In General
Baltimore MD - the Baltimore Zoo
Battle Creek MI - the Binder Park Zoo
Decatur IL - the Scovill Zoo
Detroit MI - the Tauber Family Railroad
Ft Wayne IN - the Fort Wayne's Childrens Zoo
Louisville KY - the Louisville Zoo
Portland OR - the Portland Zoo
St Louis MO - the St Louis Zoo
Traverse City MI - the Traverse Train
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This page covers Zoo Trains around the U.S.
If we make an attempt to include all of the park trains of yesteryear, this page may never be complete! For instance, in my home town of Baltimore, the Baltimore Zoo used to have a stainless steel train, patterned after the GM Aerotrain of the early 60's. That was sold to a fellow out in Sykesville MD around 1990 or so, and the train (when I stopped by around 2009), was still in his barn - I hope it is still with us.
And before that, there was Gwynn Oak Park, which closed in the mid 70's - that train was sold to the Luskin family (Luskin's - now The Big Screen Store), and at last report, the train was somewhere south of Baltimore in a storage location where the roof was caving in and the train was going to sh..... This came from the fellow that used to own PURKEY's train store in Sykesville, and had seen the train in the early 2000's. In a 2022 update, the train has been "saved" and moved to another location, but it is going to require A LOT of "fixin".
Acknowledgements:
Denver Todd
Steve Morgan
Louisville Public Media
Wikipedia
Websites and other additional information sources of interest:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Park_and_Zoo_Railway
Baltimore MD - Baltimore Zoo
https://www.marylandzoo.org/visit/rides-activities/
GPS Coordinates:
address
phone
The Zephyr’s 10-minute ride will leave the train station near the Zoo’s Farmyard and move on the one-mile track behind the African Journey returning to the station through a beautiful section of the Jones Falls Watershed. The locomotive is a detailed scale replica of the original CP Huntington Train built in 1863 and was manufactured by Chance Rides Manufacturing, Inc., Wichita KS. The train is open daily from 10am-4pm year round, weather permitting. Rides are $5 per rider ($4 for Zoo Members) – in order to receive member pricing you need to present your membership card. The train is wheelchair accessible but cannot accommodate strollers or motorized scooters. (from the Baltimore Zoo's website)
Battle Creek MI - the Binder Park Zoo
GPS Coordinates:
Decatur IL - the Scovill Zoo
GPS Coordinates:
620 East Riverside Ave, Decatur IL 62521
217-422-5911
https://www.decatur-parks.org/
https://www.decatur-parks.org/scovill-zoo/z-o-o-express-train/train_resized-01/
Detroit MI - the Tauber Family Railroad
GPS Coordinates: ~42.47685, -83.14940
8450 W 10 Mile Rd, Royal Oak MI 48067
248-541-5717
Trackage: Point to Point, double track with loop at each end
Fare: $3/one way
https://detroitzoo.org/attraction/tauber-family-railroad/
The Tauber Family Railroad was presented to the Zoo in 1931 by the Detroit News. The miniature railroad consists of two complete trains of six coaches each and one standby. All three locomotives were donated by the Chrysler Corporation in the 1950s. In the ‘80s, the locomotives were renovated, and new coaches were fabricated through a fund-raising campaign co-hosted with The Detroit News. The locomotives were refurbished again in 2008 with new coaches, rebuilt engines, gears, gauges, wheels and bodies. The train serves more than a half million passengers per year.
Getting on the Railroad -- At the front of the Zoo: Board the train at the Chrysler Main Station near the admission booths. The train will take you directly to the back of the Zoo. At the back of the Zoo: Board the train at African Station, located in the far northeast corner of the Zoo past the rhino habitat. The train will take you back to the front of the Zoo.
