Grapevine, TX

This is a little city about 10 miles away that, of course, has a great mall (like all cities here). However, it is supposed to have a quaint downtown area and a few wineries (right up my alley). Now…you’re thinking “well, makes sense Grapevine has wineries”…right. Interesting you should ask, because vineyards are relatively new to Grapevine. Grapevine was settled in 1844 and is names so because it was located on the Grape Vine Prairie which was near Grape Vine Springs. Historically, Grapevine wasn’t known for wine, but Cotton. It was part of the infamous Cotton Belt after St. Louis South-Western Railroad (the Cotton Belt Line) began service there in 1888. This remained the primary agriculture industry until 1974 when the rail road left and the construction of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport (DFW) began. It was during this time that cotton fields began to turn into vineyards. The Texas Wine and Grape Growers Association officially moved to Grapevine in 1990.

However, there is still one historical piece of the past that remains in Grapevine, the Grapevine Vintage Railroad. They still run a route between Grapevine and Fort Worth Stockyards on the weekends. They currently run a 1953 Vintage Diesel engine on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. However, on Saturday (unless it is down) they run “Puffy”, an 1896 Steam Engine #2248.

http://www.grapevinetexasusa.com/ThingsToDo/GrapevineVintageRailroad/tabid/267/Default.aspx

So, I’ve decided to kill two birds with one stone today. I would like to ride the train and see the Stockyards with out having to drive there. The train will leave at 1 pm and arrive in the Stockyards at about 230 pm. For the math lovers, that is an hour and a half to go thirty miles. In there defense, there is a mock “train robber” half way through. Or at least I hope it is a mock “train robber”. Won’t they be surprised when they rob me…they might feel so bad they might give me money.

I will then have two hours at the Stockyards before the return trip back to Grapevine.

This should be fun and I will post a critique of the adventure (complete with pictures) when I return…