Bubble hockey champions: Tampa Bay Lightning win... Houston trainer, former NFL players indicted on... Who and when the Astros play in first round of playoffs, Rangers send Astros to playoffs with losing record, Steelers stay perfect, keep Texans winless in win. Jose Altuve almost took this place down to its studs the other night with the homer off of Chapman. On July 8, Vazquez will turn 40 years old aboard the train that has afforded him one of the best seats in the house every season for 81 home games.

Much to our national diminishment, Tal's Hill went away after the 2016 season. Every time the Astros score a run, Bobby "Dynamite" Vasquez, the force behind Minute Maid Park's home-run train, sound its bells and whistles. Astros' Carlos Correa: 'I know a lot of people are mad', Astros finish sweep of Twins in AL Wild Card series.

You can get to Minute Maid Park by Bus or Light Rail. For much of its early history, Minute Maid Park played as a hitter's haven. Minute Maid Park train: the Astros' replica 19th century locomotive.

The 48,000-pound train has a chimney, a steel boiler and a cow catcher. In total, the three roof panels weigh more than 5,700 metric tons. After big night, Jermell, Jermall Charlo ready for... Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler share a moment before Game 6, What Houston Astros players looked like as kids, Memes mock another Sunday of Texans, Cowboys losses, Trump-Biden 'cage fight' stokes global perception of a country in decline, mired in chaos, Silicon Valley surveillance company Palantir to go public on New York Stock Exchange, Trump venerates Teddy Roosevelt, but Roosevelt would have hated Trump, H-E-B accidentally offended some Texans for maybe the first time ever with its cola packaging, Five takeaways from the first presidential debate between Trump, Biden, SFA police storm Black cheerleader's dorm room with guns after false report, family says, The man behind the Astros radio broadcasts, and ‘bumper music’. Bobby Dynamite, conductor of the Houston Astros Train at Minute Maid Park, maneuvers around train on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Houston. Craig Hlavaty is a reporter for Chron.com and HoustonChronicle.com. He's been with the Astros since he was just 22 years old, starting out as a tour department intern before jumping on the train. It can go 10 mph but it's not the safest thing to do up there. Bobby Dynamite conducts the Astros Train at Minute Maid Park on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Houston. Oranges have filled the coal tender of the train engine since 2002 when Minute Maid assumed the naming rights for the downtown ballpark. Vazquez told Chron.com in 2013 that he drives the 60,000-pound train at a slow and safe 2.5 mph. Every since the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles and spent time in the absurd baseball environment that was the L.A.

That means Games 1 and 2 and -- if the fates bless us with maximum baseball -- Games 6 and 7 will go down at Minute Maid Park in downtown Houston. HOUSTON -- The Yankees and Astros will cross swords in the 2017 ALCS, and since the Astros are the higher seed they'll enjoy home-field advantage for this series. Speaking of which, he's a somewhat disconcerting detail via the official guide to Minute Maid Park: If the track is slightly out of alignment, all the weight of a roof panel could come to rest on one wheel, causing severe structural damage. A brief history of the train at Minute Maid Park.

At this point, you're likely saying, "This elevation strikes me as the jurisdiction of mighty birds. The rest of us at home got bathroom breaks though. Note the fancy-breeches theater seating in this section complete with Little Lord Fauntleroy cup holders.

Distance from home plate to backstop: 49 feetFair territory: 107,000 square feetFoul territory: 21,000 square feetTotal size of ballpark: 1,263,240 square feetBallpark height: 93 feetDesign: NeoclassicalAll-Star Games hosted: One (2004)World Series hosted: One (2005)Record attendance: 44,203; vs. Cardinals; Sept. 26, 2001 (box score). There is no automatic stopping mechanism so he has to brake the train manually on the track. Here's a winning detail from long about that time, via the Houston Press ... A statue of St. Vincent de Paul made in France in the 1840s has been placed near the front steps, but vandals recently managed to scale the protective fence and knock his head off. Oranges have filled the coal tender of the train engine since 2002 when Minute Maid assumed the naming rights for the downtown ballpark. Minute Maid Park's train is visible from the exterior of the ballpark. He will sign them for you if you send them to the stadium. "It also proves a link to the past for Houston and the Union Station site. It's a unique nod to the linked histories of the Astros and Union Station. It was a tribute of sorts to old Crosley Field, which also featured a hill in center. © 2020 Advance Local Media LLC.

