dual personalities

Yesterday was the 50th anniversary of the Zooline Railroad at our famous flyover zoo.

Director Marlin Perkins looks at the plans in 1963.

A golden spike is driven into the ground on August 29, 1963.

Our Zoo is one of the biggest (and the best) zoos in the country and our summers are famously hot and humid. The Zoo train offers a comfortable way to get around the 90-acre Zoo campus. For your $5 these days (the cost was 30 cents in 1963) you get a 20-minute narrated tour weaving through tunnels and past favorite animal exhibits on a 1½-mile round trip. The Zooline Railroad has transported more than 35 million visitors since 1963 and it is still one of the most popular attractions there. (The railroad operates year-round, weather permitting.)

My mother loved the Zoo train. It was one of the few things she was gladly willing to pay for back in the day. We loved it too. After she died, I always insisted on riding the train with my own children, and I still feel close to my mother as I ride around the familiar route.

Our favorite engine for obvious reasons.

I wish I had a picture of my mother on the Zoo train, but, alas, I do not. Instead, here’s a picture of Captain Kangaroo visiting the Zoo! Perhaps this was on the opening day–I’m not sure. (All pictures are from the Zoo website.)

Have a nice weekend!