Jul 28, 2018

Summer means the big boys come out to play. The rare steam locomotives of the historic Golden Age debut alongside the vintage diesel brigade for rail tours throughout the summer season. Diesels run through May with Steam Engines launching on May 26. Trains depart from the Palestine depot every Thursday, Friday and Saturday through July and from the Rusk Depot through September with a few special events sprinkled throughout the busy summer calendar. In addition to the vintage steam engines that power many of the present-day excursion trains, Texas State Railroad is home to the extremely rare Texas & Pacific steam engine #610. Many would consider this massive locomotive a dinosaur, but Texas State Railroad has preserved it as an endangered species to be coddled and protected. The sole survivor of the T&P’s fleet of 70 engines with the 2-10-4 (Texas) wheel arrangement, #610 dignified the rails during the golden age of steam. Its design combined a high-capacity boiler with a modern valve gear and a four-wheeled trailing truck which became the prototype for American steam locomotives and a tribute to American engineering genius. The diesel trains return in October while preparations are made on the Steam Engine for the Polar Express beginning in November.

Park Road 70
Palestine, TX 75801
Phone: 855-632-7729
Email: info@texasstaterailroad.net
Time: 6 PM - 9 PM