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Disneyland Railroad

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Railway transport

   An attraction poster for the Disneyland Railroad.

   The Disneyland Railroad (DRR) is a narrow-gauge railroad located at
   Disneyland in Anaheim, California, United States, that was inaugurated
   on that theme park's opening day, July 17, 1955. The live steam railway
   was constructed at a cost of US$240,000 and each of the original four
   locomotives cost in excess of $40,000 either to build or restore. It
   remains one of Disneyland's most popular attractions as riders can use
   it as transportation to other areas of the park or to simply ride the
   trains on the so-called "grand circle tour." Unlike the Disneyland
   Monorail System, which requires riders to disembark at the Tomorrowland
   station, passengers on the DRR can remain on the trains for as long as
   they wish. The railroad is, in fact, the first thing visitors see upon
   entering Disneyland via the main entrance.

Layout

   Laid to three-foot gauge, the most common narrow-gauge measurement used
   in North America, the train's track runs in a continuous loop around
   the park, which has subsequently expanded past the tracks in some
   places. The line features grade crossing signals, automatic block
   signals, and a roundhouse for locomotive storage.

   Under the original track plan, two trains (one freight and one
   passenger) could operate on the railroad simultaneously, running in the
   same direction. A passing track was incorporated at Main Street station
   where one train had to wait to allow the other to pass. Later, for
   safety reasons, and to allow the use of more than two trains, the line
   was changed so that trains followed behind each other, no longer able
   to pass one another. The passing track was disconnected and now is only
   used to display a handcar. Walt Disney dictated that a minimum of two
   trains were to operate at all times, and it is not uncommon for three
   or four trains to run simultaneously on busy days.

   A detail dating from the park's opening can be seen from the railroad.
   As the train passes behind the "it's a small world" attraction in
   Fantasyland, it crosses a service road that is protected by two
   miniature wigwag crossing signals. The Santa Fe Railway offered the use
   of full-scale crossing signals, but Disney declined as they would be
   out of scale with the trains. These scaled-down replicas were designed
   and built by the San Bernardino shops of the Santa Fe as a gift to
   Disneyland. They operate with automotive windshield wiper motors.

Rail cars

   Passenger seating originally consisted of forward-facing bench seats in
   several railcars. The 1958 addition of the "Grand Canyon/ Primeval
   World" diorama necessitated a change in the rolling stock; instead of
   facing forward, the benches of the new flatcars were changed to face
   right so that the diorama could be better enjoyed by the passengers.

   Today the seating consists mostly of open-air, freight-styled coaches
   with bench seating still facing right for ease of loading and unloading
   at the depots and for easier viewing of the "Grand Canyon/Primeval
   World" diorama. Five open-air, clerestory-roofed observation cars with
   forward-facing seats dating from the park's opening were removed from
   service shortly after the diorama's opening in 1958 but were returned
   to service in 2004 after undergoing a three-year restoration. One
   trainset, the Excursion III, still faces forward. The Lilly Belle
   presidential coach is occasionally added to the rear of a train, as is
   an enclosed wooden caboose. In 2006, Disney added the first new steam
   engine in 47 years, The Ward Kimball, named after a legendary Disney
   animator.

History

From concept to inauguration

   The Disneyland Railroad was inspired by Walt Disney's love for trains
   and his live steam backyard Carolwood Pacific Railroad, a love he
   shared with Disney animators Ward Kimball and Ollie Johnston. Until
   1974, it was sponsored by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway,
   during which time it operated as the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad.

   The train originally consisted solely of custom-built,
   five-eighths-scale equipment. The Walt Disney Company constructed the
   original two locomotives in its own workshops under the supervision of
   Roger E. Broggie. Patterned after the Lilly Belle, a miniature steam
   locomotive Broggie had made for Walt's backyard Carolwood Pacific
   Railroad, these were also models of classic "Wild West"-style American
   4-4-0s, but built to a larger five-eighths scale. No. 1 was given a big
   wood-burning "balloon" stack and a large, pointed pilot (cowcatcher)
   while No. 2 was given a straight stack and smaller pilot common to East
   Coast coal-burning locomotives.

   Three more locomotives were later acquired from outside sources, since
   this was cheaper than building new ones and since many narrow-gauge
   lines were closing down and selling their equipment. All three were
   given extensive renovations before entering service, including new
   boilers. Number 3 and the "new" number 5 are "Forney" locomotives, a
   type of tank locomotive. As an 1894 product of the Baldwin Locomotive
   Works, number 3 is the oldest locomotive in service at any Disney
   property.

   Walt Disney, along with California Governor Goodwin J. Knight and Fred
   G. Gurley (in his capacity of president of the Santa Fe) presided over
   the opening-day ceremonies. Since Disney made frequent rounds of the
   park from opening day forward and since his railroading hobby gave him
   extensive experience in the operation of steam locomotives, it was not
   uncommon to see him in the cab of one of the locomotives in the
   capacity of engineer.

