6 facts about the Dinkey Train
September 28, 2014
6 facts about the Dinkey Train
Dinkey ran for 16 years, from 1891 to 1907.
During its lifetime, more than 2.1 million people rode Dinkey.
Dinkey had a “Donkey” type engine, which was smaller than most engines of the time. It is thought that the name “Dinkey” was derived from slang changing Donkey to Dinkey.
The rail line that Dinkey rode on was called The Ames and College Railroad.
The distance between the town of Ames and Iowa State’s campus was just more than two miles.
Dinkey had an average speed of 10 mph (which was fairly quick for that time).
The Ames Historical Society has a panel on Dinkey and transportation at the Ames Octagon Center for the Arts until Oct. 25.