Miniature Railroad Spotlight
Featuring
The Storyland Valley Zoo
The Storyland Valley Zoo in Edmonton, Alberta Canada
Located in beautiful Edmonton, Alberta Canada, the Storyland Valley Zoo officially opened its doors for the first time on July 1st, 1959. The Edmonton Visitor's Guide from that same year said "This delightful story-book Zoo is unique in North America. Small animals and fowl which may be safely approached by small children inhabit whimsically designed houses straight from a child's fairy tale book. Designed to appeal to children, this little land of fantasy is meant to provide a happy atmosphere in which small children and small animals may get acquainted and feel at home with one another".
From it's humble 5 acre beginning, the Zoo has grown to more than 70 acres and is now home to over 350 animals. Even though the name has changed to "Valley Zoo", it has still maintained a petting zoo area, and much of it's story-book charm.
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The Valley Zoo has two trains: The "Little Western Railway" an Allan Herschell S-16 acquired
in 1959 that pulls 3 left hand load S-16 coaches, and the "Valley Zoo Express" a Miniature
Train Company G-16 acquired in 1965. The G-16 Suburban has a locomotive, two center cars, and
an observation car. The trains delight riders as they traverse nearly 1/3 of a mile of track
throughout the Zoo. Among the highlights of the ride are the 6 foot 9 inch high trestle that crosses
the entrance to "The Little Zoo" area, the 125 foot long tunnel, and the steeply graded curve that takes the
train back through the charming storybook theme railway station.
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The days and hours of operation for the trains can be found at the
City of Edmonton's web page.
Additional information pertaining to the Valley Zoo can be found at the Valley Zoo webpage.
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