Anyone who’s been to an Astros game at Minute Maid Park is familiar with the train whistle. It blows each time the Astros score a run.
Bobby Vasquez, 39, has been in the conductor’s seat of the bright orange locomotive for 17 years.
"I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world,” Vasquez said.
A sense of peace and clarity comes while riding up above the ballpark in the slow-moving train. The ballpark is empty the day before tens-of-thousands of fans descend on Minute Maid Park to watch history.
Nobody in the ballpark will be enjoying the game more than Vasquez, aka “Bobby Dynamite.”
By day, he's a newspaper reporter in Deer Park.
"By night I get to come up here and be 'Bobby Dynamite' and drive the train and cheer for the Astros and help it stay loud in the ballpark.”
Vasquez, in his familiar overalls, hopes to be very busy during the World Series.
The Minute Maid train is modeled after an 1860s-era locomotive. The ballpark is built at what was once Houston’s Union Station.
The train pays tribute to the city’s railroad history and its significant impact on the development of Houston. A train engine is also featured in the City of Houston’s official seal.