Zephyrhills Depot Museum

Zephyrhills Depot Museum
39110 South Avenue
Zephyrhills, Florida 33540
(813) 783-1685

Hours:
Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Zephyrhills Depot Museum is housed in the restored 1927 Atlantic Coast Line Railroad depot. Opened in October 1998, the museum is governed by the City Council and is funded by city tax dollars and donations. The museum emphasizes the history of trains and Zephyrhills. Four exhibit rooms are being developed: the Abbott Station Room for City history; the Family Room for family history; the Zephyrhills Alumni Room for school memorabilia; and the Railroad Room to house artifacts from the original depot and railroad memorabilia.

The freight room houses a gift shop, office area, reference room for Florida and train histories and a model train display.

Admission is free.

The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (ACLR) Depot was built in 1927 and was used as a station / depot for passenger service and for shipping citrus, produce and other goods, thereby stimulating economic development and residential settlement.

Railroad stations served as a major community, commercial and social centers, linking each of the small towns with the rest of the world. With its wide overhangs and high ceilings, the depot represents the southern architectural style of the first quarter of the 20th century.

Built at a cost of $13,207.21, the building was constructed of red brick and hard pine. It featured segregated waiting rooms, an office, a ware (freight) room, a raised outside platform and concrete concourses.

ACLR trains traveled though Florida serving Zephyrhills from Jacksonville and Ocala to southern citied including Tampa, Bradenton and Miami. Famous trains such as the "Orange Blossom Special" and "Gulf Coast Limited" were among those stopping at the Zephyrhills station.

With assistance from state and federal grants, the City of Zephyrhills acuired the depot in 1986 and restored it to its original appearance. In October 1998 it opened to the public as a local railroad and historical museum.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Zephyrhills
• Depot
• Museum
• Legend813
• caboose
• Train
• Rail
• Railroad
• Road
• Seaboard
• Coast
• Line
• SCL
• RR
• SCLRR
• ACL
• Atlantic
• Orange
• Blossom
• Special
• Gulf
• limited

[ACLTony]

Beautiful station. Sad that so many other stations like this in Florida no longer see rail passenger service, especially at this time now when I-75 and I-95 are becoming congested, accident prone roadways. Is there a rail line near this station that still has traffic?