After tooting around since 1997, the much-loved miniature train at Zilker Park known as the Zilker Zephyr is no more, thanks to erosion from a number of heavy rainstorms at the park washing out its tracks in 2019 — but the Austin Parks Foundation will bring the experience of riding tiny rails to a new generation of Austinites in Summer 2021, as the operators of a brand new Zilker train.
That’s the news today from the Foundation, which will handle upgrades to the train system and operations for the time being until the City of Austin’s Parks and Recreation Department can complete a more detailed master plan for the future of Zilker Park — and what we’re calling that train is up to Austin, with a naming contest accepting submissions until September 21:
Austin Parks Foundation is committed to preserving the spirit of Austin’s past while completing much-needed upgrades to one of Austin’s most treasured outdoor family activities. Because of the organization’s partnership with the City’s Parks & Recreation Department (PARD) and nearly 30 years of proven results, APF was contacted to help find an interim solution for the train while Zilker Park undergoes a master planning process to build a new, long-term vision for the park. APF will operate the Zilker train with proceeds benefiting Zilker Park, while the community has a chance to determine how the train fits into the new vision for the park.
“The decision from City Council and PARD for Austin Parks Foundation to take on the operations of the train during this time, versus another concession vendor, will allow us to put proceeds from the train directly back into Zilker and Austin’s parks system while the master planning takes place,” says Austin Parks Foundation’s Chief Mission Officer Ladye Anne Wofford. “We deeply understand the importance that parks play in our lives as Austinites. We are ready to give Austin a train named by them, for them.”
— Austin Parks Foundation Press Release, September 1, 2020
The Foundation says the new train arriving next year will be built in the style of a 1940s locomotive, but run on electricity and be both shaded and ADA-accessible for the first time — the old train ran on gasoline, so it’ll be interesting to see if a battery-operated system has a smoother ride.
This isn’t the first time Austinites have had the opportunity to name Zilker’s train — though the Zilker Eagle was the first pint-sized locomotive to chug through the park in 1961, the Zephyr got its name from a city contest in 1997. (The Zilker Zephyrs, for the record, were originally a South Austin baseball team in the 1950s.)
![](https://towers.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/Austin_American_Statesman_Fri__Mar_31__1961_.jpg)
A 1961 clipping from the Austin American-Statesman showing off the new Zilker Eagle, the park’s original train modeled after an 1885 locomotive rather than the slightly more modern-looking Zephyr. Image: Austin History Center
![](https://towers.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/zephyrs_zilker_baseball_1955.jpg)
A 1955 clipping from the Statesman showing the origin of the Zilker Zephyrs name, originally belonging to a South Austin baseball team that lost here to the employee team of the local Seven Up soda bottling company. Image: Austin History Center
This new model really needs a name as catchy as the Zilker Zephyr, and that’s a pretty hard act to follow considering the lack of “Z-words” in the dictionary. As amusing as we find “The Zilker Zoomer,” we’re aware that the new name doesn’t have to start with the letter Z. How about the Moontower Express? The McConaughey Limited?
Click here to enter the contest, and try to come up with something good — it’s not every day we’re given the opportunity, however small, to define a piece of Austin’s future for a generation to come. The Foundation is also accepting submissions via the printable coloring sheet below, which appears to show the new train’s appearance and will likely help kids get their ideas running wild:
Zilker Park homes for sale
-
$675,000
1702 S Lamar BLVD #28
Austin, TX -
$1,649,000
2511 Ridgeview ST
Austin, TX -
$3,697,000
702 Kinney Ave Ave
Austin, TX -
$3,300,000
1812 Dexter ST
Austin, TX -
$1,999,000
1703 Garner Ave
Austin, TX -
$510,000
1900 Barton Springs RD #2046
Austin, TX -
$900,000
1900 Barton Springs RD #5026
Austin, TX -
$675,000
1900 Barton Springs RD #5027
Austin, TX -
$2,495,000
1313 Spyglass DR
Austin, TX -
$475,000
1135 Barton Hills DR #247
Austin, TX -
$1,325,000
1529 Barton Springs RD #27
Austin, TX -
$699,000
1600 Barton Springs RD #2405
Austin, TX -
$539,000
1600 Barton Springs RD #5508
Austin, TX -
$950,000
1504 Bluebonnet LN
Austin, TX -
$974,900
1600 Barton Springs RD #3504
Austin, TX -
$825,000
1604 Nash Ave #B
Austin, TX -
$499,000
1501 Barton Springs RD #105
Austin, TX -
$549,900
1600 Barton Springs RD #6405
Austin, TX -
$1,500,000
1604 Nash Ave #A
Austin, TX -
$2,850,000
1501 Hillmont ST
Austin, TX -
$825,000
1909 Westridge DR
Austin, TX -
$1,925,000
1809 Ford ST
Austin, TX -
$549,900
1900 Barton Springs RD #3047
Austin, TX -
$549,999
1900 Barton Springs RD #5020
Austin, TX -
$320,000
1240 Barton Hills DR #102
Austin, TX
-
Lot Size1,307 sqft
Home Size1,264 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2.5 Baths
-
Lot Size8,168 sqft
Home Size2,135 sqft
Beds4 Beds
Baths3 Baths
-
Lot Size10,625 sqft
Home Size3,758 sqft
Beds5 Beds
Baths3.5 Baths
-
Lot Size9,845 sqft
Home Size3,468 sqft
Beds4 Beds
Baths4.5 Baths
-
Lot Size8,495 sqft
Home Size3,102 sqft
Beds5 Beds
Baths4 Baths
-
Lot SizeN/A
Home Size837 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size1.87 ac
Home Size1,296 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot SizeN/A
Home Size1,019 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size19,123 sqft
Home Size2,554 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths2.5 Baths
-
Lot Size2,527 sqft
Home Size1,019 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths1.5 Baths
-
Lot Size4,853 sqft
Home Size2,802 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths3.5 Baths
-
Lot Size728 sqft
Home Size1,133 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths1.5 Baths
-
Lot Size480 sqft
Home Size743 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size6,230 sqft
Home Size1,310 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths1.5 Baths
-
Lot Size976 sqft
Home Size1,520 sqft
Beds3 Beds
Baths2 Baths
-
Lot Size2,997 sqft
Home Size1,000 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths2.5 Baths
-
Lot Size2,396 sqft
Home Size903 sqft
Beds2 Beds
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size567 sqft
Home Size863 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1.5 Baths
-
Lot Size6,848 sqft
Home Size2,200 sqft
Beds4 Beds
Baths3.5 Baths
-
Lot Size10,237 sqft
Home Size2,987 sqft
Beds4 Beds
Baths3.5 Baths
-
Lot Size10,625 sqft
Home Size1,615 sqft
BedsN/A
BathsN/A
-
Lot Size14,981 sqft
Home Size2,338 sqft
BedsN/A
BathsN/A
-
Lot SizeN/A
Home Size900 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size345 sqft
Home Size780 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
-
Lot Size1,503 sqft
Home Size761 sqft
Beds1 Bed
Baths1 Bath
Leave a Reply