Last month, Austin Parks Foundation announced a contest to name the new train coming to Zilker Park in the Summer of 2021. Over 750 names, drawings and ideas for this new train were submitted! And now voting is underway for final 7 options for the name of this future train.
The final names include:
- The Armadillo Express
- The Bluebonnet Express
- Edwina Justus (First Black female engineer for Union Pacific Railroad)
- The Lady Bird Flyer
- The Moontower Rambler
- The Zilker Eagle (Re-authorized by the owners of the original Zilker Train)
- The Zilker Zanate (Spanish for grackle)
Now it’s time to VOTE for your favorite. Go to austinparks.org/zilker-
The Zilker Train’s History: The park’s first train, the Zilker Eagle, ran for over 30 years beginning in 1961. The latest version, the Zilker Zephyr, was named in 1997 following a contest hosted by The City of Austin. In May of 2019, the privately operated Zilker Zephyr went out of commission due to track erosion. Now, in an effort to make immediate and necessary improvements as the master planning process is underway, Austin Parks Foundation is currently working with an engineering firm to do a structural assessment and determine what needs to be done. 
Plans for the New Train: Scheduled to make its debut next summer, the park’s new train will be in the style of a 1940s passenger train. For the first time, it will be electric, shaded, and ADA accessible. Austin Parks Foundation aims to raise over $525,000 to fund this project and to date has raised $55,000. The organization will operate the train with proceeds benefiting Zilker Park.Visit austinparks.org/zilker-