Ft Wayne IN - the Fort Wayne's Childrens Zoo
GPS Coordinates:
Louisville KY - Louisville Zoo
GPS Coordinates: ~38.20575, -85.70721
1100 Trevilian Way, Louisville KY 40213
502-459-2181
https://louisvillezoo.org/plan/
https://www.lpm.org/news/2021-12-02/louisville-zoo-trains-will-keep-chugging-at-a-different-zoo-and-a-bourbon-distillery
https://www.wlky.com/article/louisville-zoo-expansion-trains-kentucky/46802599
The Zoo Trains began operation in 1969 when the park opened for business. As of 2024, the Louisville Zoo does not have an operating zoo train, but one is in its future.
From WLKY 16FEB2024: The trains took a hiatus after a crash in 2009, which hurt more than 20 people and resulted in many lawsuits. Four years later, the trains started running again but were closed once more in 2019 when a massive sinkhole opened up near the tracks. The Louisville Zoo's big expansion will include the return of a popular attraction. The zoo confirmed that its $40 million Kentucky Trails Exhibit will include a train. The project is in the early stages of the design phase, but the zoo already knows it will use some of the money to get a train back on track. end WLKY
from www.lpm.org
Portland OR - Portland Zoo
The Zooliner is a 5/8-scale replica of the diesel-powered Aerotrain, which is famous for its unusual shape that was influenced by automobile designs of the period when it was built, considered futuristic at the time. The Zooliner was built in 1958, its mechanical parts by Northwest Marine Iron Works and its streamlined bodywork by the H. Hirschberger Sheet Metal company of Portland. It first carried passengers in June 1958. The Zooliner is powered by a 165 horsepower (123 kW) diesel engine with hydraulic transmission, which is WP&ZRy locomotive No. 2. The brakes are pneumatic, the same as on its full-size namesake. The train includes four or five streamlined passenger coaches pulled by matching locomotive No. 2. The rearmost car was rebuilt in late 2005 to resemble a dome car, in connection with installation of a larger and more powerful wheelchair lift. Track gauge is 30 inches, 2'-6".
Steve Morgan via Wikipedia4-4-0 No. 1 Oregon is a 5/8-scale replica of a classic American 4-4-0 steam locomotive of the 19th century. It was built in 1959 by the Oregon Locomotive Works. It is a scale copy of the 4-4-0 locomotive, Reno, of Nevada's Virginia & Truckee Railroad (built by Baldwin Locomotive in 1872). Unlike the original, No. 1 Oregon uses oil as a power source, but it is still a real steam locomotive (not a diesel that is made to look like a steam locomotive). It weighs about 8 tons. It first carried passengers on June 20, 1959, on the temporary Centennial Exposition line in North Portland, but was moved to the then-new Portland Zoo site around the end of the summer, when the exposition ended.
Steve Morgan via WikipediaWashington Park & Zoo Railway locomotive No. 5, the Oregon Express, entering the zoo grounds from the woods of Washington Park. The train now known as the Oregon Express is the only one that is not a copy of a real train. It is a diesel locomotive, WP&ZRy No. 5. It was built in 1959 by Northwest Marine Iron Works/H. Hirschberger and originally was made to look like a steam train. It was later rebuilt to a relatively more modern style, with a slanted front end. The color scheme and decorative motif of the train have been changed a few times, as has the train's name, which has gone from the Circus Train to the Orient Express to the Oregon Express.
Steve Morgan via Wikipedia
St Louis MO - St Louis Zoo
Traverse City MI - Traverse Steam Train
As of 2006, the Traverse Zoo Train no longer had a zoo to run around. The train continued to run thru the 2011 season. Then, in 2012, the Northwest Michigan Engine & Thresher Club obtained the engine and moved it to their place one mile west of Buckley MI, which is about an hour south of Traverse City.
More info can be found at:
The September/October issue of Live Steam & Outdoor Railroading Magazine, page 5
http://www.buckleyoldengineshow.org/spirit-of-traverse-city/
http://www.railroadfan.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=21177
and http://railfanguides.us/mi/traverse/index.htm
Disclaimers:
New format 10/26/23: Please check out my disclaimer page for my standard dribble and contact info here
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