The Boca Express Train Museum, operated by the Boca Raton Historical Society, is housed in a restored 1930

Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a pr ...

(FEC) train station in

Boca Raton, Florida Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

. designed by Chester G. Henninger, built for

Clarence H. Geist Clarence Henry Geist (1866 – June 12, 1938) was an American financier who played an important role in the early history of Boca Raton, Florida. Biography Clarence Geist was born and raised on a farm in LaPorte County, Indiana. When he was 18 he ...

. It is located at 747 South Dixie Highway, off U.S. 1 (Federal Highway). On October 24, 1980, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. That the building was restored and turned into a museum must be credited to the philanthropist Countess de Hoernle, who bought the abandoned building as a present for her husband.

Use as a passenger train station

Historically, the station served several long-distance trains and one or two local trains. Into the early 1960s, passengers could take one of two Chicago-bound trains (on alternating days), the ''

City of Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at t ...

'' or the ''

South Wind A south wind is a wind that originates in the south and blows in a northward direction. Words used in English to describe the south wind are auster, buster (a violent south gale), föhn/foehn (alps), ghibli (Libya with various spellings), friagem ...

'' (both via Birmingham) and the New York City-bound '' East Coast Champion,'' ''Havana Special,'' and ''Miamian'' from the FEC's station. Into the latter 1950s, passengers could take the '' Dixie Flagler'' to Chicago via Atlanta from the station. The FEC operated local passenger service between Jacksonville and the Miami area until July 31, 1968.Bramson, Seth H. ''Speedway to Sunshine: the story of the Florida East Coast Railway'', Boston Mills Press, 2010, p. 153. . Service on the line is planned to be restored by Brightline, with

a station , known professionally as , is a Japanese actor, creative director, and writer. He appeared in a number of Japanese TV dramas, including ''Mei-chan no Shitsuji'', ''Hanazakari no Kimitachi e'' and ''Zettai Kareshi''. Additionally, he was well kn ...

north of the museum, scheduled to open in 2021. However, Brightline shut down operations during the 2020–2021 Covid pandemic.

Exhibits

The Museum contains two restored and unique 1947 Seaboard Air Line streamlined rail cars, a dining and a lounge car, built by the

Budd Company The Budd Company was a 20th-century metal fabricator, a major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars, airframes, missile and space vehicles, and various defense products ...

and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Boca Express Train Museum also includes a 1946 Atlantic Coast Line caboose and a 1930 Baldwin steam switch engine.

For sale

The Boca Raton Historical Society put the Train Museum up for sale in 2017, saying that maintaining two historic buildings (the other is the Society's home, Boca Raton's first city hall) is draining the nonprofit's resources.

References

External links

*
Boca Express Train Museum
- Boca Raton Historical Society

Boca Raton Boca Raton ( ; es, Boca Ratón, link=no, ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It was first incorporated on August 2, 1924, as "Bocaratone," and then incorporated as "Boca Raton" in 1925. The population was 97,422 in the ...

Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida Buildings and structures in Boca Raton, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Palm Beach County, Florida Museums in Palm Beach County, Florida Railroad museums in Florida Transportation buildings and structures in Palm Beach County, Florida Florida East Coast Railway Preserved steam locomotives of the United States 1930 establishments in Florida Seaboard Air Line Railroad Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Budd Company Railway stations in the United States opened in 1930 {{Florida-railstation-stub

Use as a passenger train station

Exhibits

For sale

See also

References

External links