A "Good Zoo" has a Train!
Oglebay Good Zoo
Wheeling, West Virginia
The Oglebay Good Zoo is a small, 35-acre zoo located in Wheeling, West Virginia. The Good Zoo, named in memory of a nature-loving child, Phillip Mayer Good, is just one part of the Oglebay municipal park. The Good Zoo opened in 1977 featuring a small collection of animals and, of course, a miniature train!
The miniature train was a 24-inch gauge railroad featuring a Chance C.P. Huntington train. This locomotive was No. 138, meaning it was the 138th C.P. Huntington train manufactured by Chance Rides Manufacturing.
An early postcard shows C.P. Huntington #138 in the station with a full train of 6 coaches.A second Chance C.P. Huntington train, locomotive No. 152, was added later that year. With the zoo being small, the train ride was quite popular amongst the guests. Two trains were often run during the zoo's annual Halloween Boo At The Zoo event to accommodate the large number of passengers who wanted to ride the train!
As the train left the main station, it traveled through one of the animal yards where a variety of African animals could be seen. The train then traveled through the woods and above a waterfall that lead down into a large pond featuring some of the zoo's water fowl animals. After turning around at the end of the loop, the train traveled back on the same track towards the station. The whole entire ride lasted 15-minutes or more which was quite a nice ride for such a small zoo!
Instead of the ride
being over, the train would pass the station and go through the train tunnel
which also served as the storage area for the train. It then continued through
the woods before turning around again and heading back to the main station.
Over the years, the trains grew old and began to show their age. Parts became difficult to find and became expensive to repair. In the spring of 2020, the Oglebay Good Zoo's trains were posted for sale on an amusement park ride broker website. This was a sign that the trains' days were numbered at the Good Zoo. The train ride at the Good Zoo continued to run throughout the 2021 season. Locomotive #138 pulled the trains while #152 sat in the train shed in need of transmission work, as stated on the trains' for-sale page.
In January of 2022, the Oglebay Good Zoo announced that they would be replacing their aging Chance C.P. Huntington trains with a new trackless train. The new trackless train would provide for wider seats and be able to travel throughout the zoo more on the zoo's main path. C.P. Huntingtons #138 and #152, along with their cars and track, were put up for auction. Many expressed their sadness for the train to be getting rid of the beloved trains that had brought so many memories to families over the years.
My grandmother sent me the postcard of #152 (above) back in 2002 after her and my grandfather visited Oglebay. The memories the Good Zoo trains gave to families over the years are touching and priceless.
While the original trains are gone, the Oglebay Good Zoo's new cost-effective trackless train debuted in 2022. The new "Safari Train" only cost the zoo $138,000 whereas new C.P. Huntington trains from Chance Rides along with updated track maintenance would've cost the zoo significantly more. More information on the Oglebay Good Zoo's new trackless train can be found here: https://oglebay.com/good-zoo/rides-attractions.
There's nothing like a train clickety-clacking down the railroad tracks but at least the zoo found a cost-effective solution instead of just getting rid of the train ride experience.
Where are they now? The Oglebay Good Zoo's original trains did find new homes out west. Their new locations have not been officially announced however it is hopeful that they are being restored and will be chugging along down the tracks again for people to ride one day soon!
Whenever you go to a zoo, always make time to take a ride on the train! Keep that train rolling for years to come! You never know how precious they are until they're gone. A good zoo always has a train!