Gold Coast Railroad Museum
The Gold Coast Railroad Museum is a railroad museum in Miami-Dade County , Florida , United States . It was founded in 1956.
history
The museum is built on the 850-acre site of Naval Air Station Richmond (NASR) , an airship station from World War II . In total, there are 4.8 kilometers of disused railway lines on the site. A few years after the war, the land was given to the University of Miami , which was not allowed to use it for commercial purposes. The museum needed the site for botanical research and as a location for returning GIs . The business administration student and railroad enthusiast William J. Gofrey was later allowed to run the railroad lines with the approval of the university president Dr. Jay FW Pearson took over for a railway museum and founded it in August 1956. The railway lines were suitable to operate steam locomotives. This enabled a museum to be set up for retired rail vehicles.
Exhibits
One of the best-known exhibits is the then most famous Presidential Car Ferdinand Magellan Railcar , which was set up for the American President in August 1929. The last president to use this car was Ronald Reagan .
In addition to various decommissioned locomotives and wagons, the museum has a model railroad collection. There are also trips with diesel locomotives and there is the possibility to rent some cars as party rooms.
The Presidential Car "Ferdinand Magellan US Car No. 1"
Florida East Coast Railway No. 153 steam locomotive
EMD GP 7m of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad No. 1804
Collection of model trains
Individual evidence
- ^ The Cold Coast Railroad Museum, History. (Accessed April 13, 2008)
- ^ Bob Withers, The President Travels by Train , TLC Publishing Inc, Lynchburg, Virginia, 1996, ISBN 1-883089-17-4
Web links
Coordinates: 25 ° 37 ′ 1.7 ″ N , 80 ° 24 ′ 2.5 ″ W.