Our family rode the Piney Woods Express in the Presidential Car, and it was the perfect finale to…read moreour East Texas vacation. We booked seats in the Presidential Car, "Miss Joyce," and the experience was outstanding from beginning to end. The car features a comfortable mix of couches and chairs, with seating selected when you book your tickets. It created a relaxed atmosphere that made the four-hour excursion feel special without being overly formal. Our train attendant, Miss Joyce, was absolutely wonderful. She was warm, welcoming, and attentive throughout the trip, and it's easy to see why the car proudly bears her name. When we arrived at our seats, each passenger had a complimentary bottle of water and a snack box filled with watermelon, grapes, pretzels, and cheese cubes. The trip began with a champagne toast for the adults and sparkling apple cider for those who preferred it, which was a fun touch that made the experience feel like an occasion. Additional drinks, candy, and popcorn were available for purchase throughout the ride, and the attendants happily took orders and kept a running tab, making everything very convenient. During the stop in Rusk, we had time to stretch our legs and enjoy lunch. A converted railcar serves as a concession stand, offering items like hot dogs, nachos, chicken salad sandwiches, hoagies, and pulled pork sandwiches, with the option to purchase meals that include chips and a drink. There are picnic tables available, or you can take your lunch back to the train while it's parked at the station. We later learned that meal pre-orders are available, although we didn't notice that information when booking our tickets. The return trip to Palestine was a little quicker but just as enjoyable. From departure at 11:00 a.m. until our return around 3:00 p.m., the entire excursion was relaxing, scenic, and very well organized. If you're looking for a unique family outing in East Texas, we highly recommend upgrading to the Presidential Car. Between the comfortable seating, thoughtful amenities, excellent service, and beautiful scenery, it was an experience we'll remember for a long time.

My wife and I drove up from Austin for an overnight trip to Palestine, Texas, to take the evening…read moredinner train ride on the Texas State Railroad. We sat in the skylight car. Our experience was okay, but just okay. The train car was comfortable, though noticeably dated and in need of some freshening up. The bathroom was unpleasant -- no soap, no paper towels -- and it felt like the cars hadn't received any real attention in years. The train ride itself was pleasant enough, but too long for what it offered. The scenery consists mostly of trees lining both sides of the track, with occasional glimpses of meadows. Nothing dramatic. The train crept along at a snail's pace -- more, I suspect, to fill time than for any safety reasons. The midpoint stop was the highlight of the trip. We had dinner with live music in a lovely setting near a small lake -- genuinely enjoyable. However, the scheduled 1¼-hour stop stretched to nearly 1¾ hours, as we sat on the train for almost 30 minutes without moving before heading back. We arrived over 15 minutes later than scheduled. A few other notes: the train has no Wi-Fi, and the entire three-hour ride is accompanied by piped-in 1940s big band music. The first 30 minutes were fine; after that, it became tedious. Overall, I'd give this experience a 3 out of 5 -- and that's being generous, given the price.

Wonderful historical pictures and model trains. Very beautifully put together…read more Mr Price has a lot of educational things to say about the local trains. There's so much to see and learn about - I'll have to go back!

It was nice to step back in time. Very nice museum telling the local railroad history including…read moreMexican and Mexican American war and the "Banditos". It has a very cool scaled railroad display, about 20 x 20 feet. This museum has interesting memorabilia, come and celebrate, preserve, and memorialize the railroad.

We took the Texas State Railroad from Palestine to Rusk and it was a great trip! Rusk Depot kinda…read moreleft a lot to be desired but it is a small town so i guess I don't know what i was expecting. There were picnic tables and a large gazebo to eat lunch at and we walked around on some trails that went through the trees and close to a pond. It was a nice break off the train. We did eat lunch on the train because it was a little too warm for us and our 3 year old. There was a souvenir shop and some old railroad stuff to look at inside the depot.

Steam Locomotive Passenger Train Rides are awesome. Rusk Depot is neat place to hang out and relax…read moreand see steam locomotives operate.

