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Photos: Steam locomotive No. 1916 is brought home to Riverside and Great Northern Railway
Engineer Ken Ristow operates the No. 1916 steam locomotive during its first run at the Riverside & Great Northern Railway in Wisconsin Dells earlier this month. The locomotive was built on this property in 1961 by Sandley Light Railway Equipment Works for the Milwaukee County Zoo but has now returned to the Dells after the zoo decided to use locomotives powered by diesel instead of steam.
Tom Lines, member of the Riverside and Great Northern Railway preservation society, documents the homecoming of steam locomotive No. 1916 at Riverside and Great Northern Railway, where it was built, after being used for 63 years at the Milwaukee County Zoo, in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., Friday, April 5, 2024. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Bob Welke, left, president of the Riverside & Great Northern Railway Preservation Society, is joined by Jim Schulz (obscured) and Greg Johnson to unload steam locomotive No. 1916 and its tender car from a flatbed tow truck earlier this month at the railway in Wisconsin Dells.
Greg Johnson, right, and Bob Welke, president of the Riverside and Great Northern Railway preservation society, work to unload the steam locomotive No. 1916 off of a flatbed trailer at Riverside and Great Northern Railway in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., Friday, April 5, 2024. The train has returned where it was built after being used for 63 years at the Milwaukee County Zoo. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Norman Sandley, left, and his father, Elmer Sandley, founded the Riverside & Great Northern Railway in Janesville along with Sandley Light Railway Equipment Works in the 1940s. They moved both to Wisconsin Dells in 1952.
Jim Schulz, a volunteer conductor at the Riverside & Great Northern Railway, checks the train order board during a stop.
Bill Gardner, left, former owner of Wisconsin & Southern Railroad and a major donor to Riverside & Great Northern Railway, and Bob Welke, president of the railway's preservation society, get ready to ride steam locomotive No. 1916.
Engineer Ken Ristow adds coal to the firebox on steam locomotive No. 1916 at Riverside & Great Northern Railway in Wisconsin Dells. Ristow is a longtime volunteer at the railway and a full-time engineer for the past 25 years at the Milwaukee County Zoo, where he drove and maintained the steam engine.
Volunteer conductor Jim Schulz, a Lutheran pastor in Sheboygan, rides in the back of a coach pulled by steam locomotive No. 1916. The 1.5-mile route takes passengers through woods, past rock bluffs and over a gorge.
A trip on the Riverside & Great Northern Railway takes passengers through the woods and past a miniature replica of Stand Rock, where for years a dog has jumped the expanse as part of an Upper Dells boat tour.
Engineer Ken Ristow operates the steam locomotive No. 1916 at Riverside and Great Northern Railway in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., Saturday, April 6, 2024. The train has returned where it was built after being used for 63 years at the Milwaukee County Zoo. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Volunteer conductor Jim Schulz, a Lutheran pastor in Sheboygan, rides in the back of a train coach pulled by steam locomotive No. 1916 that was returned to the Riverside and Great Northern Railway, where it was built, after being used for 63 years at the Milwaukee County Zoo, in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., Saturday, April 6, 2024. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Volunteer conductor Jim Schulz, a Lutheran pastor in Sheboygan, looks on as steam locomotive No. 1916 changes direction using a turntable at Riverside and Great Northern Railway in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., Saturday, April 6, 2024. The train was returned to the Riverside and Great Northern Railway, where it was built, after being used for 63 years at the Milwaukee County Zoo. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Volunteer Bernie Hotzel paints boards for a train car in the shop at Riverside and Great Northern Railway in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., Friday, April 5, 2024. AMBER ARNOLD, STATE JOURNAL
Riverside & Great Northern Railway volunteer Tom Fleming shows off some of the steam locomotives, including the No. 82, built in the 1950s for the Milwaukee County Zoo but a staple at the R&GNR for over 30 years.
