A train whistle blows in the distance and everyone scatters to get into place.
They’re train enthusiasts and they’re vying for the best spot to video and photograph as a CSX locomotive pulls dozens of cars down the track that runs parallel to the U.S. 98 Bypass., and just mere feet away from the Dade City Heritage Museum.
This group enjoys all kinds of trains — both full-scale and model-scale locomotives, cars and cabooses.
With each gathering of Railfan Friday, the number of event-goers increases at the museum that embraces its train roots and history, as the building housing the museum was a former Atlantic Coastline Train Depot.
“We used to only do it once a year, but the response and feedback has been overwhelming that we hold (Railfan Friday) more often,” said Joy Lynn, the museum’s founder. “We did one in the spring and were looking at doing one about every four to six weeks, but the turnout is always so good that we know we’ll end up doing it again.”
During Railfan Friday, visitors can enjoy everything the museum has to offer, at no charge.
There are food vendors on hand, as well as others selling model trains and other train paraphernalia.
When train enthusiasts and locals aren’t camping out waiting for the next train to pass by, they’re inside enjoying the impressive J.R. Hibbard Memorial Train Room, which features three scale model train layouts.
The largest of the layouts — still a work in progress — is set to replicate the town of Dade City, right down to models of historic businesses and buildings all over the city.
Lynn says the plan is for the business to sponsor their own building, as the Train Room runs on donations from visitors or Railfan Fridays.
“It’s taking some time and you see some of them already, like the Historic Courthouse, but eventually, there will be a Lanky Lassie’s and American Pizza Oven or Kafe Kokopelli down there, just like in downtown,” she said.
The latest Railfan Friday, on June 16, saw more than a hundred visitors, including popular train aficionado, Danny Harmon, who has an extensive train following on YouTube.
The former train depot now-turned museum was the first site in Pasco County to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places in July 1994. The tracks that run closest to the depot were the first to reach Dade City in 1887.
Much of the building has been maintained in its original state, aside from some federally funded minor renovations in 1996-1997.
The station was preserved and reopened as a tourist destination in 2008 and became the 501(c)3 nonprofit and solely-volunteer-run Dade City Heritage Museum in 2018. It houses artifacts, photographs, documents and records of historic places and longtime residents of Dade City. The museum consists of a main exhibition space, a model train room, and a Community Archive and Reading Room.
J.R. Hubbard Memorial Train Room
Where: Located inside Dade City Heritage Museum, 14206 U.S. 98 Bypass, Dade City
Details: Features three scale model train layouts that were all donated by local Dade City residents, and includes models that will represent buildings and businesses located throughout Dade City.
Info: Visit DadeCityHeritageMuseum.org
Published on June 28, 2023.
