GRAPEVINE, TEXAS (February 23, 2024) – Plan your Spring Break vacation to Grapevine and embark on a journey through time with the Grapevine Vintage Railroad’s Spring Break Excursions! March 12, 13 & 14, experience the thrill of riding a vintage locomotive with 1920s-era coaches and create memories that will last a lifetime. While technology has transformed locomotives and carriages, several railroad jobs in the industry have essentially stayed the same. These one-hour excursions depart at 11:50 a.m. and 1:50 p.m. each day.
More than just a train ride:
Spring Break Fun at the Cotton Belt Railroad Historic District: Guests can immerse themselves in railroad history with learning stations that focus on individual jobs that are responsible for keeping a railroad running. At each station, riders earn a Craft Button that can be proudly displayed. Once all five are collected, riders will be awarded a Junior Train Master button to complete the collection! Guests will have the opportunity to meet the conductor onboard and will be given a crew handbook, helping them become experts on trains.
Railroad jobs guests will learn about:
Section Hand
Brakeman
Conductor
Telegrapher
Station Master
Don’t miss out on this unforgettable Spring Break adventure! Tickets are available at GVRR.com. Make this trip a Spring Break getaway by staying at Great Wolf Lodge, The Gaylord Texan Resort or one of the many hotels in Grapevine. For a complete look at the other ways to enjoy Grapevine while you’re here, including all our delicious restaurants, walkable Historic Main Street District and unique shopping opportunities, visit GrapevineTexasUSA.com.
Train-A-Palooza Will be Held at Grapevine Convention Center March 9 – 10, 2024
The Lone Star Hi-Railers model railroad club of Grapevine, Texas, is proud to announce its tenth annual model train show, Train-A-Palooza will be held at the city’s Convention Center and will run for two days. According to the model railroad club, the event held at the Grapevine Convention Center in 2023 was such a success, the club reserved the
entire facility for the 2024 model train show.
The event will attract model train enthusiasts from all over Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas,
Louisiana, and Kansas. Vendors will include club members as well as private individuals and
companies who sell model trains of all gauges, toys and accessories.
The nationally known Lionel Collectors Club of America (LCCA) will man a table and has
designated Train-A-Palooza as an official LCCA “Special Event,” inviting its members from the region to attend.
Train-A-Palooza will include sales tables, and working model train layouts and train-related
toys. Working train layouts will be provided by:
• DFW O Scale Trackers
• North Texas Brick Society (Lego layout)
• TCA North Texas Chapter (O gauge Thomas layout)
• North Texas T-Track (N gauge)
• Texas Special Modular Group (O gauge)
And the Choo Choo Express trackless train will be providing train rides in the parking lot.
The entry ticket price for the public will be $5 for adults, $2 for children 11 to 18 years old, and children under 10 years old free with accompanying adults. All scouting organization members in uniform will be admitted free. Admission will provide access to the show both days and to the Lone Star Hi-Railers’ huge three-rail O gauge model railroad layout inside an actual 65-foot- long baggage car, located in the historic Grapevine railyard area. Show hours are Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Grapevine Shuttle will be available to attendees at no charge and will run from the TexRail train station to the Club’s baggage car train layout on to the Convention Center and back to the station both days. Parking at all locations is free, and TexRail train service will be running from Fort Worth and the DFW airport.
The club has been located in Grapevine for over 15 years and feels strongly that the city is a natural location for model train activities because of the city’s focus on real trains. The club’s headquarters on W. Dallas Road one block west of Main St. is open to the public most every Saturday and Sunday.
The club’s second operating public train display is currently located in the Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau building on the corner of Main and W. Hudgins St. and
open during business hours Monday through Saturday.
The Grapevine Convention Center is located at 1209 S. Main St., just a block north of the
Highway 114/121 interchange. Parking is free, lodging is close by the convention center and renowned and unique restaurants can be found all over the city with free public parking most everywhere.
