For nearly 100 years, the miniature Tauber Family Railroad has been one of the most popular attractions at the 125-acre Detroit Zoo, especially on a warm and sunny day.
Dedicated in 1931, three years after the zoological park opened, the train, a gift from the Detroit News, originally followed a 2.5-mile track that encircled the park and is said to have helped the zoo survive the Great Depression, charging just 5 cents and lifting visitors’ spirits.
Not everyone was excited by the train, however. Noise complaints from the residential neighborhood near the north end of the park led to the current configuration of two one-way tracks that run along the south side, with stations at each end.
The original locomotive and passenger cars were retired in 1948 and replaced with three new aerodynamic, Streamliner-style locomotives provided by the Chrysler Corporation in 1949, 1950, and 1951.
On July 30, 1980, one of the trains struck a gravel truck, injuring 31 people. Subsequently, in 1981, the state of Michigan declared the railroad unsafe, and it was shut down. The trains returned to service in 1984, after Detroit News readers contributed $32,000 toward the $462,000 cost of refurbishing the railroad system. In 2008, the trains were refurbished again.
Today, the two trains with six open-air coaches serve more than half a million passengers annually on a seasonal basis. The $3, seven-minute rides begin at the Chrysler Main Station at the front of the zoo, and the return trip from the African Station at the back of the park is especially handy for tired visitors at the day’s end.
Detroit Zoo historians note that over the years, notable Detroiters and celebrities — including Henry Ford in 1941 and actor and comedian Tim Allen in 1995 — have served as guest engineers, surprising unsuspecting passengers.
This year, the train will run from the end of May through Sunday, Oct. 25.
This story originally appeared in the May 2026 issue of Hour Detroit magazine. To read more, pick up a copy of Hour Detroit at a local retail outlet. Click here to get our digital edition.
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