Forest Park Miniature Railroad set to reopen

FORT WORTH, Texas - The iconic bright red and yellow miniature train in Fort Worth is chugging along for the first time in more than a year.

"Thank you to the city for giving us the time and being patient with us. We had some supply chain problems getting this back on track, no pun intended," owner Mary Talley said. 

Talley’s great-grandfather started what is now known as the Forest Park Miniature Train in the late ‘20s.

Talley inherited shares in the attraction when her grandmother passed away, but she did not become principal owner until recently, when the pandemic and other challenges de-railed the attraction.

A guest rider welcomed it back to service: former Fort Worth mayor Betsy Price and her grandson, as well as the current mayor Mattie Parker.

"All of us have memories on this wonderful train track," Parker said. "I think that’s why there’s been so much media attention. Everyone in Fort Worth has some attachment to this amazing part to Trinity Park, being on this train."

In November 2022, FOX 4 shared the train’s dilemma when it sat idle for months and the city issued the operator a 60-day ultimatum to honor the terms of its long-standing contract. 

"The trains were in need of a facelift. These are the original 1972 CP Huntingtons my family purchased back then. It’s just not a lot of CP Huntingtons for sale, so we had to refurbish them and we were are working with some vendors right now to build some new engines," Talley said.

Fort Worth’s legendary locomotive, and the actual tracks which run from the city’s zoo to Trinity Park and back, are ready to officially welcome riders once again beginning Friday.

"We have worked diligently to refurbish this 1972 CP Huntington. Our plan is to make the trains bigger and better than ever," Talley added.