Tacoma Rail will host an open house this month in an effort to educate the public about the organization’s freight-switching service that supports the Port of Tacoma.

Visitors will enjoy a free train ride; walk through a locomotive and caboose; tour rarely seen rail maintenance equipment, rail yards and other rail operations; and check out model trains during the event. The Tacoma Rail open house will also include games, clowns, food, and giveaways. As part of the event, Tacoma Rail will collect donations for FISH Food Banks of Pierce County. Visitors who want to donate should bring non-perishable foods in boxes, cans or plastic containers. Some of the highest-need items include baby food, peanut butter and tuna.

“It’s a great opportunity to see the railroad and the port from a view you can’t get any other day,” said Tacoma Rail Superintendent Dale King. “Our eco-friendly locomotives will pull the passenger train through the Port of Tacoma.”

The Tacoma Rail open house will be held on Sat., Aug. 24 at 2601 N. Frontage Road (off State Route 509 between Port of Tacoma Road and Milwaukee Way) in Tacoma between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Parking is limited. Free shuttle buses will run every 45 minutes between Tacoma’s Maritime Fest at Thea’s Park to Tacoma Rail between 9:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. (The last bus will leave Tacoma Rail shortly after the last train returns at approximately 3 p.m.).

More information is available online here.