By Joseph Hayes, Orlando Magazine; October 2019
The 49 miles of Sunrail track (so far) with 16 stations through four counties gives a seldom-seen outlook through the heart of Central Florida. Sitting back in a top-deck seat, on neither side of the tracks but astride them, the view reveals crude graffiti tags and intricate mural art that can only be observed from that high vantage; back ends of warehouses and back yards of suburban houses; graveyards of corroded cars and the dearly departed; used appliance stores and churches large and small. Places called The Utter Guys, and Candyland Park, Momma’s Place and Super Awesome Cool Pottery, three fencing clubs and a business that makes amusement park rides. The rusty shells of freight cars still filled with coal and aged circus trains from the Strates midway, in business since 1927, sit peppered among a forest of supports for the natural enemy of the train, the mushrooming superhighway. And surprisingly abundant swathes of undeveloped woodlands.