April 2023 Monthly Adventure
ALL ABOARD!!! Did you know that there's a train that leaves from the Austin area for a scenic day trip? I've lived here since 2015 and never knew about this. I haven't seen it advertised nor have I heard anyone mention its existence. It's amazing what you can learn about if just drive around where you live enough!
Background
My friend moved this year and when I went to visit her new place, we drove around the area after getting dinner to explore and window shop. In the process of doing so, we passed by a sign that read "Austin Steam Train". Was it a restaurant? A museum? An actual train since it was by the train tracks? Not knowing what this was, I quickly looked it up online and found out that it's both a real train and museum operated by the Austin Steam Train Association and its volunteers that goes through the Texas Hill Country!
If you've been following my blog for a while, then you know how much I love museums and taking different forms of transportation. So here I am telling you about my first ride on the Austin Steam Train!
Online Booking
You can easily book tickets online for the Austin Steam Train. The Hill Country Flyer is best for a more casual day trip with prices ranging from $30-60, depending on the type of ticket you select. Tickets will be more expensive if you choose one of the event train rides –– like the wine train, the Bluebonnet Festival train, or the Polar Express train. The cheapest train is the Sunset Express with prices ranging from $20-45, again depending on the type of ticket you choose. It's also the shortest train ride at 2.5 hours round trip to enjoy one of the most beautiful sunsets you could imagine. With this being a non-profit railroad operation, there are no refunds.
Pro Tip: Austin Steam Train allows same-day booking as long as you purchase your tickets by the deadline listed online for the ride you're considering. I chose to book same-day for my trip because it was a very last-minute decision in compared to how I normally plan my excursions.
Sunset Express
I ended up booking a trip on the Sunset Express because I wanted to test out a short trip and my time is a bit limited right now. Later this year, I will complete part two of this Austin Steam Train experience by taking either the Hill Country Flyer or one of the wine trains so I can share what it's like to take a day trip on a train. For now, I'm recapping my experience around my first leisure train ride and viewing a gorgeous sunset.
Cedar Park Depot Arrival
Getting to the train depot in Cedar Park from Highway 183A toll road is very easy with navigation and there's ample parking available. I arrived just before 6:15 PM to get in line to pick up my tickets from will call. This is where all passengers go before boarding the train. Inside the building was the small museum, offices for the Austin Steam Train Association, and other various artifacts from the classic era of passenger trains. After picking up my ticket from will call and learning about where I will be seated, it was time to board the train. I'll tour the museum more in part two.
Boarding the Train
Boarding began at 6:30 PM which is exactly the time I got on the train. As I walked up, there were people stationed along the way to help get all of the passengers where they needed to go. There were also some people in train conductor uniforms (like the conductor in The Polar Express) who assisted with getting passengers onboard and were around throughout the entire train ride. I had a ticket for the adults-only car which was the Club 41 train car for this particular ride. The car was near the end of the train, so I got to walk past most of the cars as I made my way over to it.
The initial entry into the train car is quite narrow, but not too surprising since people were generally smaller back in the 1930s, 40s, and 50s than they are today. What did surprise me was the actual setup of the seats in the train car. I've taken trips on passenger trains in different countries such as the Eurostar from England to France, the GO Train in Canada, and the Amtrak here in the United States, so I was expecting seats similar to these types of trains. However, these train cars looked more like a classic diner with movable chairs and a small bar where drinks and snacks were available.
Pro Tip: It was noticeably colder on the train than it was outside, so I recommend bringing a jacket because the warm air coming into train from the door goes away once it closes before the train departs.
Riding into the Sunset
With this being a short train ride meant to enjoy the sunset, our "destination" was Bertram –– about 30 miles from the train depot in Cedar Park. In the adults-only car, we had complimentary bottled water, bottled green tea, bottled juice, Chex Mix, hot tea, and coffee. A few cars ahead of us was the bar and more items available for purchase. As our journey began, the conductor stopped by to check our tickets and even punched holes in them. Nothing over the top like you may remember from The Polar Express, but he did use a hole punch to put a couple of holes in my ticket to verify that I was in fact a legitimate passenger!
The train started off slowly, but picked up speed as we got closer to Leander. Along the way, we passed through the Leander Station for the CapMetro Rail and saw the newest construction happening in the fast growing town. I also noticed as we passed along the edge of many neighborhoods that some people were anticipating the train and had their young children with them to see the train go by and wave at passengers. That really warmed my heart because it filled me with a sense of nostalgia. As a kid, I loved seeing the trains go by my grandparents' house. My cousins, uncles, and aunts would wave at those riding on the Amtrak that would occasionally pass by during our routine weekend family gatherings or signal to the the conductor for freight trains to blow the horn. I don't know how to explain it, but there's something fascinating about locomotives!
As we progressed towards Bertram, we were able to walk to the caboose in small groups with our car's attendant. I timed it just as we were arriving to Bertram, so I was able to get some nice glimpses of the sunset and final photos before it was too dark outside. As the sun was nearly set, we were at our stop in Bertram where the engine shifted from the front of the train to the caboose. Now, our Club 41 car was near the front and we were on our way back to Cedar Park! Since it was dark at that time with nothing to see out the windows, I listened to a podcast and began editing some of the photos I took. I also have some videos which you'll be able to find on Instagram as I get them posted.
Wrap-Up
Our train got back to Cedar Park promptly at 9:30 PM as stated on the booking website. Once I was off the train, I walked to my car in the parking lot and went home. I wasn't sure what to expect from this train ride, but in the end I had a peaceful, scenic trip that allowed me to enjoy nature and the experience of historic train cars simultaneously. Overall, it was a smooth ride and I feel like I shouldn't need to worry about motion sickness when I take one of the longer rides in part two that I'll write about in the coming months. If you're looking for a family-friendly outing, a fun date activity that isn't too expensive, or if you just want a few peaceful hours to yourself like me, I highly recommend looking into taking a ride with the Austin Steam Train Association. Stay tuned for more monthly adventures and the eventual part two to this post where I will share even more about Austin Steam Train that I didn't cover here!
Feel free to leave comments below, tweet (@KimiThoughts), or leave a post/message on Facebook (@KimisTravelThoughts) !
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