The 2024 Halloween Train at the Essex County Turtle Back Zoo Railroad

Описание: Another spooky season in the books! This Halloween once again saw many guests in full costume, coming in for the scariest train ride of the year. Unfortunately the blue train broke down, so only the red train was running. As such, 382 was out all night; this year, it wore a phantom in front of its smokebox door, which was brought in by one of the weekday crew members. Speaking of the crew, we had all four drivers returning from last year alongside a fifth one, although thanks to 306's absence, it wasn’t worth waiting for everyone else. Thus, only this video was done. No LED lights on the train unlike last year, as they were unfortunately a pain to maintain, but normal string lights were installed just in time!

Since my last video of 382, there have been some more small changes. One of the more significant changes involved was the readjustment of the throttle, which finally corrected the infamous delay it had since 2022. The air compressor system saw an update, as evident by the short "hiss" you hear as it approaches the end of the turnaround. Also, while it is still using its regular whistle, the original valve for it reportedly broke, so it is now using the valve that normally holds the holiday lights whistle. I'm currently not sure if this is going to be permanent.

This Halloween was definitely a blast, despite being short on one train. Hopefully I'll be able to ride the spooky train next time, in addition to driving the train if I’m still around at the zoo during that time. Until then, enjoy the video! Holiday Lights are next!