About The Zoo Choo Train
Click the small pictures for a closer look.
The train is a G-16 Suburban
model manufactured by the Miniature Train Corporation (MTC) of Rensselaer,
Indiana. The Suburban model has
one engine and three cars. The motor is a 20-hp gasoline Honda V-twin. The engine
has all 8-wheels under power and has been converted to hydraulic drive. The
train has three passenger cars, each with 6 padded seats that are each 29
inches wide. A total of 18 adults or up to 36 children can ride at a time.
The current paint livery was
applied by the Roanoke Chapter, of the National Railway Historical Society. See
also the Norfolk & Western Historical
Society. The engine is numbered #630.
The engine is a late phase EMD-F2 model having three porthole windows on the side of the
engine. However, there is a brass plate that declares the engine is an F3. There
are other later models that are labeled F7. The engine models all have the same
three porthole pattern.
Each car is modeled after an actual
N&W rail car. The first car is the Pocahontas car
#1829, the girl car--best for young girls. Pocahontas was a famous girl!
The second car is the Cavalier car #538, the boy
car--best for boys and graduates of UVA. (Graduates of VT sit anywhere they
like, of course, because the whole train is the right color.) The word
Cavalier refers to a "rider of a horse."
The last car is the Powhatan Arrow car #582, the granddaddy
car. The back car is best for granddaddies and kids not afraid of possibly becoming a
tiger snack. Powhatan was the father of Pocahontas.
The seat cushions are 29 inches wide, enough for
one adult, two children or three sardines. The best seat on the train is in the
middle of the Powhatan Arrow car in the back. It has an arrow pointing at it!
(See the picture.) Trainmen
always know to ride in the middle of the car. A flat spot on a wheel is not such
a noisy problem if you ride in the middle of the car.
The herald on the back declares
the name of the train is "The Arrow."
There are many other miniature trains of this type throughout the United States.
Go to MTC Trains for some more pictures.
The track gauge is 16 inches
between the rails.
