Omaha Zoo Railroad

[AndyWS]

My wife and I were in Omaha last weekend; one of the main reasons for our trip was to visit the Henry Doorly Zoo. They have an amazing collection of animals, but unsurprisingly the main attraction for me was the "Iron Horses."

The 30" gauge Omaha Zoo Railroad has two operational steam locomotives, one is a very nice replica of the 1868 4-4-0 No. 119 that represented Union Pacific at the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad in Utah, constructed exactly 100 years later when UP funded the construction of the Zoo Railroad. The other is an Austrian-built 1890 0-6-2T.

They have four signalized crossings on the railroad, three of which are on the site. The one near the Giraffe Encounter has 12"x24" LED lights with a WCH mechanical bell on a post on top of the relay case. The lights are mounted above the crossbucks and the south crossbuck is assembled backwards to say "Crossing Railroad" when read in the natural manner.

Then there are two crossings with MSCo wigwags, one of which doesn't seem to work. Both have very odd "aftermarket" banners that appear to be made out of WRRS 8" lightheads modified to be double-sided. The final crossing, just before the "Omaha" station, has a single pair of Griswold lights facing each way and no bell. Just as described by the page author, for some reason the lights shut off once the train occupies the crossing.