From the WGHF archives 11.6.14

Up until the mid 1960s, railroads ruled in downtown Winter Garden. The Orange Belt — ACL ran east and west along what is today’s West Orange Trail, and the Tavares & Gulf served customers from Ocoee to Tavares. The city was busy day and night, as carloads of citrus and vegetables left West Orange County for distant markets. The photograph, taken by Irv Lipscomb in 1958, shows a T&G express/caboose at the First Street crossing next to the Winter Garden Citrus Growers Association packinghouse. Today, the trains and all the packinghouses (except for Heller Bros.) are long gone. To learn about the history of West Orange County, visit the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation’s museums.