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The Little Engines That Could

Tribune photo by Chris Urso

Bob Hall prepares to connect a section of track at the Central Pasco & Gulf Railroad at Crews Lake Wilderness Park in Shady Hills. The miniature railroad opened to the public on Jan. 12.

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By WALT BELCHER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 27, 2008

LARGO - On a recent cool, crisp Sunday morning, Mary Davis and her 5-year-old son, Mikey, were in line at 10 a.m. to ride the miniature trains in Largo Central Park.

"He loves Thomas the Tank Engine," Davis says, pointing at the squirming little boy.

"Here it comes. Here it comes," Mikey shouts as a little bright red engine chugs to the station house.

"This isn't Thomas," Mary notes. "But it's just as cute. It's like playing with a train set that you can ride on."

Soon Mary and Mikey are riding the rails, seated on a little flatcar being pulled along by a 11/2-inch-to-12-inches scale version of a CSX engine that chugs around a maze of tracks 71/2 inches wide in the park at 105 Central Park Drive.

They and about a dozen other passengers pull out of the station, round a curve, pass by a waterfall and go through a dark tunnel, where many of the kids onboard let out screams.

"Kids and their parents have fun riding the trains, and we have fun being the engineers and keeping them going," says railroad buff Ralph Tucker of Largo Central Railroad Inc.

Since 1991, this volunteer club of about 100 members has offered free train rides to the public on the first full weekend of every month.

On a good weekend, the club logs 2,000 riders, says vice president Jean Carter.

This attraction has brought Largo international recognition among train enthusiasts.

It also inspired a similar miniature railroad in Pasco County that opened to the public Jan. 12.

The new Central Pasco & Gulf Railroad is in Crews Lake Wilderness Park, located off the Suncoast Parkway about 35 miles north of Tampa. The 113-acre county park is in the rural Shady Hills area off State Road 52 in northwestern Pasco.

"It's amazing that there are now two of these tracks open to the public within the same area," says Jerry Smithson, a Largo club member and a founder of the newly formed Central Pasco & Gulf Railroad club. They are the only two train attractions of their kind in the Southeast.

Smithson says most of the collectors of these 1- and 1/2-inch scale model trains run them on privately owned tracks scattered throughout the United States. Collectors in the Tampa Bay area use the Largo tracks to run their own trains on weekends when the tracks are closed to the public.

Smithson and many of the Largo railroaders are building and running the new Pasco train system at the request of the Pasco County Commission.

"Everything we do for the public, we do on a free, volunteer basis," says Smithson. Free rides will be offered in Crews Lake park the second Saturday of every month.

"When it comes to collecting trains, the only difference between men and boys is the cost of the toys," says Tucker, a retiree who divides his time between Florida and Illinois.

Toys like the engines that rumble around the Largo and Pasco tracks can cost $6,000 to $25,000. Some custom-designed engines can run well over $75,000, says Smithson, who has a full military train - complete with cars that transport scale model tanks - in his collection.

Largo Central President Warren Jamison says many of the club members never outgrew the thrill of that first model train that arrived on a Christmas morning long ago.

"Unfortunately, model trains are not as much a part of childhood as they used to be," he says. "One reason we do this for the public is to keep railroading alive. Where else can a kid get to see a steam engine - even if it is a miniature replica?"

Jamison says the club is dedicated to teaching younger generations about railroading.

"Railroads built this country and were the backbone of transportation," says Smithson. "We want to introduce children to railroading. And we get a kick out of seeing the smiles on their faces."

In Largo, as many as six trains - steam and diesel - roll along over a series of tracks that cover several acres. Traveling at about 5 mph, the trains carry 15 to 18 passengers on 12-minute rides.

The largest can transport up to 40 people at one time. The trains vary in weight from 600 to 2,100 pounds.

Thanks to donations from passengers and club supporters, the railroad is self-supporting.

"We've been here so long that some of the children who first rode on the trains in 1991 have grown up and come back to work with us," says Jamison.

For example, 16-year-old Andrew Habasevich, who grew up riding the Largo trains, now owns a scale model engine and volunteers with the club.

His father, Bob Habasevich, also is a lifelong train buff. "There's something about it that gets into your system," Bob Habasevich says.

Habasevich, of Palm Harbor, also is helping out with the new Crews Lake park railway, along with club member Bill Donati, who has a bright blue replica of the Cascade & Western Railroad engine.

Smithson says the Crews Lake line is based on the Orange Belt Railway, which ran from Sanford to St. Petersburg through Pasco beginning in the 1800s. "Our station house is a replica of the Dade City train station in about 1810," he says.

"One of the big differences between Largo and Pasco is the Pasco line will run through a scenic, natural wilderness area in the park," Smithson adds. "It's really beautiful, and there's plenty of room to grow."

About a mile has been completed in the Pasco line, but that's just the first phase. There are plans to construct about six miles of track.

Pasco County Commissioner Anne Hildebrand says the train is a wonderful addition to the park.

"Everybody can be a kid again and ride," she says. "This shows a little of what Florida was like 100 years ago, when trains helped build the state."

Hildebrand had a grandfather who was a conductor with the Grand Truck Railroad in Michigan. She says passenger trains may be making a comeback.

"I am on the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority, and one of the things that we are seriously considering are high-speed commuter trains that would run along tracks in the medians of interstate highways," she says.

Pasco businesses including Synovus Bank of Tampa Bay, Scott's Tractor Service, PAW Materials, Western Florida Lighting, Archie Hamlin Nursery and Samuelsen Builders have contributed to the new line.

Smithson says the railroad will sell brick pavers engraved with the names of sponsors at the train station.

"And we always can use public donations," he adds. Both the Largo and Pasco railroads offer special birthday events for youngsters.

Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654 or wbelcher@tampatrib.com.

ON THE TRACKS

Largo Central Railroad

WHERE: Largo Central Park, 105 Central Park Drive

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the first Saturday and Sunday of each month

HOW MUCH: Free

INFORMATION: www.lcrailroad.com; (727) 585-9835

Central Pasco & Gulf Railroad

WHERE: Crews Lake Wilderness Park, 16739 Crews Lake Drive, Pasco County

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. the second Saturday of each month

HOW MUCH: Free

INFORMATION: www.cpgrr.org; (727) 569-2289

Watch for a video feature on these train rides in Thursday's episode of BOT, keyword: BOT. Watch for a video feature on these train rides in Thursday's episode of BOT, keyword: BOT.

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