The Tavares & Gulf Railroad, incorporated in 1881 as the Tavares, Apopka and Gulf Railway, operated in Central Florida from 1886 to 1969. Construction began on July 15, 1885, and the line was planned to connect Central Florida to the Gulf of Mexico near Fort Myers, but it never reached that far. The line reached Minneola and Clermont in 1887, but the Orange Belt Railway would not permit the Tavares & Gulf to cross its tracks, effectively halting further construction in that direction. The railroad reached Winter Garden in 1899. It was reorganized as the Tavares & Gulf in 1890, and the Seaboard Air Line Railroad acquired it in 1926. The Florida Central Railroad operates a short stretch of the Tavares & Gulf between Ocoee and Winter Garden, the only remaining Tavares & Gulf track still in service.
