ASTA | Join Us

Join Us

Be a Volunteer | Be a Member | Our Sponsors | About ASTA

Mission Statement
The mission of the Austin Steam Train Association is to preserve, interpret and re-create the first-hand experience of historic steam railroading for the enjoyment and edification of today’s families and the generations to come.

A Brief History of ASTA
In 1956, as the introduction of diesel-electric locomotives was rapidly ending the era of steam power on American railroads, the Southern Pacific Railroad gave one of its retiring steam engines to the citizens of Austin. Engine No. 786, a “Mikado” type locomotive that had seen much service across the SP’s Texas lines for 40 years, was placed on display in Brush Square in downtown Austin as a silent relic of the steam age. Three decades later, in 1986, the SP closed its operations through Austin, and sold 163 miles of its lines to the city, stretching from Giddings through Austin to Burnet, Marble Falls and Llano.

It wasn’t long before local railroad preservationists saw the possibilities in bringing the city’s scenic new railroad and its potentially serviceable steam locomotive together to create a unique and living monument to Texas’ romantic railroad history. On July 11, 1989, they chartered the Austin Steam Train Association as a non-profit corporation to bring that about. The 143-ton 786 was leased from the city, and in a massive, privately financed, two-year effort, the engine was restored from the ground up to full, robust operating condition.

Period passenger cars were acquired, trackage rights were arranged over the 33-mile route between Cedar Park and Burnet, and on July 25, 1992, Burnet welcomed its first passenger train since 1937. In the subsequent years, as the excursion trains have run safely and reliably on their weekend journeys, more than 200,000 people have enjoyed the steam train experience, and service has expanded to include not only the run to Burnet — the popular Hill Country Flyer — but runs from downtown through the historic heart of Austin, and a diverse offering of customized charter trains.

ASTA has proven over the course of more than a decade that it can create and operate, week-in and week-out, an authentic re-creation of the passenger railroading that was such an integral part of American life two generations ago. The challenge now for ASTA is to ensure the future of this unique asset by carefully conserving its historic railroad equipment, enhancing and expanding the public’s education and enjoyment from using the steam train, and providing the necessary physical facilities to adequately carry out its mission. Meeting this challenge involves, first and foremost, building a solid financial foundation to keep the steam train growing and vibrant for our children and grandchildren, and in that cause ASTA confidently turns to the community it serves and asks for your support.

Financial Information
The Austin Steam Train Association is a not-for-profit organization that is exempt from income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

ASTA 2005 Audit (Adobe PDF, 52 kb)