By Ian Thompson | DAILY REPUBLIC | August 21, 2009
Nut Tree Village employees Matthew Cammorata, 25, and Adam Fiel, 20 polish the brand new Nut Tree train Friday afternoon in Vacaville. Photo by Mike Greener
VACAVILLE - Nut Tree train engineer Jim Holtz is back running his beloved Engine No. 5.
'It's great,' Holtz said, adding he loved giving people train rides so much he had told his new boss he'd do it for free.
The Nut Tree train has fired up its new 'green' bio-diesel engine and formally returned to making trips around the new Nut Tree Plaza in the Nut Tree Villages shopping center Friday.
'It runs better than it did before,' Holtz said of the engine while opening the gate to let passengers on Friday.
Westrust, the Nut Tree Plaza's owners, gave people free rides on the train and carousel as a thank you for their support. The free rides continue today with costumed characters on hand and live music by The Hipwaders.
'The feedback has all been positive,' Westrust representative Jessica Koukis said. 'The people are all having a great time.'
Linda Freeman, who had brought her kindergartners to the original Nut Tree when she was a teacher, was back to ride the train again with her family.
'We took lots of rides on it. It was our Nut Tree outing,' Freeman said.
James Healy also lined up with his family Friday afternoon, saying Nut Tree's owner should bring back the other rides, too.
Nut Tree's redesigned plaza will have both the train and the carousel as well as other parts of the original Nut Tree for shoppers to enjoy.
Visitors will now be able to enjoy the train and carousel, have a picnic, sit at the fireplace, ride the hobby horses or just relax under the plaza's hackberry trees, the plaza's designers said.
See the complete story at the Daily Republic online.
