Great Whipsnade Railway 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 a short line running from near the children's zoo. It was later extended to form a loop through several paddocks. The railway is now over a mile in length.
Whipsnade Zoo enclosure is a surviving feature from the earliest days of the zoo. The collection of animals was boosted in 1932 by the purchase of a collection from a defunct travelling menagerie and some of the larger animals walked to the zoo from Dunstable station. The distinctive white lion hill figure was completed in 1933. During the Second World War, the zoo acted as a refuge for animals evacuated from the Regents Park London Zoo. The celebrity giant pandas Ming, Sung and Tang were among these animals but were soon returned to London to boost morale in the capital. During 1940,