HALS Train Rides

Hockley, Texas (2009) - TRAINS, what more do you need to say to excite the imagination of a child. My son has been fascinated by trains ever since he was given his first train set for Christmas at the age of two. I could go on and on about train sets, which we have two of, but today it is about Family Fun on the cheap. Today's family fun idea is Train Rides offered by HALS.

HALS stands for Houston Area Live Steamers, http://www.hals.org/ . This is a fantastic organization. They are serious steam train hobbyist who, out of the goodness of their hearts, share their love of trains with the public. They have struck up a mutually beneficial arrangement with the County for park land. HALS maintains their grounds and manages events as well as structures on the land. The County has added a nice parking lot to accommodate the numerous visitors.

So here's the deal. HALS offers for FREE rides on their steam trains. For you tech heads, it is a 7-1/2" gauge track (that is the model size of the steam trains for you non-techs). The track the trains use for the Public Run Days is 4,700 feet long which makes for a very nice 15 - 20 minute ride. The sitting area is like a bench that you straddle and will sit two adults and a number of small children. The trains pull 3 to 4 benches each.

On Public Run Days the Train Depot sells cold drinks at a low cost and recently they started selling t-shirts, hats and train whistles (while supplies last). The Depot also has bathrooms!

PLEASE remember that none of the people who are working/managing the Public Run Days are paid. Everyone selling drinks and souvenirs, handing out FREE tickets, managing the lines, driving the trains, maintaining the tracks, fixing trains, etc. are volunteers. The trains are NOT paid for by the county nor are the tracks and cute buildings, bridges and other accessories along the track. These are paid for by donations collected on Public Run Days and mostly by the Hobbyists themselves. The trains themselves are owned by individuals who spend their personal money and time building and maintaining them. That said, please donate something when you visit this great event.

On Public Run Days, you arrive and park on a paved parking lot, you walk to a covered area and get your tickets, you wait in a covered area with benches through a roped off line area, and then you enjoy a pleasant 20 minute ride that travels by cute little buildings, over bridges, past a pond and through a wooded area. And you will see ducks. When you are done, you return to the covered area where there are bathrooms and a stand to buy drinks and souvenirs. What's next?

We normally take a picnic with us and drive around to the county park area, Zube Park http://www.pct3.hctx.net/parks/zube.aspx . Zube Park offers play ground equipment, tree shaded benches, soccer fields, picnic tables and yes, bathrooms. Now that is a full day.

TIP on the train rides: this little secret is not secret anymore. We went this last Saturday (June 20). The rides start at 9:00am. We were there at 9:15am and the wait in the line was one hour. Thankfully, there was a nice breeze, the line kept moving and the wait did not seem like an hour, but I have been there when there was no breeze and that hour felt like an eternity. So what's the tip? Pack drinks, snacks and perhaps a couple of Match Box cars (or some kind of small toy) and a personal fan along with lots of patience for the line. I have been told if you go later the wave of crowds has receded, but last June we were there late and still waited an hour. My personal favorite is going in October when it is cooler.

Bottom line we recommend HALS train rides for a Family Fun Day. Train rides are open to the public only one Saturday per month Spring through Fall (no train rides in the winter months), so check the schedule and have a fun family day.