Great Whipsnade Railway and is manned by platform staff during train operation. The Whipsnade Central station has an old-fashioned signal box which can be seen when leaving or approaching the station platform. Great Whipsnade Railway The Great Whipsnade Railway, also known as The Jumbo Express, is an English, narrow gauge heritage railway that operates within ZSL Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire, England. Construction of the railway started in 1970 and the initial line opened on 26 August 1970. The line provided rides within the animal enclosures and an additional attraction in its own right. Originally called the Whipsnade and Umfolozi Railway, it began as
Joan Beauchamp Procter The track she followed still exists within Whipsnade Zoo, named in her memory, as "Miss Joan’s Ride". Joan Procter's involvement with large, potentially dangerous animals continued in her final years. At Whipsnade she had a close encounter with an escaped brown bear, which she captured by enticing it with some honey before shutting it in a lavatory. Towards the end of her life, when she could only get around the grounds of London Zoo in an electric wheelchair, she was still often accompanied by a 3 metre long Komodo dragon on a leash. Although seriously ill, she continued to work