A Trip to the Zoo

[roryglasgow]

It's amazing the animals you can see at the Zoo. We went to the Ellen Trout Zoo in Lufkin, TX today. We had a really good time. While we were there we saw two animals of the ferroequinius species.

This first one uses a very clever sort of camouflage. It looks like a steam engine, but it's really a diesel! The engine is located in the cab. The engineer/conductor sits right behind the cab.

-Rory

 

[roryglasgow]

Here is another view. That's the Intrepid Explorer Bryan Glasgow. He's my driving force sometimes when it comes to trains!

-Rory

 

[roryglasgow]

As we were creeping through the jungle, we found this beautiful old Queen locomotive sitting asleep on a short section of track. Here you can see the builder's plate. The number is 58044, and the year is 1924. She's a Baldwin 2-8-2 Light (?) Mikado, number 110, that belonged to the Angelina County Lumber Company. Sorry, but for some reason these photos are somewhat washed out. The locomotive sits in the shade, but the batteries in my el-cheapo camera must be getting critically low...

Here is a link with another picture of this locomotive (in action!) and a little info on the lumber company:

http://www.cets.sfasu.edu/ANR/Pages/mill.htm

-Rory

 

[roryglasgow]

Here is a close-up of the undercarriage. The colors were sorta washed out here, so I did a fake sepiatone effect. This is really a beautiful old locomotive, but it has seen better days.

-Rory

 

[roryglasgow]

A close-up of the cab. There was something being stored inside...it looks like window screens. I couldn't get a good look at what it was, though. The "screens" aren't visible from this angle.

-Rory

 

[roryglasgow]

The last decent shot I got...

-Rory

 

[roryglasgow]

Here's another picture of #110:

http://donross.railspot.com/dr0701/aclc110.jpg

I hope you enjoyed the show!

-Rory

 

[Tyson Rayles]

My kinda zoo!!

 

[Woodie]

a train zoo?

Go to the zoo, and not have any pics of the exhibits???

Where are the pics of the rabid caged animals with Walther's catalogue, dremel, and a 2-6-0 Mogul hanging from the trees for them to play with?

Did you feed them??? Take a couple of rusty old turnouts, a broken cab controller, and coal tipper kit to throw through the bars for them??

 

[roryglasgow]

hehehe I did take pictures of the animals. Here's a group of American alligators. They were pretty well gorged on rabbits. They probably look pretty tame compared to the crocs in Australia!

-Rory

 

[Woodie]

dunno bout the crocs......

dunno bout the crocs.... ......... but they caught a shark yesterday, on a 20lb line, just north of Sydney. When filleting it, they found a skull, leg, and hip bone and some fabric in it..... no idea who it is! No one's been reported missing while swimming! Probably some unsuspecting tourist!
Actually, statistics say that 80% of shark attacks are tourists, and 60% of those, have only been in the country less than 5 days. (the victims, not the sharks!)

click here for the gruesome details

 

[sumpter250]

Rory,
It's hard to tell from the pics, and there was no mention at either link,,so,,,, the Angelina County Lumber co. #110 was a narrow gauge loco.
Mention was made of the Houston, East & West Texas Railway which was 3' gauge, and the Angelina & Neches River Railroad apparently started with the purchase of the Angelina County Lumber Co. logging railroad, in 1900 . My information indicates that the A&NR still exists, or at least did up to 1994.
Cool links, nice photos, I don't now about anyone else, but a ride behind #110 would be far better than one behind the "disiesel in drag".
Pete

 

[roryglasgow]

Thanks for the info, Pete!

The Houston East and West Texas Railway (HE&WT, or "Hell Either Way Taken") was originally narrow gauge. But on July 28, 1894 the entire line was converted to standard gauge (well, almost all of it...they did some of the spurs and sidings later as I understand it). It took a few thousand railroad workers, inmates and volunteers to make the conversion. As I understand it, on conversion day a train departed Houston and, as it passed, the crews converted the track. The returning train was standard gauge.

But the logging railroads, by and large, remained narrow gauge.

Next time I'm in that area, I'll try to get more details on the A&NR.

-Rory