Adding a new shot of a location I already have allows me to do a photo timeline, which my detailed self loves to do. The Frontierland/New Orleans Square depot has always been a favorite of mine, and a recent acquisition inspired me for today’s post. Image #1 shows the structure and how it looked when Disneyland first opened in 1955, followed by a shot from July 1959. The side covers had been added by this point and the paint scheme had changed.
April 1960:
November 1961, which is the new acquisition. I was excited to obtain this one as it shows a broader view of the building than my other vintage shots.
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Sometime around 1963/1964 the Depot was moved across the tracks to make way for New Orleans Square. Here’s a semi-recent shot of the Depot, which still remains a favorite of mine:
A few from when the railroad was closed for trains but this particular station was open for guests to actually walk right up to it!
See more photos at my main website.
5 comments:
I have always loved this little building, it's just so cute.
I can't say that I personally remember it in the old location, but I have a vague memory of realizing that it had moved.
Sometime back, in a GDB post, Steve DeGaetano, who is a fountain of knowledge regarding the DLRR, described that the station was modeled directly on a design in a pattern book of railroad stations. The book was available in public domain from Google Books or a similar source and I grabbed a copy, but now cannot find it, which is typical of me.
While the railroad was shut down for the relocation of the River during Galaxy's Edge construction, a temporary walkway was provided across the tracks and a special exhibit on the railroad was set up outside the station. I got to cross the tracks and walk around the little building. I took a lot of pictures, but not enough, there are still details I didn't document. But it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me.
Thank you for these interesting pictures, Dave.
JG
JG - I did the same thing when the exhibit was open. It sure was great to be able to walk up to that building! The contemporary photo in this post was taken during that visit.
That's great, I had no idea that they had ever made this station accessible to guests in recent times. It makes sense that with the DLRR down this would have been the only time it could have been. Congrats to you both for getting the shots. I remember Steve DeGaetano's posts on Mice Chat 10+ years ago. Very knowledgeable in regards to the DLRR, but abrasive. Based on his avatar pic I think he was a CM that worked on the DLRR for a while. Until now I never saw the change to the building itself. I recall hearing how the Toontown/Fantasyland station was supposed to look like the original but I'd look at pics of the two and think "How?!" I see it now. The original 1955 shape was a much smaller footprint.
Dave, your photo doesn't show the nice display of historic photos and interpretive information? Was that added after your visit or taken down before? Also when I was there, the handcar and one of the engines were parked where you could walk right up to them. Really very cool.
I can share my pics with you if you like.
JG
JG: I looked at my website's photos again; the one I posted here was from a year before. The ones I took with closeups of the depot were February 2016. I don't recall a historical display, but that probably did not interest me as much as getting close to the handcar, the station, and the depot! I'm adding a few to this post now.
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