The Grand Canyon/Primeval World diorama

   Artist Delmer J. Yoakum (left) painting the Grand Canyon diorama in
   1955.
   Enlarge
   Artist Delmer J. Yoakum (left) painting the Grand Canyon diorama in
   1955.

   The 1958 addition of the "Grand Canyon" diorama painted by artist
   Delmer J. Yoakum (added to what was once a long tunnel through a
   backstage service area) necessitated a change in the rolling stock as
   well; instead of facing forward, the new flatcars' benches now faced
   right so that the passengers could better enjoy the scenes. The
   diorama, which includes the park's only taxidermic animals in lifelike
   poses, is the longest in the world. Painted on a single piece of
   seamless canvas and representing the view from the canyon's south rim,
   the rear of the diorama measures 306 feet (93 m) long, 34 feet (10 m)
   high and is covered with 300 gallons (1,100 L) of paint.

   The cost was US$367,000 and took more than 80,000 labor hours to
   construct. The main theme of Ferde Grofe's "On The Trail" is piped in
   through the train's sound system as it enters the diorama. In 1966, the
   diorama was expanded with a prehistoric theme to become the "Grand
   Canyon/Primeval World" diorama, with Audio-Animatronic dinosaurs from
   Walt Disney's Ford Magic Skyway attraction at the 1964 New York World's
   Fair. A 96-year-old Hopi chief, Chief Nevangnewa, blessed the trains on
   the diorama's opening day.

Alterations and modernization

   The 1969 installation and opening of The Haunted Mansion required minor
   realignment of the main line since part of the new attraction extended
   beneath the roadbed. The DLRR was in near-continuous operation since
   the park's 1955 opening day until December 2004 when the system was
   shut down for reballasting, regauging and new block signals as part of
   Disneyland's fiftieth anniversary celebration.

   In 1999, Disney purchased the inoperable Maud L locomotive from the
   Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio, and sent it to a Southern
   California shop in 2004 to restore it and transform it into a
   Disneyland Railroad locomotive. This 1902 Baldwin loco is now
   Disneyland Railroad locomotive number 5 and is the first added since
   1959. Originally named for Maud Lepine, daughter of one of the original
   owners and a name kept throughout the unit's service life, it is now
   named after the late Ward Kimball, one of Disney's Nine Old Men and an
   avid railroad preservationist.

   The attraction reopened on March 17, 2005. It was the railroad's most
   prolonged closure in park history.

Stations

   A view of the Main Street railroad depot in 1955. The building is in
   the Queen Anne style with mansard roofs, widow's walks, dormers, and a
   clock tower. People walk by a cannon, streetlamps, and a horse-drawn
   surrey.
   Enlarge
   A view of the Main Street railroad depot in 1955. The building is in
   the Queen Anne style with mansard roofs, widow's walks, dormers, and a
   clock tower. People walk by a cannon, streetlamps, and a horse-drawn
   surrey.

   The 1.5-mile (2.4 km) loop originally only stopped at Main Street, USA
   and Frontierland, but now stops at Mickey's Toontown and Tomorrowland
   as well. Main Street Station is designed to coordinate architecturally
   with the rest of Main Street, and is the first Disneyland structure
   visitors see upon entering the park. A sign on the roof shows an
   elevation of 138 feet (42 m) above sea level and a population number
   that roughly corresponds with the number of visitors to the park over
   the past five decades. As of January 2005 the number stood at 500
   million. A handcar is on permanent display on a siding in front of the
   station that once allowed two trains to run the loop, while passing
   each other at the two original stations. It was donated to Walt Disney
   himself around 1964 by its maker, Kalamazoo Manufacturing. A replica of
   the Lilly Belle (the locomotive, not the coach) is on display inside
   the station as are various print articles pertaining to the DLRR.

   The onetime Frontierland station stop now serves New Orleans Square.
   Its station is a platform whose canopy is of similar style to that at
   Main Street Station. A building on the opposite side of the tracks
   (inspired by Ward Kimball's Grizzly Flats depot) once served as the
   station platform; it was removed from service in 1962 and now serves
   primarily as an ornamental detail and break room for train crews. The
   telegraph sound effect that can be heard emanating from the building is
   actual railroad code that repeats the first two lines of Walt Disney's
   1955 opening day speech.

   Fantasyland Station was rethemed to a somewhat "cartoonish" design in
   1992 to correspond with the new Mickey's Toontown, which opened in
   January, 1993. Tomorrowland's station features a Googie-style
   architectural design and was originally light blue (the exit signs are
   still white and blue), but was repainted copper, brown, and orange in
   1998 to correspond with the new Tomorrowland color scheme. The station
   has recently undergone renovation with new metal railings and pavement.
   For unknown reasons, the station was left with its 1998 colors and its
   new elements were the same colour. This section of Tomorrowland was not
   painted in time for the fiftieth anniversary celebration and will most
   likely be completed in the off-season.

   The voice of the stationmaster who announces the arrival of a train at
   each stop is that of actor Pierre "Pete" Renoudet, a Disney studio
   employee.

