Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Wednesday WOW: More Viewliner



The Viewliner lives forever in my Holy Grail folder of images to find; rarely would I let the opportunity go by to get one. Lasting barely a year, it was replaced by the larger and sleeker Monorail that still exists in the park. This June 1958 Skyway shot shows the Tomorrowland Viewliner at the Station. Of course, the zoom-in closeup is included at no extra charge. At its scaled size, it almost looks like a toy train!



Zooming in to read the ticket holder sign:



Over at the Tomorrowland Train Depot, you can see the edge of the banner proclaiming the Grand Canyon Diorama:



New vs. old in this posed shot featuring The Viewliner next to the C.K. Holliday:





It may be corny, but this is probably my favorite time for the park, while it’s still enjoying a naive infancy, which was changed by the time 1959 came around. See more Disneyland Viewliner photos at my website.

10 comments:

Major Pepperidge said...

WOW is right! And it's the BLUE Viewliner, which is seen much less frequently than the red (salmon?) train. Amazing that the photographer managed to get such a crisp clear shot while on the moving Skyway as well.

I agree with you, if I could go back in time to visit the park, I just might choose 1957/58!

Thufer said...

That IS an amazing picture. Not a crowd that day.
I agree, this was an naive time when kids could ride on tops of wagons amongst other things that never would be allowed soon there after.
It also was the time when I personally think Walt was just amazed as everyone else at what he had done and where he and the park were headed. It was pretty much a blank canvas for him to paint his magic.

Connie Moreno said...

I can not find the appropriate words to adequately convey my utter AMAZEMENT!!!!! WOW!!!

stu29573 said...

Very. Very. Cool.

Vintage Disneyland Tickets said...

Wow indeed - love that Blue Viewliner!

I think we all agree; lets set the date to 1958 when we get that time machine!

This may have been "asked and answered" but; is the current (old) Tomorrowland Train Station the same structure as one of the Viewliner Stations? The steel beams with the googie holes in them look identical... The roof is different, but otherwise they seem very much alike, plus isn't the current Tomorroalnd Station from 1958 - Coincidence?

Daveland said...

Tim - The frames sure look similar, and the dates would confirm that fact as well. You could be onto something!

jedblau said...

That sign is just....just...friggin' amazing.

The Viewliner Limited said...

WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW!

Enough Said!

outsidetheberm said...

Nope, Viewliner, you missed one...

Wow!

That said - Tim, I'm not sure but wasn't there a debate about all those stations being built at the same time? Guess I'm a little late to this conversation.

Great shots, Dave.

Chiana_Chat said...

Fantastic! That second shot - that's a perfect one for anyone who would want to make a model of the Viewliner, its station and area. It makes me want to!