Here’s the Story of the Restored U.S. Sugar Express Train!
Greetings Cruisers and Happy Thanksgiving!
Last Sunday we told you about our December 10 Car & Bike Show that will take place, only for December, at the Lake Placid Historical Society Depot, located at 12 Park, Avenue in downtown Lake Placid, Florida.
Our Special Guest Star for the show isn’t an automobile, but it does have wheels (14 of them) and can move people and big things from here to there. U.S. Sugar Express Train No. 148 is a local historical artifact. Instead of the 102-year-old “static” display piece, this slice of history still works and sells rides!
Here’s some interesting info about the U.S. Sugar Express Train No. 148 from the Wikipedia page for the locomotive…
“No. 148 was the eighth member of ten 4-6-2 Light Pacific class 141 steam locomotives built by the American Locomotive Company (ALCO) of Richmond, Virginia in April 1920 for the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC).
It was assigned to haul passenger and freight trains on the FEC’s Overseas Railroad between Miami and Key West, Florida until 1935 when the Labor Day Hurricane destroyed many of the route’s long bridges and the FEC permanently closed it down due to the Great Depression.
During that time, the FEC began to retire most of their older 4-6-2 locomotives for scrap or selling them to other railroads in order to recoup their financial losses.[4][5] No. 148 remained in service with the FEC until June 1952, when it was sold to U.S. Sugar Corporation (USSC) in Clewiston, Florida, where it worked alongside its sister locomotives Nos. 98, 113, and 153 to haul sugarcane trains from the harvest field to USSC’s sugarcane mills.”
So, what that means is that our “Guest of Honor” is 102 years old!
And thanks to the love and dedication of folks with a deep passion for the early days of rail transportation, we get to see, hear, and smell a slice of America’s history that is all but gone.
Would you like to book a ride on the U.S Sugar Express???
CLICK HERE for their Schedule page!
Enjoy the above video. See you on December 10th and Happy Thanks Giving! – Scott, Pete, & Ron
PS – If you would like to be part of Lake Placid Christmas Parade with your car or bike, several of us are signed up, and YOU ALL are invited! How cool would it be if WE ALL showed up???
If you’d like to join the Cruisers Christmas Parade Party, e-mail Scott at… lightoak@comcast.net