Locomotives

   Engine #2, the E.P. Ripley, makes a station stop in Mickey's Toontown
   at Disneyland.
   Enlarge
   Engine #2, the E.P. Ripley, makes a station stop in Mickey's Toontown
   at Disneyland.

   All the Disneyland locomotives burn diesel fuel, which is less
   polluting (though more expensive) than the coal, wood, or heavy "Bunker
   C" oil normally used on steam locomotives.

   The Disneyland Railroad currently has five narrow-gauge steam
   locomotives (the original four are named after former Santa Fe CEOs):
     * 1: C.K. Holliday, a 4-4-0 built in the Walt Disney Studio in 1954;
       went into service at Disneyland on Opening Day, 1955. Named for
       Cyrus Kurtz Holliday, founder of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1859.
     * 2: E.P. Ripley, a 4-4-0 built in the Walt Disney Studio in 1954;
       went into service at Disneyland on Opening Day, 1955. Named for
       Edward Payson Ripley, an early president of the ATSF after its 1895
       reorganization.
     * 3: Fred Gurley, built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1894, went
       into service at Disneyland March 28, 1958. The locomotive, named
       for the then-current chairman of the ATSF, Fred G. Gurley, is the
       oldest single piece of railroad equipment in use at any Disney
       theme park. The 2-4-4T tank locomotive, used in Louisiana to
       transport sugar cane, was purchased in working condition for
       US$1300; nevertheless, more than $35,000 was spent on its
       restoration. A commemorative brass plaque celebrating the Gurley's
       centennial was mounted in the cab in 1994.

   Inside the cab of Engine #1, the C.K. Holliday
   Enlarge
   Inside the cab of Engine #1, the C.K. Holliday
     * 4: Ernest S. Marsh, a 2-4-0 built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in
       1925; went into service at Disneyland July 25, 1959. Named for the
       Santa Fe's then-current president, the Marsh originally served the
       Raritan River Sand Company in New Jersey. During shipment from New
       Jersey to California, the locomotive was misrouted and ended up in
       a rail yard outside Pittsburgh. Disney placed a call to personal
       friend Marsh who personally oversaw the rerouting and rapid
       shipment of the locomotive to its final destination.
     * 5: Ward Kimball, a 0-4-4T Forney, serial number 20925, built by
       Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1902 for the Laurel Valley Plantation
       of Louisiana and later received in trade from Cedar Point Amusement
       Park as the inoperative Maud L in 1999. Cedar Point added a lead
       truck during its service there, making it a 2-4-4T. Restoration was
       begun by Boschan Boiler and Restorations of Carson in 2004 and the
       unit went into permanent service on June 25, 2005, as part of the
       park's fiftieth anniversary celebration. Named for the famous
       Disney animator, the Kimball makes a slight break from tradition as
       well. Since the DLRR's inauguration, no Disney characters have been
       depicted on the rolling stock or at the stations in order to
       enforce the image of the railroad as a genuine, working system. The
       new locomotive's headlight features a gold leaf silhouette of
       Jiminy Cricket, a Ward Kimball creation. The silhouette is based on
       a drawing of the character Kimball made shortly before his death.

Attraction facts

   Walt Disney's "Lilly Belle" miniature live steam locomotive on display
   at Disneyland Main Street Station in 1993. Walt's railroad hobby was
   the inspiration for the Disneyland Railroad.
   Enlarge
   Walt Disney's "Lilly Belle" miniature live steam locomotive on display
   at Disneyland Main Street Station in 1993. Walt's railroad hobby was
   the inspiration for the Disneyland Railroad.
     * Grand opening: July 17, 1955 (Opened with Disneyland Park)
     * Designer: WED Enterprises
     * Original name: Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad (1955-1976)
     * Locomotives: 5
     * Track length: 1.2 miles
     * Show length: 18:00
     * Required ticket: "D"
     * Ride system: Narrow-gauge steam train

Trivia

     * To offset construction costs, the Walt Disney Company solicited a
       number of major railroads for corporate sponsorship of the
       attraction in 1953; the Santa Fe was the only company to respond.
     * From 1955 until 1974 (when the railroad's sponsorship ended), the
       Santa Fe "rail pass" was honored in lieu of the required "D"
       coupon.
     * The narration provided inside the cars at various points throughout
       the trip around the park once featured the late voice actor Vic
       Perrin, and later, Thurl Ravenscroft.
     * By Disneyland's own estimates, the trains make more than 13,000
       trips around the park annually.
     * There are also Disneyland Railroads at Disneyland Paris and Hong
       Kong Disneyland.
     * Ever since the trains first started operating in 1955, they have
       covered enough track to circle the globe more than 150 times.
     * May 6-7, 2006 the E.P. Ripley was displayed at the annual Fullerton
       Railroad Days in Fullerton, California. This was the first time any
       of the locomotives has been displayed at a public event off-site.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disneyland_Railroad"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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