Austin 360
Bird s the word: Austin Parks Foundation has unveiled the name of the new train set to chug through Zilker Park. Austin voters chose the Zilker Eagle from 750 name submissions, the foundation announced Friday.
If the name sounds familiar, it s because the first train to run through the city-center park in 1961 also was named the Eagle. That train ran until 1996. The Zilker Eagle name has been reauthorized by the owners of the original train, according to the foundation.
Seven finalists were selected in the naming contest by a committee that included Austin Parks Foundation staff, foundation board of directors, community members and kids. The other finalist names were the Armadillo Express, the Bluebonnet Express, Edwina Justus (named after the first Black female engineer for Union Pacific Railroad), the Lady Bird Flyer, the Moontower Rambler and the Zilker Zanate.