From Pocket History of Orlando Florida. Orlando Centennial 1875-1975.
Orlando Street Railway circa 1900.
In the year 1886 a street railway franchise was granted to J. M. Saunders and others. The franchise was signed for the city by F. S. Chapman, president of the council. The speed of the mule drawn cars was set at six miles per hour and the driver was ordered to stop at all street crossings to allow pedestrians to cross streets.
The street railway operated on Orange Avenue and Central Avenue, on Church Street to railroad station, and around the west side of Lake Lucerne via America Street to the original fair grounds west of the railroad on Parramore Street. The “Big Freeze” of 1894-95 put both the railway and the fair “out of business.”
This street car model was handcrafted by James Stoll of Orlando. Two models currently reside in the Orlando Public Library.
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