SHADY HILLS, Fla. — “It gives your heart pleasure to do this — it really does.”

That’s Jerry Smithson. And that’s how he describes rolling out train rides as a founding member of the Central Pasco and Gulf Railroad.

What You Need To Know

  •  Central Pasco and Gulf Railroad runs at Crews Lake Wilderness Park in Shady Hills

  •  It is open for rides on the second Saturdays of each month

  • Halloween Haunted Rides are scheduled for Oct. 21, Oct. 22, Oct. 27 and Oct. 28

  • More Florida on a Tankful adventures

It’s 5.5 miles of rails for ride-on-top trains in Crews Lake Wilderness Park in Shady Hills.

The 7.5-inch scale railroad is based on the Orange Belt Railway from late-1800s Florida.

It’s something most children and grown-ups on the train don’t know.

“We give them the knowledge about railroads — what they did years ago — the towns that grew up in Pasco County,” Smithson said. “This park? The Orange Belt ran through it.”

The first stop is the railroad’s museum. It’s a train barn, a replica of Walt Disney’s.

You read it right.

“Walt was a railroader. He loved railroad trains,” Smithson said.

There are pictures of Disney and his two daughters and his train barn.

So, it only makes sense their most famous club member is a Disney juggernaut.

“Margaret Carey,” Smithson said, pointing to a picture. “She’s the original model for Tinker Bell.”

Tink and Smithson are two of about 100 members of the railroad crew.

“There’s a lot of work, there really is,” Smithson said.

A lot if it happens in the machine shop, where craftsworkers even make their own rails.

“You learn a lot,” Smithson said. “I’m not a machinist, but I now have a machine shop at my house.”

Smithson said he hopes the same kind of thing happens for young people  — that they grow to love the railroad, from riding to building to wiring.

“That’s what it’s about — it’s to pique their interest — get them interested in something instead of the computer-game stuff,” Smithson said.

The railroad's second Saturday and special-event rides kicked off in 2006.

The railroad just purchased thousands of feet of new track — with proceeds from special events.

Smithson said seeing families light up on the trains is amazing — and that’s why he does all this work.

“It’s the enjoyment of being outside and enjoying the park, families getting together and enjoying something together,” Smithson said.