Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum

The Plant City Union Depot was built in 1909. The depot played an important role in the early development of Plant City, whose main industries of farming, lumber and phosphate mining depended heavily on the railroad. The station once served both the Atlantic Coast Line RR & Seaboard Air Line RR. Mail also arrived in Plant City via this depot, and the Western Union telegraph service was based there. Plant City Union Depot continued to operate until 1971. The Plant City Union Depot was added to the National Register of Historic Buildings in 1974.

Today we display and maintain a very sizable collection of railroad memorabilia, including our best know item, a completely restored Seaboard Air line, no. 5735 Caboose built in 1963. Also you will find a 1942 Whitcomb Locomotive.

Across from the depot you will find the Train Viewing Platform. Trains magazine rated the viewing platform as one of the top 75 best places to view trains in the United States. You can Expect 15-20 trains max per 24-hours. The Tropicana Orange Juice Train, TECO coal trains, as well as Ethanol trains are commonly seen in Plant City.

The Robert W. Willaford Railroad Museum Society, Inc is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization. It's mission, "to promote and educate visitors about railroad history and it's impact on Eastern Hillsborough County and Plant City.