All aboard! County to raffle off seats for March 13 first run of new Gage Park Mini Train
Shawnee County is raffling off the seats for the first ride for the public of its new Gage Park Mini Train, which will take place at 9:30 a.m. March 13, the Monday of spring break.
Train rides will be free to the general public beginning at 10 a.m. that day, and will be free for March 13 only, said Mike McLaughlin, spokesman for Shawnee County Parks and Recreation.
The cost to ride the mini train on other days in March will be $2.
Drawing will be March 8
Anyone who buys a raffle ticket for $1 online at bit.ly/SNCOParksRecTrainRide will receive one entry into the drawing for a seat on that train's inaugural run, Shawnee County Parks and Recreation said on its Facebook site.
The drawing will be March 8.
Winners may bring as many as two guests to ride with them, and seats will be assigned in the order they are drawn, it said. Winners should arrive at the Gage Park Mini Train Depot no later than 9 a.m. to check in and be seated.
The March 13 event will also include a ceremonial ride for elected officials, and members of the Gage Park Authority and Shawnee County Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. There will be remarks by elected officials and Tim Laurent, director of Shawnee County Parks and Recreation.
More:New mini train locomotive, passenger cars take to the tracks at Topeka's Gage Park
Previous train had been running since 1967
Screaming in a tunnel, riding over a railroad bridge and going past a pond are among experiences common to riders of the mini train.
That train takes riders on a roughly mile-long trip through the park using basically the same route it has since it began running in August 1967.
The Shawnee County Commission last May entered into a contract through which the county used American Rescue Plan Act money to buy the new mini train for $650,000 from Wichita-based Chance Rides Manufacturing Inc.
The new locomotive is a replica of the C.P. Huntington steam locomotive, which is on static display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California, McLaughlin said.
More:New Gage Park electric mini train at full charge, will replace current diesel-fueled version in 2023
'Your knees won't be up in your chin'
The new mini train has an electric motor. The train it replaces, which operated for 55 years, has a diesel engine.
Seats in the new mini train's passenger cars will be much more comfortable for adults than they were in the old one, McLaughlin said.
"Your knees won't be up in your chin," he said.
Shawnee County plans to keep the old mini train locomotive on display at the park, though it hasn't yet worked out the details, McLaughlin said.
Contact Tim Hrenchir at threnchir@gannett.com or 785-213-5934.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Shawnee County to raffle off seats for first running of Gage Park Mini Train
