Please Breathe

On what used to be West Second and is now called Electric Avenue on this side of the old Power Plant, is the terminus of the railroad bridge across Lady Bird Lake. A Graffiti tagger has encouraged us to breathe. A train was rumbling overhead screeching into the curve.

Where Once the Trains Ran

It's easy to forget standing amidst the downtown skyscrapers that trains used to run along the south side of Third Street. But next to the pedestrian bridge across Shoal Creek where Third deadends there is an old railway bridge. Vines and weeds are trying to take it over. (There is still a train track that crossed Lady Bird Lake and circles around to the west to travel up the middle of Mopac eventually.)

Training in on her photo

I took this shot of a train going over the hike and bike path the other day and happened to catch Linda's hands and iPhone snapping the same shot.

Nice day for a ride

Lots of people were taking advantage of the Zilker train to have a nice ride in the sun the other day. 

Heading for the station.

Going places on Amtrak. The station is just around the corner from where I shot this photo. It's fun to think of being on that train with some good books and Linda by my side.

Choose to Choo-choo!

A little train travels through Zilker Park on a regular basis.

Train's a comin'! Stop please!

Sometimes, you have to stop jogging in Zilker Park so the small train can cross the path. 

Share the Road!

While it may look like these riders are on the road, they are really just beyond the curb of a street running through Zilker Park and they are on the train ride called the Zephyr. Here's a shot from three years ago showing the engine.

Live Here, Ride the Train Downtown

On Thursday I rode the Capital MetroRail line out to the Lakeline Station and back. No good reason. It doesn't really go anywhere I want to go, but I wanted to ride it. It leaves downtown from the Convention Center as I've mentioned in this space. This is the Crestview Station where there is a development of housing and (eventually?) retail right on the line. If you work downtown this could be convenient. Don't plan to use it nights and weekends, though. The train shares the track with freight schedules and they can't permanently add this type of schedule. It's very nice but seems a huge waste of money for the transportation provided. I wish I could ride something like this to a place I wanted to go!

The Rails

A railroad spur used to come down Third Street to the Warehouse district. There was a depot or warehouse at one time where the Ballet Austin Butler Dance Education Center is now located because while renovating that building a several feet deep pad of concrete was found which obviously supported heavy train cars. The abandoned rails poke up in the streets (look at Fourth and San Antonio for example) and the loading docks on Fourth show that this was once a place for the transit of goods. Just west of our building, spanning Shoal Creek, is the abandoned railroad bridge, pointing the way to our modern downtown.

All Aboard

In Zilker Park you can ride a miniature train called The Zephyr. Every time I see it go by the riders seem to be having a fine time.

No, No with Qualifications, No

On Austin's new commuter trains, you may not smoke or play your boom box. (Do people still carry those around? Perhaps to break dance in the aisles?) You may not eat or drink either unless the drink is in a spill-proof cup. Given my success with commuter cups there is just no such thing as a spill-proof one. I took this the other day when the train made a test visit to the Convention Center station.t

Shiny New Train

I walked over to the convention center yesterday with the idle thought that I might go into the Armadillo Christmas Bazaar. I bumped into Matt Curtis who works for Cap Metro and he said the train was pulling into the station about two o'clock. I hung around the bazaar and had a beer and listened to The Resentments and waited to see the shiny train. You, dear readers, had seen it from afar back in March when I caught the expensive train sitting out in a field, ahem, waiting its close up.

The train was beautiful, inside and out, and surely made me want to ride it except it doesn't go near anywhere I want to go. I'll still have to get in the car to tend to my elderly parents and play tennis. But maybe I'll ride it to Leander just to see what it's like and what my tax money has been spent on. Of course, the claim is that once you arrive at a train station you can take a bus to other areas. Of course, buses fan out from downtown to all sorts of locations so taking a train then a bus for us downtowners isn't very practical. But if you live in Leander you can drive (of course) to a train station and be downtown at the convention center in a short time. You won't need to take a bus from there to walk to lots of things, but the buses will be lined up to whisk you to your final destination conveniently. Or so they'd have you believe. The route of the train, by the way, was determined by existing freight tracks.

Our Neighborhood Train

When we were walking to Whole Foods today a train came along beside the construction for the Spring Condominiums. This is the same track show here.

Commuter Rail

Commuter Rail? Austin doesn't have it. But the Capital Metro people got money for it and besides tinkering with tracks and stations they have bought some expensive rolling stock. I was driving around near Metric Boulevard and 183 and found the cars, looking all spiffy. They won't have riders for years, I guess.

A Train Runs Through It

Train tracks run through downtown Austin not far from where we will live. One day commuter trains will run near by (or so the taxing by Capitol Metro would promise). This is a freight train but I think the occasional Amtrak follows this track, too. We took this picture on Sunday from a south-facing condo on W. 5th.