What a nice little stop! Super friendly staff - I wish I remembered her name - with some great…read moreresources in a neat little historic building that had been relocated from elsewhere. My good buddy was looking for info on a saloon from the 1800s that his family owned long ago, and he got some good info and good leads. Definitely a good stop if you're looking for info on Palestine TX!

Staff is knowledgeable and provides great recommendations specific to your trip. Don't be afraid to…read morestop in and ask questions.

Beautiful hotel with fantastic people. Our room was lovely. Windows on three sides. We ate in the…read morerestaurant twice. Staff was helpful and so pleasant. The gallery owner was a really nice man.

A true gem of a hotel. Historic building charmingly redone. No cold corporate cookie cutter…read moreenvironment. Real people that embody the warm and welcoming charm of great East Texas folks. Super bar and restaurant. Not a flaw in the whole experience. Do yourself a favor and forget about the Holiday Inn. Stay with some folks who care about how you treated. You will not be disappointed.

What an amazing free service in the McKinney Avenue area of downtown. Essentially you just find a…read moretrolley stop and wait for a trolley to come by and pick you up. Depending on the route you take it takes 30 minutes to an hour to make the full circle. The trolley drivers are super friendly and knowledgeable and make the ride a lot of fun!

Seriously a must do. Visiting Dallas? Trolley. Lived here forever? Trolley. Night out? Trolley. The…read moretop of the trolley loop goes around West Village so we use the parking garage there as a starting place and hop on at the stop outside of Starbucks. From there the trolley heads down Mckinney Ave to downtown and circling back by Klyde Warren Park. Easy to hop on and off as your night dictates, but important to know that they trolley will only stop if you are standing and waiting at the designated trolley stop. To exit simply ring the bell and the conductor will stop when available to do so.

We took our toddler to this museum. It started with an 8 minute film discussing the history of…read moreEnnis and the museum. Then we got to browse the displays. It's not a large museum, but you could spend 30 minutes browsing and reading the displays. The man working was very friendly and knowledgeable. There's also a little gift shop with trains toys, apparel, etc. To top it all off, a train came by just as we were leaving. It was a sweet family outing.

Nestled in a small, neat building on Main Street that could be mistaken for a post office, is the…read moreEnnis Railroad Museum. $2 admission for 20 minutes or so of entertainment. I watched the 8 minute film and walked around with a gracious senior lady who explained to me why the phone hanging out of the wall was cool and that the typewriters on display in the office set up were from 1880 or thereabouts. A couple large train dioramas and sets of Railroad china in hutches complete your tour. Creepy czech dolls in the small gift shop are just plain creepy.

I've been here 3 times and it's a good experience! The people are nice, especially the person that…read moreruns the station named Martha. She is a sweet lady and lets me railfan here in Mineola.

Mineola train station. Historical and nice and quaint. My train was late but the facility was…read morenice. Nothing fancy but lots of historical things to look at in he museum.

Called for a taxi, paid over phone with credit card. Waited 2+ hours never showed up, called back…read moremany times was told driver was on the way. Called back final time for refund and was told driver picked someone up outside my room that wasn't me. Won't give me refund, then text me telling me I rode in her taxi and never paid. Very poor customer service.

Lady answered the phone said 20min and hung up. Didn't let us talk for a second. Wasn't able to…read moretell her how many people we had or the need for a larger car. We waited an hour, no answer from service number, so we called another service. Who arrive promptly and took us to our hotel. An hour later we received a text from the owner saying we were put on the black list. Dear owner, how about a courtesy call to tell us your going to be very much later than the time given. Your driver arrive 1hr 45 after our quoted, you didn't answer our calls to for an update. You left us with no other option but to assume you didn't intend to pick us up. How long were we supposed to wait for you with no communication. You don't have to worry about backlisting us, we don't intend to ever use your service, and we will make sure all the other pilots flying into the airport in Palestine know not to call either.