|
The Washington Park & Zoo Railway (WP&Z) is a narrow gauge〔Drury, George (ed.) (1995). ''Guide to Tourist Railroads and Railroad Museums, 4th Edition'', p. 213. Waukesha (WI), US: Kalmbach. ISBN 0-89024-246-1.〕 recreational railroad in Portland, Oregon's Washington Park with rolling stock built to 5/8 scale. Opened in three stages in 1958,〔 1959 and 1960, it provides transportation between the Oregon Zoo, Hoyt Arboretum, International Rose Test Garden, and the World Forestry Center. The extended line is about long.〔 There is also a loop within the zoo grounds. The railway carries about 350,000 passengers per year.〔 The railroad is operational year-round (except in January and part of February, when it is closed for required maintenance), but the extended line is used only on weekends in the spring and daily only in summer months. Special events occur during the Christmas holidays. As of 2012, the price of a ticket was up to $5.00 for the full line, $3.50 for the short "Zoo Loop", but zoo admission was also required. Zoo officials announced in September 2013 that the line would be closed for about one year for construction, with the last day of service scheduled to be September 22. The temporary closure was necessitated by the construction of the zoo's new Elephant Lands exhibit, which will also include remodeling of other parts of the zoo grounds. The short-loop route through the southwest part of the zoo grounds was scheduled to be removed permanently, and during the one-year suspension of service a new section of track was to be laid to create a replacement for the short loop. Train operations returned running on the new Zoo Loop line as of November 22, 2014. ==History== Originally named the Portland Zoo Railway, the 〔"Zooliner Carries 106,000 Passengers, Earns $10,000 Net Profit in 90 Days". ''The Oregonian'', September 21, 1958, p. 19.〕 first section of track opened on June 7, 1958,〔"Zoo Railway Carries 2,606". ''The Sunday Oregonian'', June 8, 1958, p. 16.〕 more than a year before the zoo opened fully at the same site. This service used the ''Zooliner'' trainset, the railway's first and only train at that time,〔 and operated daily except Mondays through the summer.〔"Russian Bears Inspect New Home at Zoo". ''The Oregonian'', August 8, 1958, p. 26.〕 Meanwhile, the zoo's new West Hills site was only open on weekends, because it was still under construction, and even by August penguins and bears were the only animals moved from the old zoo,〔 which remained in operation. The initial train service around the yet-unfinished new zoo grounds was suspended in mid-September 1958,〔〔"Zoo Railway To Shut Down". ''The Oregonian'', September 12, 1958, Section 3, p. 12.〕 not to resume until the zoo's opening in July 1959. A fundraising campaign was launched, to raise money to build an extension – outside the zoo grounds – through the woods of Washington Park and also to build a steam locomotive.〔"Group to Push $1 Shares in Zooliner To Extend Track, Add Steam Engine". ''The Sunday Oregonian'', August 17, 1958, p. 21.〕 It was decided to model the planned steam engine on a real one, a Baldwin 4-4-0 type, and construction began in the autumn, with plans to use it initially at the Oregon Centennial Exposition, scheduled to be held the following summer in North Portland (at the site of what is now the Portland Expo Center).〔"Portland Zoo Railway Reveals Choice Of Steam Locomotive for Planned Train". ''The Sunday Oregonian'', September 7, 1958, p. 31.〕 The steam engine was named ''"Oregon"'', or alternatively "the ''Oregon"''. In the summer of 1959, the Portland Zoo Railway operated trains at two different sites.〔"Small Trains to Operate At Centennial, City Zoo". ''The Sunday Oregonian'', May 3, 1959, p. 36.〕 Nos. 1 and 2, the ''Oregon'' and the ''Zooliner'', served a temporary railway line through the grounds of the Centennial Exposition, which lasted for about three months. The ''Zooliner'' entered service on the exposition's opening day, June 10, along with a second train hauled by a utilitarian diesel switcher locomotive temporarily filling in until the new steam locomotive, No. 1, was ready. The steam locomotive entered service on June 20,〔"27,867 Pass Fair Turnstile". ''The Oregonian'', June 22, 1959, p. 1.〕 and it and the streamlined ''Zooliner'' proceeded to carry passengers daily at the exposition all summer. Meanwhile, the railroad at the zoo's then-new site in the West Hills remained closed while construction continued on the zoo itself, but reopened on the latter's opening day, July 3, 1959 (by which time most animals had been moved from the old zoo).〔Richards, Leverett G. (July 4, 1959). "Joy Reigns Supreme at West Hills Zoo As Wonders of New Park Are Unveiled". ''The Oregonian'', p. 1.〕 For the next few months, the zoo line was served only by a train hauled by the locomotive that had been used during construction of that line.〔 That locomotive (later becoming No. 5) was a diesel engine made to look like a steam locomotive, and the train was called the ''Circus Train''. The engine and its cars have been modified several times since and are currently known as the ''Oregon Express''.〔Terry, Jeff (March 2006). "Trains at the Zoo — Part Two". ''Railfan & Railroad'', pp. 9–11. Carstens Publications. .〕 When the Centennial Exposition ended (on September 17, 1959), the two trains used there were moved to the new zoo line, although the steam locomotive did not enter service at the zoo until January 1960.〔"Zoo Engine Set for Haul". ''The Sunday Oregonian'', January 3, 1960, p. 4.〕 The extension eastwards through the park to a new station near the Rose Gardens opened on May 28, 1960.〔〔"Park, Zoo Line Opens". ''The Oregonian'', May 28, 1960, p. 7.〕 Like the two trains, the small Washington Park station building was also first used at the Centennial Exposition and was moved to the new line after the fair closed.〔 It was replaced by a new building in 1982.〔 The railway was renamed the Washington Park and Zoo Railway in 1978,〔 following the zoo's change of name (in 1976)〔(【引用サイトリンク】 About the Oregon Zoo )〕 to Washington Park Zoo. When the zoo was renamed again in 1998, as the Oregon Zoo, the railway was not renamed. The line also served the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry from 1958 to 1992 while that museum was located near the zoo. A suspension of service forecast to last at least through summer 2014 was due to begin on September 23, 2013, to allow construction of a new elephant exhibit area and changes to the railway's route within and near the zoo grounds.〔 On November 22, 2014, operations resumed on the new Zoo Loop line. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Washington Park and Zoo Railway」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|