Hermann Park Train History

[Vertigo58]

There is or was a topic under Museum District section regarding the old kiddie train with good pics too.

[WestUNative]

It is Susan, and in plain view right on Texas Ave right behind Annunciation Church. Seems so out of place. I remember seeing that locomotive at Hermann Pk since going on field trips in Kindergarten, 1st Grade, and so on. It was one of the most exciting things to see while visiting Hermann Pk. (other than the bat exhibit) Wonder if you can still drink from that Lions mouth water fountain? Ja!

Vertigo, you are not going to believe this, but tis true. Around 1993, my daughter, who grew up at Houston Zoological Gardens, of course, and I stopped by a flea market type old store in Leonia, Texas. That is a tiny spot south of Centerville. Incredibly there stood the little lion drinking fountain from the Houston Children's Zoo, all chipped and worn. The shop owner confirmed it had indeed come from there. My grown up girl towered over it at 5'1" and couldn't believe how little she had been when drinking from it not so long before.

Remember when the Vampire Bats were the latest thing? Wow, really amazing and highly touted. Then the surprise to learn they'd been caught in Mexico and raised in a guy's garage in Bellaire, just down the street. Those tiny little devil faces lapping up the blood, which originally was outdated goods from the human blood bank, not from cow processors. And did you know, while we are trivalling, the adults never touch water? Only the newborns and they must have some.

I too am sorry to see the little train go as well as the big steam engine. Three generations of us loved riding through the park with the trees almost scraping the sides - keep your arms inside and close!

One last note and I'm sorry, but having spent a lifetime of enjoyment at the old zoo, I was very unhappy with my last visit a couple of years ago. Since being taken over by private sector ownership, I found surly employees, highly restrictive policies and an overall unpleasant experience resulting. There were disturbing things like teenagers on bicycles policing and yelling at patrons and once I had left and found my ride had not come, no one would allow me back in to make a phone call, even with proof I'd paid for admission. I know, but I'm a dinosaur, I have no cell phone.

[nm5k]

I remember back in a past life, a friend of mine used to "drive" those little

trains. This was back around the high school years or so..

But that was one of his part time jobs way back then.. He was the "engineer"

and drove the trains, kept the little heathens from killing themselves, etc..

I don't know if he wore a hat like on the movie "The Jerk" or not..

The extended bill on those caps could be a lifesaver according to

Navin R. Johnson.. :lol:

[NenaE]

Vertigo, you are not going to believe this, but tis true. Around 1993, my daughter, who grew up at Houston Zoological Gardens, of course, and I stopped by a flea market type old store in Leonia, Texas. That is a tiny spot south of Centerville. Incredibly there stood the little lion drinking fountain from the Houston Children's Zoo, all chipped and worn. The shop owner confirmed it had indeed come from there. My grown up girl towered over it at 5'1" and couldn't believe how little she had been when drinking from it not so long before.

I'm pretty sure there is still one lion (w/open mouth) fountain still at the zoo. Remember it from the 1950's-60's. It's on one of the walkways, in the middle of the zoo, by some small portable food stands, & overhanging tree limbs.

[cdollaz]

I'm pretty sure there is still one lion (w/open mouth) fountain still at the zoo. Remember it from the 1950's-60's. It's on one of the walkways, in the middle of the zoo, by some small portable food stands, & overhanging tree limbs.

Yep, there is still one lion fountain there. I think it is near the bear exhibits.

[Vertigo58]

Yep, there is still one lion fountain there. I think it is near the bear exhibits.

If only some smart designer could recreate and place more all around the zoo? Even make all types of animal open-mouth fountains? Now that would be a good trivia question...Who created that lion head fountain back in the day?

[hadooga]

Yep, there is still one lion fountain there. I think it is near the bear exhibits.

How many of us have pictures at one of these fountains at the zoo? I have one of myself from the 70's.

[NenaE]

How many of us have pictures at one of these fountains at the zoo? I have one of myself from the 70's.

Got one, of my mom or dad w/sister. Speaking of water features, love the layout of the front entrance ponds. Low, long ponds w/ lilies, and the brownie statue, behind the seals. That low, long brickwork is what I see in new "retro-design" bldgs. now.

[devonhart]

Hard to believe this image is just shy of 50 years old.

[sevfiv]

Fantastic photo! I have a similar one somewhere +20 years!

[IHB2]

if that's mom...mom's a babe

[NenaE]

I love that pic! Oh, the memories with my grandmother...I always got one of those mouse balloons, seen in the background. It always made me sad to see all of those miniature trains sitting on the side, not running, in later years. Wonder what happened to them.

[Hunter]

I love that pic! Oh, the memories with my grandmother...I always got one of those mouse balloons, seen in the background. It always made me sad to see all of those miniature trains sitting on the side, not running, in later years. Wonder what happened to them.

I have been wondering the same thing. I was once told that they were sold to a fellow who was going to use them but no one seems to know his name or when he was from.

[devonhart]

If you can get past the first 16 seconds me and my realitives, some nice shots of the miniature train and station.

[JLWM8609]

Childhood memories, I miss that old train. Funny how it was virtually unchanged from the 60s til its last ride a few years ago.

[NenaE]

That train ride is a favorite memory...with my grandmother. it's one I later shared with my son.

[luciaphile]

Thanks for that video. I watched it 3x. (Also, thanks, Nena E., for that Soldier's Creek link.)

There is still a train, though, right? At least, I rode it two or three years ago with a small relative. As with most things, it seemed like it had become an excuse for a gift shop -- in fact, I remember thinking they had missed a trick not running it directly through the gift shop.

{It's interesting to observe the small relative in a shop: she was a late blessing and has consequently been rather materially spoiled; and so she momentarily covets everything, or anything, or thinks she does. Most recently at the natural science museum, the "Titanic" exhibit with its obligatory tour-specific (and necessarily dreary) gift shop blocking the exit, she declared she would purchase the first thing she saw, a tiny $20 pewter model of the ship. I pointed out that we had souvenirs, the Titanic boarding passes we had been issued at the start with real passenger's names. (She perished; I lived. I was a little surprised that they hadn't separated the tickets so that children might always be handed that of a survivor. She worked it out in her mind that she wouldn't have died, though; she would have climbed up on the iceberg.) We managed to walk out without buying anything, there was a hint of a pout on her face, but it lasted two seconds, and then she visibly relaxed and looked happy to be past the gift shop. The wanting, and the freedom from wanting. Me thinking, you'll be experiencing that for years and years; and then one day you'll stop wanting things altogether, and that will be kind of alarming to interpret.}

What stays in my mind from the display of Titanic artifacts was a couple dozen ceramic gratin dishes, intact, not even a chip. There was a photo next to them of how they looked in situ: nested in perfect array, as though by hand, in the seafloor.

I concur, boarding that Hermann Park train when you were little was a pure thrill, and on the very same day that you would see the lonely gorilla in his air-conditioned house.

Edited November 18, 2012 by luciaphile