Thursday, November 15, 2007

Winter Park Railroad Development


As I worked on the history engine projects, I did a lot of research on the development of railroads in Central Florida. My specific topic was the Orlando - Winter Park Railroad, as I had found an original ticket to the railroad as my primary document.
The railroad had first been organized in 1887, but the railroad was not formally opened and did not operate until January 2, 1889. Construction was often difficult, since the Florida soil would partly be to muddy and sink away. Therefore the tracks weren't considered to be laid in the highest quality and the train became known for its many failures.
As I was doing research, I came across two interesting facts. Firstly, the railroad left a considerable impact on the Rollins college students population. They now could take the train to school, which made their lives considerably easier. The Orlando - Winter Park Railroad was subject in many of their songs or even Sandspur writings. They eventually nicknamed the line "Dinky Line", representative of the railroads unreliability and loud noises. The community of Winter Park, actually found the railroad a nuisance not only an improvement since it made so loud noises.
Additionally, I found out that the railroad was used as a warning system to advise local farmers of a cold front that might harm their crop. In that case, the train would blast its horn several times, allowing farmers to take appropriate measures to save their crop from the freeze.

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