Enjoy views of Short Creek Canyon, the 300-foot-long trestle. On board the train, your 44 mile journey spans the South San Gabriel River and stops for a 15 minute layover at our historic 1912 Bertram Depot. and arrives at the Cedar Park rail station at about 4:30 p.m. Our vintage train cars are from the golden era of rail travel, built in the '30s, '40s and '50s, and fully restored for your enjoyment. If weather permits, a local theater group organizes a Wild West reenactment of a gun fight in Burnet, complete with volunteer saloon girls and cowboys. The mission of the Austin Steam Train Association is to preserve, interpret and re-create the first-hand experience of historic steam-era railroading for the enjoyment and edification of today’s families and the generations to come. Passengers can enjoy a quaint lunch on the square and shop at antique shops before catching the train back to Austin. It took about 60 years after the steam train stopped running for visitors to arrive once again via the same train tracks. Passengers are encouraged to visit the concession car for refreshments, snacks, or for those train enthusiasts - a conductor’s hat.Ī two-and-a-half hour layover in the historic downtown square of the small town of Burnet adds to the time traveling experience. Volunteer rail attendants offer historical fun facts throughout the 66-mile round trip adventure. It’s a great way to explore the Texas Hill Country. On the train’s 1920s-era open-window coach, passengers can stand by open windows to shoot photos, wave to passersby, and enjoy the views of the South San Gabriel River and the Hill Country’s flora and fauna. The authentic restoration of each passenger car evokes a true railroading experience from the vintage seat upholstery to the train whistles along the way. The vintage passenger train cars sit lined up on the track, as ticket takers in red coats greet visitors wanting to travel to another era. Hill Country Flyer Train Excursion (Cedar Park to Burnet)įrom the moment passengers arrive at the Cedar Park, Texas, rail station where the trains depart, nostalgia kicks in. Suite101 recommends the original and most popular train ride, the Hill Country Flyer. (This ride is 3.5 hours round trip.) Enjoy views of Short Creek Canyon, the 300-foot-long wooden trestle bridge over the South San Gabriel, and the Duffy-Shamrock communications mast-one of the tallest. Today, the ASTA offers passengers several excursions to choose from, each with it’s own enchantment. On board the train, your 44-mile journey spans the South San Gabriel River and stops for a 15-minute layover at our historic 1912 Bertram Depot. Since the steam train returned to the Texas Hill Country, more than 200,000 passengers have made the train a stop in their Texas travels. In it’s heyday, the train brought all the pink granite used to construct the Texas State Capitol Building. Generations of passengers enjoyed this line until the 1930’s. In 1882, a railroad line through Central Texas connected Austin to Burnet. But in 1992, the Austin Steam Train Association (ASTA), a not-for-profit group, worked to bring back the steam train travel experience for the sake of sharing a part of history with new generations. Once a fundamental part of American life, steam train travel gradually disappeared with more modern forms of transportation. Scenic Ride in Vintage Passenger Train Near Austin
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