Yesterday my buddy @gio-ram13.bsky.social mentioned to me that there were random railroad tracks in front of the Charley’s Steakhouse on I-Drive. We dug deep to figure out the history. Some of the old Orlando folks may know about this, but it was new knowledge to us and we went deep… 🧵 - ThreadSky

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imagineer2017.dissky.com • 31 days ago

Yesterday my buddy @gio-ram13.bsky.social mentioned to me that there were random railroad tracks in front of the Charley’s Steakhouse on I-Drive.
We dug deep to figure out the history. Some of the old Orlando folks may know about this, but it was new knowledge to us and we went deep… 🧵

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Comments

schmoofy.bsky.social•31 days ago

This is solid shit right here 10/10

imagineer2017.dissky.com•31 days ago

Previously we had discussed the train collection that used to reside where the Helicopter Tours on I-Drive are now. We knew about this location’s (now removed), tracks, but they didn’t join up or connect to the ones we were interested in.

imagineer2017.dissky.com•31 days ago

Turns out, while they weren’t physically connected, they shared a similar past! The collection moved locations a few times in the early 90s, one of them being the shopping complex the Charley’s is in!

imagineer2017.dissky.com•31 days ago

So yay, we found out why there were rails there. But here’s where it gets real good: Digging deeper, we found this location didn’t have a trolley like the Helicopter location, but rather a real life steam engine! (Check the Mercado in the background!)

imagineer2017.dissky.com•31 days ago

Here’s a video of it (and the collection):
https://youtu.be/rxHmchlzhy4?t=130&si=js_xC74Oru62GZpL

imagineer2017.dissky.com•31 days ago

But wait, we kept digging deeper and found the history of the engine! Turns out this thing was an actual antique engine, built in 1924 by the H.K. Porter Company of Pittsburgh!
(Source: https://njmt.org/projects)

imagineer2017.dissky.com•31 days ago

Sadly, it seems like the engine was sold and moved by 1995. The engine now resides in Georgia and is sadly non-operational. This thread from 2020 says it was due for a renovation, but this s is the most recent information we could find.
https://www.steamlocomotive.info/vlocomotive.cfm?Display=1685

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