Omaha Zoo Railroad - History

History

The Omaha Zoo Railroad was one of the first major attractions added after the zoo's 1963 re-incorporation as the Henry Doorly Zoo. As part of its centennial celebration, the Omaha-based Union Pacific Railroad decided to sponsor the construction of a train ride at the zoo. The zoo's railroad initially had just over two miles (3.2 km) of 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) gauge track (roughly half the width of standard mainline railroad tracks) in the form of a twisted oval with a connecting track through the middle. Two wyes (Y-shaped track arrangements enabling the train to reverse direction) were constructed at the intersections of the connecting track and the main oval. The track was laid using rail from the Union Pacific's Encampment branch in Wyoming. Due to the hilly terrain of the zoo's riverside location, grades of up to 6% (for most railroads 2% is considered steep) were required and some of the curves were well under 150 feet (46 m) in radius. Track crews from the Union Pacific were brought in to lay the track, and operation commenced on July 22, 1968 under the supervision of UP Roadmaster Robert Kovar.

Fittingly for a train ride sponsored by the Union Pacific, the Omaha Zoo Railroad was initially themed after the UP's First Transcontinental Railroad route, for which Omaha was the eastern terminus. Passengers boarded at the "Omaha train depot" located in the Aksarben Nature Kingdom (today known as Dairy World) and rode to "Promontory Junction" at the south end of the zoo's lagoon, where they had the option of disembarking at the small depot and catching a later train back to Omaha. The ride also featured a climb up the 6% grade of "Sherman Hill", named for the Union Pacific's own grade over the continental divide in Wyoming. The steam locomotive was painted and decorated to resemble Union Pacific's No. 119, the famous locomotive used in the laying of the real "Golden spike" marking the transcontinental line's completion, and the four coaches were given names significant to the UP's history. The UP influence was perhaps most evident in the Omaha Zoo Railroad's logo: a Union Pacific shield with a smiling tiger superimposed over it. Though the direct references to Union Pacific place names have faded over the years, UP's support of the zoo railroad has remained strong. For years the train equipment was trucked to the Union Pacific's Omaha shops for winter maintenance, and when the shops closed much of the machinery was donated to build a new shop on site at the zoo. The Union Pacific Engine House, as this building is called, was dedicated in July 1994. Union Pacific crews continue to maintain the crossing signals along the zoo railroad's route.

During the 1970s the Omaha Zoo Railroad and the zoo as a whole saw large increases in attendance. Especially on the weekends, it became evident that the original four car train could not provide the needed capacity, and a search was begun for a second train. By chance, a small tank locomotive of Austrian Heritage named "Riva" was found in Romania and its owner, the Plasser and Theurer Company, was willing to donate it to the zoo. The locomotive was restored in the UP's shops and entered service at the zoo in 1976, together with two extra cars that were purchased to augment the original four. Kenefick Station was added in 1981 allowing guests to board the train closer to the zoo's main entrance. In the early years the train commonly ran figure eights through the zoo using the connecting track and often reversed direction on the wyes. This practice ended in the early 1970s due to the need for faster turnarounds and the new locomotive's inability to negotiate a tight curve on the north (Bailey) wye. The connecting track lay idle for two decades before finally being removed in the mid-1990s. Today the trains circle the park in a clockwise direction, covering roughly 1.8 miles (2.9 km) and taking 20–25 minutes on each circuit.

The Promontory Junction Station was abandoned in the early 1990s. Today, guests can begin their ride at the Omaha Depot or Kenefick Station. Beginning in 2010, both trains have operated simultaneously on busy weekends allowing more frequent departures from the two stations.