A train ride in an amusement park, or a municipal park setting, is a small ride consisting of a miniature train, often running on a permanent or portable track, but sometimes without any track whatsoever. In the latter case, the "trains" are simulated by connecting railroad-like cars behind an ordinary, or modified motor vehicle. This type of ride is often conducted as a sightseeing tour of the surroundings.
If the ride is on tracks, and especially if the service is provided by a non-commercial hobbyist club, or a private backyard railroad, the train can be an exact scale model, often with a live steam locomotive.
Commercial "kiddie rides" often use simple but colorful equipment, with the driving mechanism hidden under vacuum formed plastic covers.
Some train rides (e.g. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad) resemble roller coasters, and may not be available to children under a certain age or a minimum height.
Famous quotes containing the words train and/or ride:
“Anyone who has a child today should train him to be either a physicist or a ballet dancer. Then he’ll escape.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“You will never get the crowd to shout “Hosanna!” until you ride into town on an ass.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)