At Nut Tree Plaza, the restored No. 5 Train sure to be a big hit again – The Vacaville Reporter

Small or large, trains stir a sense of adventure within us, even if the ride — or the sight of a train — lasts only a few seconds or minutes.

And the sound of “All aboard!” equally evokes the idea of travel, and those words can be heard once more at Nut Tree Plaza daily through summer.

Why? Because the famous No. 5 Train has been restored and ready for riders, young and the young at heart, on its oval, 2-gauge track.

The train has been a popular local and tourist destination for many decades at the open-air shopping and entertainment center, off East Monte Vista Avenue and Nut Tree Road, hefty stone throws from interstate highways 80 and 505, and the nearby Nut Tree Airport.

The legendary No. 5 Train, which boarded its first riders in 1953, was completely repainted and rebuilt with an environmentally-friendly, low-emission biodiesel engine, Jeannie Lonnquist, of NewMark Merrill, the Southern California-based firm that manages the Nut Tree shopping center, noted in a press statement.

Current hours for the train are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, weather permitting. Summer hours for the Plaza and Carousel rides are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

Visitors will want to take pictures with two life-size statues, Amelia the Cow and the 17-foot Patch the Giraffe, near the Carousel and train station. The entertainment area at Nut Tree Plaza also includes iconic rocking horses “both children and adults love to ride,” she added in the news release.

And just as the No. 5 Train continues its journeys in the Plaza, the tradition of complimentary arts and crafts for kids near the ticket booth also continues every Saturday and Sunday.

Train and Carousel tickets are $4 each. Children under 2 ride free on their first ride. An all-day ride wristband is $25. Those who purchase five tickets get one free. Seniors, 65 years and older, ride for $2. Every Thursday, active-duty and retired military members can buy a $2 ticket to ride any day of the week.

From its location beginning in 1921 as a roadside fruit stand, The Nut Tree — for many decades synonymous with the city of Vacaville for millions of east and westbound travelers on I-80 — expanded into a popular California destination when owners of the former Nut Tree restaurant launched the train ride experience in 1953.

A 370,100-square-foot retail and entertainment center, The Nut Tree is consistently ranked in the top 97 percent of all shopping centers in the country measured by visitor traffic per square foot, Lonnquist noted.

The open-air center, with 68 retail stores including PetSmart, Nordstrom Rack, Kirkland’s, Ulta, Old Navy, Best Buy, Michaels and HomeGoods, 17 restaurants and Nut Tree Plaza’s entertainment area with the Train and Carousel rides and other free family-friendly activities, draws 4.5 million visitors annually, Lonnquist noted in the statement.

For more information about the Train and Carousel rides and other activities, visit nuttreevacaville.com/events, #NutTreeVacaville, Facebook or Instagram @nuttree.vacaville.