Family fun rolls into the Rusk Depot Friday as A Day Out With Thomas™ returns to the Texas State Railroad.
The event features a mock Thomas the Tank Engine pulling passenger cars for short excursions, with other family-oriented things to do on tap at the park. The annual event rotates between the two depots each year and is at the Rusk Depot this fall.
Tickets are selling well for the two weekend event, TSRR marketing manager Lori Kastrop said, noting that as of Wednesday morning, approximately 7,200 tickets had been purchased in advance.
“We’re ahead of where we were last year,” Kastrop said. “I know we’ll get more (sales) next week.”
Departure times are 10 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 12:15 p.m., 1 p.m., 1:45 p.m., 2:30 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. on Friday, Sunday, Oct. 24 and 26. On Saturday and on Oct. 25, a 4 p.m. ride also is scheduled.
In addition to the train ride, other activities include a hayride; petting zoo; temporary tattoos; a gold dig; bubble station; an expanded Imagination Station, with a coloring area, stamps and Legos™ and meeting Sir Topham Hatt, Kastrop said.
There also will be live entertainment from storyteller Ian Hobo and Thomas movies playing in the depot theater, including The Great Discovery, which was released on video last week.
When Thomas made a similar two-weekend appearance at the Palestine Depot last fall, approximately 12,000 people from 23 states and from Mexico rode the trains, Kastrop said, with several thousand more non-riders accompanying them.
Railroad officials expect at least as many this year, she said, and perhaps more since Thomas will not be appearing in the Austin area this year as in the past.
“We’re looking for a great turnout again,” Kastrop said. “We’ve really targeted Shreveport, Houston, Dallas, Austin and Waco.”
Tickets are $18 for ages 2 and up. Tickets are still available for all six days and may be purchased either in person on site or in advance by calling Ticket Web at 1-866-468-7630 or by visiting the railroad’s Web site at www.texasstaterr.com/thomas/dowt_main.html and clicking the link for “Buy Tickets.”
For more information, call the Texas State Railroad at 1-888-987-2461 or visit online at www.texasstaterr.com.
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Beth Foley may be contacted via e-mail at bfoley@palestineherald.com
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On the Net:
Texas State Railroad, http://www.texasstaterr.com
A Day Out With Thomas™, http://www.texasstaterr.com/thomas/dowt_main.html
Thomas the Tank Engine, http://www.hitentertainment.com/thomasandfriends/official_thomas_the_tank_engine_website.htm
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Thomas the Tank rolls into TSRR's Rusk Depot
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