Port Orange Railway Experience

As we begin the 130th year of the Port Orange Depot, the oldest FEC depot still standing. We will begin to see our plans for the Port Orange Railway Experience come to life. We have already purchased the last metal caboose to run on the FEC. The city of Port Orange has given us permission to have a 40’X60′ restoration area to restore the caboose.

If you have ever read the book Chuggy and The Blue Caboose you know where the names Chuggy & Lucy come from. Written by Lydia and Don Freeman, the book has been out of print for years. We have been given permission by a Freeman family member who has the rights to the book and its name.

We and our partners at FLAIRR also have plan to purchase and restore Coronet Phosphate #7 steam locomotive. #7 currently sits in Indiana. After renovation, this locomotive will become Port Orange Railway #7 (Chuggy) You can help bring this locomotive home to Florida by designating your PayPal donation to #7. When these two pieces of railroad history are fully restored we will name them Lucy & Chuggy

The plan is to have a track coming from a storage barn on the far north side of the property and extending along the east side of the depot. We want to make this rolling stock just that, rolling stock. Plan is for the track to be close enough to the depot that you can walk on the east platform and look into the locomotive cab and caboose. We will have qualified personnel operating the equipment and teaching steam operation, railroad operation, and railroad safety in accordance with FRA Guidelines.

The inside of the depot will be an homage to the old roadside citrus stands. We want put the “Orange” back into Port Orange, complete with railroad artifacts, gift shop, and snack bar. The Port Orange Railway Experience will be an event center for the whole family.