Minute Main Park Astros Train

The perfect combo trains and baseball!!! It would be kind of cool if Lionel could model it with the "General" should the Astros win the World Series. On a related note, an interesting auction of a train themed barbecue from Minute Maid Park.

http://auctions.mlb.com/iSynAp...mp;auctionId=1694549

But it is nothing like the scoreboards in the old Astrodome.

I wish they would have use Lionel Railsounds 5.0.

Some info on it:

Company that built it

Wasn't there a bigger steam engine that used to grace the grounds, or was that at their other stadium?

cliff24g posted:

It would be kind of cool if Lionel could model it with the "General" should the Astros win the World Series.  

Of course, Lionel has already modeled it. The Astros train is a pretty good replica of the actual "General" engine.

Thanks for sharing !  Now I know what its all about after seeing it  on TV.

I think the area where the ballpark was built was the main train station for Houston, hence the train theme.

The loco at the park is scaled up much bigger than the prototype, probably to be more easily seen from the seats.

i like the looks of the park, someday I need to get down there and see a game.

Go Astros!

This type is there, #982 according to this on wiki. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Pacific_975

The SP 2-10-2 Dave mentions used to be on display at the Houston zoo.  I hope they cleaned it up before moving it downtown. It's been years but, the top surfaces of the engine were encrusted with bird poop the last I saw it.

One tidbit concerning Minute Maid Park itself; the original name for the ball park was The Ballpark at Union Station.  The old Union Station head house is incorporated into the stadium itself.  As I recollect; before the stadium opened; Enron purchased the naming rights and then when they went under; Minute Maid bought the rights.

I lived in Houston for 19 years and although Union Station no longer hosted passenger trains; I did have a number of meals on railroad office cars that were parked behind the station and was inside the station building itself quite a bit as it housed the offices of the Houston Belt and Terminal railroad.  Ah; memories.

Curt

Interesting subject, Eric.  Thanks for creating this thread.

Eric, you already know what a baseball fan I am with my career and background. I became a Houston fan after the Indians were eliminated. I became a fan of the 5'6" fireball named Altuve. And then I kept hearing this cool steam whistle in the background and became aware of the steam engine in the park. My only regret now is that they are heading back to LA and we will be void of the sights and sounds from "The Ballpark at Union Station". Thanks Curt for that tidbit of information.

Rick

juniata guy posted:

The SP 2-10-2 Dave mentions used to be on display at the Houston zoo.  I hope they cleaned it up before moving it downtown. It's been years but, the top surfaces of the engine were encrusted with bird poop the last I saw it.

One tidbit concerning Minute Maid Park itself; the original name for the ball park was The Ballpark at Union Station.  The old Union Station head house is incorporated into the stadium itself.  As I recollect; before the stadium opened; Enron purchased the naming rights and then when they went under; Minute Maid bought the rights.

I lived in Houston for 19 years and although Union Station no longer hosted passenger trains; I did have a number of meals on railroad office cars that were parked behind the station and was inside the station building itself quite a bit as it housed the offices of the Houston Belt and Terminal railroad.  Ah; memories.

Curt

 

SP 975 is now at the Illinois Railway Museum.

Rusty

I have heard the whistle during the games, but never actually saw the train. I'm with you, Eric, Astros for the win. The Dodgers knocked out the Cubs--they get no mercy!

Ranger Rick posted:

Eric, you already know what a baseball fan I am with my career and background. I became a Houston fan after the Indians were eliminated. I became a fan of the 5'6" fireball named Altuve. And then I kept hearing this cool steam whistle in the background and became aware of the steam engine in the park. My only regret now is that they are heading back to LA and we will be void of the sights and sounds from "The Ballpark at Union Station". Thanks Curt for that tidbit of information.

Rick

Star watching is fun at Dodgers Stadium. Look behind home plate you will see Larry King, and to his right Mary Hart. In the crowd I have seen Tommy Lasorda, Sandy Koufax, Seth McFarland, and others. 

