Built in 1896 at the Cooke Locomotive Works in Paterson, New Jersey, Engine 2248 was originally purchased by the Southern Pacific Railroad and used in California for passenger and freight service. Now known as Puffy, she was later converted into a fire train and then used as a ceremonial engine before ending up in a private collection where Walt Disney was eyeing her for a railroad project that never came to be.
She helped launch the Texas State Railroad Excursion in 1976 and eventually the Fort Worth & Western Railroad's local Tarantula run. She made her first trek to Grapevine in 1993 and is now a permanent resident.
Helping Puffy shoulder the Grapevine Vintage Railroad's passenger load is Diesel 2199, a GP-7 (meaning general purpose) built in 1953 and originally operated by the Santa Fe Railroad and now refered to as Vinny.
The engines pull the Grapevine Vintage Railroad's luxurious Victorian coaches-four 1925 day coaches and two 1927 open-air touring coaches. All four day coaches have been restored to their full Victorian-era glory and the two open-air coaches are extremely popular in the spring and fall months.
Everything’s bigger in Texas, as they say, and that includes the options when it comes to furniture. Check out any of these larger-than-life furniture stores across the Lone Star State.
Read More