Time was when the neighborhood around Union Station before there was any such thing as Union Station was called Quality Hill. Games 6 and 7 … All rights reserved (About Us). For now, though, it's a Victorian home that you could perhaps hit with a well-placed and viciously smote foul ball. It takes around 15 minutes to open or close the roof's three main panels, and to do so it makes use of 140 wheels and 60 motors. For home runs, it makes a 40-second trip back and forth on its track.

Coliseum, the league has mandated minimum outfield distances. The glass in the roof on the northwest side of the park keeps Minute Maid Park from having a "dome" feel, even when the roof is closed, as it was for Game 1. The high-tech vintage train will be loaded into semitrailer trucks and transported to the new Houston Astros ballpark March 13 to serve as an attraction for baseball fans and citizens. With the group of guys the Astros have, Vasquez can be very busy.

section: | slug: lets-get-to-know-houstons-minute-maid-park-the-train-and-that-odd-blue-house | sport: baseball | route: article_single.us | A 15-foot-high and 56-foot-long replica of an 1862 steam locomotive takes up almost all the space at the SMI Hydraulics Inc. shop in Porter, Minn., Tuesday, Feb. 29, 2000. It also stands athwart a sprawling convention center. Presented without judgment or commentary, the price of wholesome, nutritious beer prior the ALCS  ... Should you get yourself upsold to the souvenir beer? Weighing close to 50,000 pounds, the train runs along some 800 feet along the low roof track on the west side of the ballpark.". We're waiting on the team store to start selling his replica overalls and orange Astros T-shirts. Noted!

The largest entrance to the park is inside what was once Houston's Union Station , and the left-field side of the stadium features a railway as homage to the site's history. Vasquez worked his 1000th game on Tuesday. This year the Topps baseball card company honored the Astros train and Vasquez with its own card. Also, here's what it looks like when, at great professional hazard and possible in violation of local ordinances, you stick your smartphone through the railing and take a photo of the cavernous depths below Section 405, Row 22, Seat 1 ... Not even Lassie's rescuing you from that well.

Construction workers lift a replica of a 19th century locomotive onto tracks that run alongside the moveable roof Enron Field, the Houston Astro's new downtown baseball stadium Saturday March 18, 2000, in Houston. Anyhow, what came to known as the Cohn House (it was once home to one of the founders of Rice University, name of Cohn) was built in 1905 and survived the many changes that the neighborhood would see over the years. He spent eight hours in the train during Game 5 of the World Series last year. See the view from your seat at Minute Maid Park. As you see above, Minute Maid Park measures a paltry 315 down the left field line. Minute Maid Park train: the Astros' replica 19th century locomotive By Christopher Smith | csmith@masslive.com HOUSTON -- One of the highlights at Minute Maid Park … The 15-foot-high and 56-foot-long replica of an 1862 steam locomotive was manufactured in Porter, Minnesota. But of course. "The wheels are as tall as I am" says Bobby Dynamite, conductor of the Houston Astros Train at Minute Maid Park, as he climbs down from the electronic train on Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Houston.

It's a very cool touch, and fans can enter the ballpark through Union Station (possibly after purchasing some exciting products). https://www.espn.com/.../id/21022487/riding-iconic-train-minute-maid-park 6-keys: media/spln/mlb/reg/free/stories, at We'll make it Craig Biggio's 3,000th hit on June 28, 2007 ... A little bathos when he got pegged going for second, but it counts! Seating view photos from seats at Minute Maid Park, section The Train, home of Houston Astros. Marlins Park, for one, seems to have taken a cue from this design element. HOUSTON --  One of the highlights at Minute Maid Park is the replica 19th century locomotive atop the left field wall. It rides the tracks right before each game and every time the Houston Astros score. Bobby Vasquez, aka Bobby Dynamite, has the enviable job of conducting the train at Minute Maid Park. The train provides an architectural icon which combines sight, sound and motion for a dynamic entertainment and celebration feature. Since the Astros clinched their only pennant on the road (before getting swept in the 2005 World Series), we'll turn to an individual moment.