I lived in Houston from 1967 until 2003.  Recall in the late '60s when my mother and I ( I was in high school ) went to Union Station and picked up one of her sisters that came in on the train from Kansas.  I am not certain what line it was, or where in Kansas she boarded the train.  Most I do recall is being at the station and seeing more than one passenger train lined up on the tracks behind (South) Union Station.  When they built the ball park, the removal of all '60s era interior "modernization" ceiling and paneling revealed the beautiful marble and Classical columns as originally built.  I believe (memory functions) the Houston Union Station was designed by the same who designed NYC Union Station.  I know, I could look it up on the net.......... LOL......

Jesse     TCA  12-68275 

Rusty Traque posted:

juniata guy posted:

The SP 2-10-2 Dave mentions used to be on display at the Houston zoo.  I hope they cleaned it up before moving it downtown. It's been years but, the top surfaces of the engine were encrusted with bird poop the last I saw it.

One tidbit concerning Minute Maid Park itself; the original name for the ball park was The Ballpark at Union Station.  The old Union Station head house is incorporated into the stadium itself.  As I recollect; before the stadium opened; Enron purchased the naming rights and then when they went under; Minute Maid bought the rights.

I lived in Houston for 19 years and although Union Station no longer hosted passenger trains; I did have a number of meals on railroad office cars that were parked behind the station and was inside the station building itself quite a bit as it housed the offices of the Houston Belt and Terminal railroad.  Ah; memories.

Curt

 

SP 975 is now at the Illinois Railway Museum.

Rusty

Rusty:

Agreed and 982 is the one on display at Minute Maid.  This is the same engine that was at the Hermann Park zoo in Houston for years.

Curt

But SP never went to Houston Union.

I think that show that used to be on the history channel, Big Movers or whatever it was called actually had the engine coming to Minute Maid Park. I would think it is either on the History Channel's website or on YouTube. I'd say look up steam engine driven to Minute Maid Park, or the engine number coming there. I remember seeing the end of the show and was sad I missed the whole thing. See what comes up.

Thanks, I was curious about this!

SP 982 is still in Houston wrapped in plastic.  It was cosmetically restored and sat in front of Minute Maid Park after moving from the zoo.  Then it was moved and the tender sold off to another group.  It was supposed to become part of a museum that never happened.  Chances are unless some one can jump in with money to move it that it will be scrapped.

https://www.trainorders.com/di.../read.php?10,3518031

https://www.gofundme.com/move-steam-locomotive-sp-982

As for Minute Maid Park, the main building which housed Union Station is now part of the park, the park was added on to it and the building restored.  It houses offices and condos as well.

The steam engine up high above left field is actually towed by a cable back and forth.  Anytime there is a score it whistles, when a home run it moves.

It is correct that SP never ran to Union Station, however the original (and beautiful) SP Station was torn down years ago.  The replacement station is used by Amtrack and is a pretty poor example, of well, anything.  To put it mildly it's ugly.

TEXASSP...      So true about the Amtrak station.. if you want to call it that.  The only rail service, I know of, that goes to it is the Sunset Limited from New Orleans and points West.  I am glad I got to see Union Station when in service, even if it was "modernized" at the time.  If you take the Texas Eagle from Chicago/St. Louis, you get off in Longview and take a bus to Houston.  That is how I arrived in Houston for Christmas 2003 and my kids were waiting at the Greyhound Bus station to pick me up.  I couldn't blame them.  If you take a train to Houston, anyone would expect you to arrive in a train.  But, when you arrive in a bus, there is plenty room for confusion to others.   I do recall seeing the SP engine at the Houston zoo for all those years in the '60s and '70s.  Hope to find the History Channel video of the move.

Jesse   TCA   12-68275

TexasSP posted:

The steam engine up high above left field is actually towed by a cable back and forth.  Anytime there is a score it whistles, when a home run it moves.

That's disappointing as based on the photos I've seen I thought it was running on 3-rail track!

Bill