Board one of the historical train rides in Texas called the Grapevine Vintage Railroad. Texas has three historical train rides, Grapevine Vintage Railroad in Dallas Fort Worth area, Texas State Railroad in Rusk & Palestine (further south of Dallas), and Austin Steam Train Association in Austin. The most extensive train ride is the Grapevine Vintage Railroad. Grapevine Vintage Railroad is located in a Fort Worth suburb called Grapevine. Grapevine is located northwest of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in a small suburban town of Fort Worth. This blog will focus on the train ride experience.
Below this phrase is a point of view (POV) YouTube video of the Grapevine Vintage Railroad.
Purchasing a ticket
Purchasing a ticket is easy. There are two ways to purchase a ticket(s), online or at the train station (in Grapevine Station or Stockyard Station). I strongly recommend in purchasing the tickets online. Most of the time, tickets are sold out on the day of the trip.
Prices depends on which rail car that you (and your group) will sit at and type of excursion.
Please visit the Grapevine Vintage Railroad Schedule & Tickets website for latest pricing, excursion, and schedule.
Wagons
There are four type of wagons: Ambassador, First, Economy with air condition, and Economy open air (no air condition, open air).
Excursion
There are several excursions (or routes) that the Grapevine Vintage Railroad travels. The journey that my wife and I boarded was called Trinity River Train Excursion. It is a 40 minutes train ride that travels by the West Fork Trinity River.
Operations
Overall, Grapevine Vintage Railroad operates on the weekends. However, they may operate extended hours/days on special occasion like the Fourth of July or Christmas. For more information about hours of operations or special occasions, please visit their official schedule and pricing webpage.
Train Ride Experiences
The vintage train ride was fun and relaxing. My wife and I rode on the Ambassador Class on the Trinity River Excursion for $20 per person. The Ambassador Class wagon (or coach) was old and well maintained by the Grapevine Vintage Railroad staff. The only modifications on the Ambassador Class is the air condition. During the summer months (June – September), it is hot in Texas. Although, it is not humid as Houston or the gulf coast cities in Texas. Conductors onboard the train were friendly and had enthusiasm in doing their job.
Before departing
Before the train departed from Fort Worth Stockyards, a professional photographer boarded the train and started to take pictures for each passenger. During the train ride the photographer will print out the photos. Near the end of the ride, the photographer will demonstrate you the printed photo and sell you the photo for $15. We purchased the photo for good memories (it was worth it). However, I wish they would also offer digital version. The photo came out really nice.
Departed
The train departed from Fort Worth Stockyards at 3:00 p.m.. The itinerary stated that the train ride will last 40 minutes. The goal for the train is to return the Stockyards by 4:00 p.m. so passengers on the train can see the Fort Worth Cattle Drive. Everyday at the Stockyards, there are two Cattle Drives, 11:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.. The Fort Worth Cattle Drive are herds of cattle that walks on the streets of Stockyards (guided by cowboys and ranchers).
Onboard Experience
There was entertainment onboard. On our journey, a cowgirl was singing on the train and picking on passengers to participate. Being an introvert, we did not made eye contact because we didn’t want to be picked. We just want to relax and be part of the vintage train ride (which is rare train ride). However, there are some other person that liked to participate and that is good. The cowgirl sing along only lasted around 10 minutes and then she left to the next wagon. I think she had to perform on every wagon.
The conductor did offered Ambassador Class complimentary soft drinks and popcorn. However, snacks and soft drinks are available for purchase for First and Economic classes.
Returning to Stockyards
We have enjoyed the ride. It was nice seeing parts of Downtown Fort Worth and the southwest neighborhood. When the train arrived at Eighth Street and Robert Street (located a few miles from southwest part of Downtown Fort Worth), the train stops and reverses to Fort Worth Stockyards.
When the train arrived the Fort Worth Stockyards, everyone boarded off the train. Just in time, we were able to see the Cattle Drive at 4:00 p.m..
The 50 minutes ride was perfect. Train departed at 3:00 p.m. and returned to the at the Stockyards 3:50 p.m.. It was worth it in exploring and experiencing Fort Worth Stockyards.
More future rides
Perhaps in the future, we will take the Grapevine Vintage Railroad from Grapevine Station (in Grapevine Texas) to Fort Worth Stockyards. I read that the journey is almost 2 hours train ride between those two locations.
References
Grapevine Vintage Railroad Website