
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 8, 1995                   TAG: 9507100009
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO  
SOURCE: SHANNON D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ZOO TO PUT ITS TRAIN BACK ON TRACK

It has been almost a year since the last passenger train in the Roanoke Valley was in operation. Although the cause of the derailment that put the Zoo Choo at Mill Mountain Zoo out of commission last July hasn't been determined, it could be chugging again by the end of the summer.

Shortly after the wreck, officials from the Roanoke Valley Jaycees, who own the train, said it would not run again until the cause had been determined. But with no conclusion as to why the train derailed that sunny afternoon, the Jaycees may run the train again after taking safety measures to prevent similar accidents.

"At this point, no one has been able to identify a single cause, so we're doing everything we can" to eliminate all possibilities of future accidents, said Greg Lyons, chairman of the Jaycees board.

The miniature train, which toured the perimeter of the zoo, derailed while rounding a curve. One of the two passenger cars flipped on its side, injuring 13 children and three adults.

One issue raised shortly after the accident was the possibility that excessive speed caused the accident. The train did not have a device to control how fast it went.

Whether such a device will be put on the train before it operates again has not been decided, but Lyons said, "It is something that has been discussed a little bit." There is a fear that using a governor to control the speed of the train may overstress some of its mechanical components, Lyons said.

Some of the actions being taken include replacing parts of the track and reconditioning the train, Lyons said. The Jaycees also are painting and cleaning the train.

"As a nonprofit [organization], the Jaycees don't really have the cash to make it brand new again," Lyons said, adding that they were trying to raise funds to refurbish the train.

Without the revenue from the train, which costs 75 cents for adults and 50 cents for children, the Jaycees have less money for community service projects. In 1993, the train grossed $17,000, Lyons said.

"Certainly, the absence of the train has been a hindrance to the chapter," Lyons said.

With the train out of service, zoo attendance dropped for about two months after the accident, zoo officials said. In July, immediately after the accident, the zoo may have lost about 1,200 visitors, said Beth Poff, executive director.

Attendance picked up again in September, and the absence of the train has had no significant impact on attendance this year, she said.

Poff said she has not had many inquiries about the train except from a few school groups that have asked why it was not operating.

"Generally, people knew it wasn't running," Poff said.

Some visitors at the zoo one day last week, however, said they missed the Zoo Choo.

"That's the first thing I asked when I came in," said Helen McHone, 52, who was with two grandchildren, a great-niece and great-nephew. "I probably rode it when I was a kid."

McHone's great-niece, Kristina Collins, 11, said she rode the train when she was younger, but can barely remember it. Kristina, visiting from Goldsboro, N.C., was hoping to ride again.

Harry and Joyce Moore of Roanoke, visiting the zoo with their granddaughter, Rachel, said the train was one of the things people most looked forward to at the zoo.

"That's kind of the thing that tops it off - a ride on the train," Joyce Moore said.

by CNB