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 locations featured in BBC's "Super Vets". It featured in an episode of the CBBC programme "Brum" in 1991, titled "Safari Park". Jamie Oliver and Sainsbury's have also used the zoo's background for a television advert. The BBC's "Merlin" used parts of Whipsnade as a filming location for Season 1, and the famous lion landmark is featured in behind the scenes footage from the DVDs. The zoo also served as one of the tasks for BBC Three's "Young, Dumb and Living Off Mum". "Tots TV" visited Whipsnade. In 2002, a 20-year-old elephant named Anna died three days after giving birth to