Houstonians Invited to Welcome
Engine 982 to its New Home
Operation Choo Choo II Dedication Ceremony
The Houston Junior Chamber of Commerce Foundation is inviting everyone to welcome Steam Engine 982 to its new home at a dedication ceremony April 11.
The symbol of Houston’s legacy as “the city where 17 railroads meet the sea” was moved to its new location at 600 Avenida de las Americas just outside Minute Maid Park last summer. The engine and tender car were re-located from Hermann Park to Downtown in a painstaking move that saw the train lifted onto a large vehicle that carried it slowly to its new home near the former Union Station. Engine 982 was owned jointly by the Jaycees and the City of Houston before it was moved. The Jaycees have now taken over ownership of the train and want to officially welcome her to her new home.
The Jaycees’ Operation Choo Choo II Dedication Ceremony begins with Track and Ties Family Fun at 5:00 p.m. It is free to the public. Junction Jack from the Astros will welcome everyone as the St. Thomas Jazz Lab Band and the Incarnate Word Falcon Dancers perform. Marble Slab Ice Cream and St. Arnold’s Brewery Root Beer will help keep the crowd cool.
And for the first time in over 30 years, the public will be allowed into Engine 982’s gates to see firsthand the train that symbolizes Houston’s past. Before its move Downtown, Engine 982 was cleaned up, had minor repairs and was painted.
At 6:00 p.m., the Bells and Whistles Dedication Ceremony will begin. Speaking at that event will be Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, Mayor Bill White, Mayor Emeritus Louie Welch, Former KPRC-TV newsman Ray Miller, former Texas Secretary of State Geoff Connor, Janice Harrison, leader of the Jaycee’s effort to move Engine 982 and members of Boy Scout Troop 498 who applied the locomotive’s rust inhibitor. Mayor White and former Mayors Welch and Lanier will officially dedicate the train’s new home.
Following this event will be the Golden Spike Private Dinner at Union Station, hosted by Drayton McLane and the Houston Astros Baseball Club. Scheduled to appear are former Mayor Bob Lanier, Houston Chronicle Editor Emeritus Jack Loftis and former City Councilmember Mark Goldberg. Tickets to the dinner begin at $75 and may be purchased from the Jaycees.
To purchase dinner tickets or for more information,call 713-JAYCEES or you can pay online through PayPal at the link below.