A recent acquisition of some black and white negatives will be yielding the posts you will see for the next few days. I love scanning negatives...they give you the ability to zoom in and see details that aren't available from prints. First up is the parking lot, circa 1974...the one that so many have previously bemoaned the loss of to California Adventure. Hopefully the new expansion will rectify those moans!
The water tower at the Frontierland/New Orleans Square Station is an actual working water tower. Those of you that have taken the Grand Circle Tour have most likely seen a train take a thirsty drink here.
How the tower looks today, sans the Santa Fe logo:
I love love love the buildings on the other side of the tracks; just wish they were accessible. They would make a way cool museum of sorts, like the one at The Main Street Train Station.
Zooming into the Telegraph Office window:
The same area today (well, maybe not TODAY, but at least semi-recently):
Time to depart the station (and this post) with one more then and now comparison shot:
See more vintage and contemporay Disneyland Railroad photos at website.
4 comments:
Oh Dave,
I know DCA is getting better with each passing 'plus'; but to me, there was a perfect place, with pot hole filling a 24/7 priority. It was 100 acres of anticipation, it was the start and finish to a day of 'happiness' and it contained an excitement all it's own.
For me; its not so much a distaste for DCA as it is a longing for a missing old friend in that special 'neighborhood' of ones youth that swells with pride and warmth of a perfect day.
I always give thanks for pictures of the parking lot. It was special.
I can understand; it makes me think of the scene from "Vacation" where the Griswolds race across the parking lot to get to Wally World. Today, with the layout of the park, there is very little opportunity to do that with every inch of the park developed. It's all about trade-offs I guess.
Neato pics!! Those buses made me think of Grad Nite. Did you notice that one of the windows in the telegraph office was open??
What Thufer Said.
He always sums up what I would have said if I posted it first.
Dave, I remember the Santa Fe signs on the tank and around the park. It added tremendously to the realism for me, since Santa Fe served our home region, the signs were very familiar on crossings and stations, etc. and I thought the Disney train was a real train because of this.
Santa Fe was welcomed in our area as competition to SP, which was widely disliked due to it's business practices. See "The Octopus" by Frank Norris. (Don't read the book, just the Cliff notes)
The replacement logo is ok, but a little too exuberant.
JG
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