train ride in central Florida for the whole family.
Lots of extra activities are planned this year including the Party Caboose, Rent-a-Freight Train and the NEW opportunity to be a Steam Engineer.
Party Caboose - available for charter on every trip
Rent-a-Freight Train - Take charge of a 1,500 horsepower diesel locomotive and five car train for one hour.
Steam Engineer - NEW for 2010! At the end of each day, a limited number of participants will be able to operate the throttle and run the #75 on our railroad for 15 minutes.
The Museum is located 25 miles north of Sarasota and 35 miles south of Tampa off Interstate 75 at exit #229.
For more on Florida Train rides, visit: http://www.scenicrailexcursions.com/florida_trainrides.php
