CitrusLAND: Ghost Towns and Phantom Trains

Download or read book CitrusLAND: Ghost Towns and Phantom Trains written by Richard Cronin and published by . This book was released on 2013-09-08 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What more can be said of Peter A. Demens and his 1880's Orange Belt Railway? Only the most fascinating chapter of all - his railroad's Lost Decade! Historians have long held that Peter founded the Florida railroad in 1886. Strapped for cash, he missed a payroll, and rather than being hanged, he instead railroaded himself out of town, relocating to Los Angeles, California. Peter laid 150 miles of track between Lake Monroe and St. Petersburg, and money problems did cause him to lose his railroad. History tell us the railroad then fell into the able hands of Henry Plant's railroad conglomerate - Atlantic Coastal Railroad. Peter left Florida in 1892. Atlantic took control in 1903. Hence, a Lost Decade! Edward T. Stotesbury: Perform a web search of this name and you'll find a wealth of information regarding a very wealthy individual. What you will not find is that this man served as President of Orange Belt Railway twice during the Lost Decade. In Winter Garden, Florida, a railroad museum displays an April 1893 train schedule for Orange Belt Railway, listing too the company's officers, including Edward T. Stotesbury as President. CitrusLAND: Ghost Towns & Phantom Trains invites you aboard Orange Belt Railway for an unforgettable journey. Traveling 34 miles in just under 4 hours, we depart Port of Sanford on our way to Oakland, with stops at Sylvan Lake, Island Lake, Glen Ethel, Palm Springs, Forest City, Lakeville, Clarcona, Crown Point and Winter Garden. Along our way you will meet true-life founders of present day Ghost Towns, cross long missing track beds of Central Florida's great Phantom Trains, and along the way, you will also learn of the mystery men who ran Orange Belt Railway between 1892 and 1903.