Busch Gardens Railway
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Busch Gardens Railway refers to two narrow gauge railways that operate in the Busch Gardens amusement parks in Williamsburg, Virginia and Tampa, Florida. Both railways use 3 foot gauge track, and are roughly 2 miles long, connecting to different areas of their respective parks. Both parks use steam locomotives of the 4-4-0 wheel arrangement, all of which were manufactured by Crown Metal Products, to identical specifications, but are each given unique cosmetic styling.[1]
Williamsburg
The Busch Gardens Railway in Williamsburg connects the Heatherdowns, Festa Italia, and New France themed areas of the park, and features three trains, two of which were built for the park. Engine number 661, the Balmoral Castle, features British styling, painted in a blue livery inspired by the Caledonian Railway Company, with "CR" was painted on the tender. Engine number 238, Der Hochbeinige, has European styling and a red livery, representing the Preußische Staatsbahn (Prussian state railways). Engines 661 and 238 were both constructed in 1974 for the park. The third engine is number 17, the Alpengeist Express (later shortened to Alpen Express), originally built in 1972 for the Lakeside Amusement Park in Salem, Virginia, and was acquired by Busch Gardens in 1997,[2] coinciding with the opening of the Alpengeist Rollercoaster.[3] The engine, when restored for use at Busch Gardens, was given a straight stack and a different headlight, its bell removed, its cowcatcher replaced with a snowplow, and given a green livery. However, it retains a relatively more American appearance compared to the park's original two engines. In 2018 the name of the blue train was changed from Aberdeen Express to Aberdeen Railway Company.
Serengeti Railway (Tampa)
The Serengeti Railway, originally the Trans Veldt Railway, is the railway at Busch Gardens Tampa.[4] Opened in 1971, the railway connects the park's Nairobi, Congo and Stanleyville themed areas. The railway has 4 engines numbered 4, 5, 9, and 601. Engines 4 and 9 were built in 1971 for the park, and feature African styling, the former has three domes while the latter originally had two domes, but no. 9 was later given a third dome as well. Engines 5 and 601 were built in 1971 for Six Flags St. Louis and in 1974 for Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia, respectively. No. 601 was given a third dome when acquired by Busch Gardens, but aside from this and their liveries, numbers 5 and 601 are largely unchanged from their original appearances and thus appear distinctively American in contrast to numbers 4 and 9. Engine 4 is currently out of service.