Shelby Hotel

The breeze coming from the east is moving faster than this ACL locomotive, as it passes just south of the Shelby Hotel (now Tony’s Liquors at 1 West Plant Street). It appears that construction of the hotel, built in 1913 by James L. Dillard, is not quite complete, as the ground in front is still littered with construction debris. The ACL was one of two railroads serving Winter Garden; the parallel tracks of the Tavares and Gulf railroad were just one block south. Both rail lines had Winter Garden stops. Today, the Central Florida Railroad Museum occupies the Tavares and Gulf depot. The Winter Garden Heritage Museum occupies the third incarnation of the ACL depot located at the northeast corner of Main and Plant Streets.