Milwaukee County Zoo will celebrate the addition of a new diesel train engine to its North Shore Bank Safari Train fleet on Sept. 13 during a celebration called Trains & Tracks Day.
The event begins at 9:30 a.m. and will last until 2 p.m. All riders attending the event will receive a conductor hat.
Engine No. 2025 is a a 15” Tier 4 diesel hydraulic locomotive built for the zoo by Swanee River Railroad Company in Lufkin, Texas. It is the first locomotive for the zoo built outside Wisconsin and the first new engine built for it in 33 years, the zoo said on its website. No. 2025 joins currently active engines No. 1992 and No. 1958.
Engine No. 2025’s inaugural ride will depart at 10 a.m. Sept. 13. The first riders on the inaugural train ride will receive a commemorative first-ride button, a cookie from the dining car and a picture of them inside their train car before departure.
The first 500 riders will receive commemorative Engine No. 2025 buttons, and throughout the event riders have the opportunity to answer trivia questions at train crossings to win an entry for a future free ride.
Visitors also have the chance to see where the train engines are maintained during the Train Shop open house from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Milwaukee County Zoo Communications Manager Megan O’Shea said in the media statement that Engine No. 2025 is designed to reduce criteria pollutant emissions by 70% and meets the EPA’s cleanest diesel emission standards.
This new diesel hydraulic engine arrived Aug. 8. The zoo retired two of its old steam engines in 2024.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee County Zoo will debut a new train engine with a public celebration
Reporting by Angelika Ytuarte, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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