MILWAUKEE, Wis. — Dieselization came late to the Milwaukee County Zoo’s railroad, but it has arrived.
The zoo announced today (Thursday, March 14), that it has sold the two steam locomotives for its 1.25-mile, 15-inch gauge railroad — No. 1916, the Henry J. Grant, a 4-4-2 built in 1961, and No. 1924, a 4-6-2 built in 1972 — to the Riverside & Great Northern Preservation Society, a non-profit Wisconsin Dells tourist railroad.
No. 1916 is set to depart April 1, while No. 1924 will be transferred on Oct. 31.
The two steam engines had shared operating duties with two diesels. Proceeds from their sale will help fund purchase of two new diesels, the first of which, a Tier 4-compliant unit, is expected to arrive in fall 2024 or winter 2025. The zoo said in a blog post that the changeover “is anticipated to decrease particulate emissions by 90%,” and that the change “embraces up-to-date technology, improves engineer ergonomics, and enhances guest experience with the ability to operate year-round, weather permitting.” Details of the second diesel acquisition are yet to be determined.
The zoo said it plans to announce a limited run of operations for No. 1924 before it departs later this year.
The Zoo’s steam operation has played a role in educational and engineering programs in the past. It has been part of a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) program with local schools [see “Students help design new water tower …,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 14, 2018], and the locomotives were also used to test biomass fuels by the Coalition for Sustainable Rail.
More on the history of the zoo railroad is available here.
that’s funny I didn’t think the milwaukee county zoo will sell these two steam locomotives at lease they are going to a new home not far away
Fantastic that they’ll be at the R&GN, a real gem in all the tourist stuff of the Dells. I always tell people to skip the boats and go to Riverside for a better experience and more bang for your buck.
Buncha horse “stuffing,” agree with Charles, just SAD. Woke has invaded the Milwaukee County Zoo (until now one of, if not the best, Zoos in the country). Just SAD. Kinda like EV’s
Charles, could you leave your political bias at the door, Please. This is not the forum for political discord!
The environmental comments from Milwaukee County are a political issue, only tangentially related to railroading.
What about your orange messiah Charles who flew every weekend to Mar-a Lardo and now flys to court dates almost daily.
“…and enhances guest experience with the ability to operate year-round, weather permitting.”
Seriously? Weather permitting? If the equipment is enclosed, weather isn’t an issue! What a joke.
Someone needs to learn to lie better.
Their departure from the Zoo is bittersweet because they will be returning to the place that they were built and to a group that truly cares about the future of these locomotives. The locos will be in good hands (in some cases the same hands) at the R&GN amongst a group of individuals that are dedicated to the preservation of Sandley’s wonderful little machines. As an attraction in the Wisconsin Dells, the R&GN can offer a large audience the opportunity to enjoy these trains in the place they were built.
I would have thought that converting those two steam engines to propane or CNG would have been cheaper and cleaner than acquiring and running those two diesels’ exhausts??? I guess the engineer didn’t like parking his butt on a gas tank??? 🙁
I’m so pleased with this cosmic enhancement to my guest experience, and the saving of the planet by the reduction of “particulate emissions.” Now if we could just get China and India to replace their amusement park steamers, the future of mankind (oops – humankind) would be assured.
Maybe if Joe Biden, the world’s Number One Consumer of aviation fuel, would fly his massive entourage and fleet of jets and helicopters to Delaware on only 51 times this year instead of 52, we could save the Zoo Train in Milwaukee.
Charles – I think that’s too much of an “ask.” How about giving the Haitians a few billion dollars in exchange for burning fewer tires?