Although undated, I am hazarding a guess that these two shots are either on or before Opening Day, July 17, 1955. Why would I think that? To begin with, the not-too-full parking lot and the tow truck; the bunting and duo of flags on the front of the E.P. Ripley, the scaffolding on the front of the Opera House at left on the photo...that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
Zooming in, the engineer in the cab of the Ripley almost looks like Ward Kimball. The guy is wearing a bowler hat instead of the typical engineer garb.
In this second shot, not only do you see the second set of tracks that originally was part of the Disneyland Railroad, but you see two crazy renegade gals crossing the tracks. Where they are standing is the same area that the Kalamazoo Hand Car is parked today.
See more vintage & current Disneyland Railroad photos on my Disneyland Railroad web pages.
that's ward, alright.
ReplyDeleteand definitely before opening day at an employee family preview event. ward and fam went in costume, of course.
neat shot!
That first B&W's a winner. What detail!
ReplyDeleteActually what would you call a photo that's not really b&w, but has a slight hue like these?
ReplyDeleteIf the photo has a brownish cast, then it's called a "sepia" print. This one seems to have a bit of a reddish cast; not sure what I would call that!
ReplyDeleteThanks for confirming, Pickle Barrel!
Dave - Thanks for the reply. I understand the sepia tone print. Maybe all others are known as tinted. Either way, your photos are a real joy.
ReplyDeleteYour "two crazy renegade gals" appear to be 4 crazy people. A man with the gal on the left and another person on the far right, maybe the mother? Both gals seem to me to be escorting the hidden people across the tracks. And are the gals in poodle skirts? How neat.
ReplyDeleteGood eye Tanya - I didn't catch the extra feet!
ReplyDelete