Mansfield Monday: Jayne on the Disneyland Railroad!

No April Fools’ jokes today. Just the real thing. I recently acquired another shot from Jayne Mansfield’s May 1957 trip to Disneyland. In this shot, she is making the day of one of the Disneyland Railroad conductors. I have a feeling he had to go him early from his shift after having had Jayne sign an autograph, using his back as a desk. How many guys can claim that?



Zooming in, you can see the detail of the Santa Fe buttons on his vest as well as one of the tickets he collected for train fare. I wonder if it was a ticket Jayne had touched?

See more Jayne Mansfield at Disneyland photos at my main website.

Attraction Posters: The Disneyland Railroad

The original attraction posters from Disneyland are a prized possession for vintage Disneyland geeks! The bold colors and simple stylized graphics are timeless. Today’s post will center on the ones for the Disneyland Railroad. The first image shown here is probably unfamiliar to most; while not truly a Disneyland attraction poster, it could be found at the Main Street Train Station, as seen in this image below from August 1958:



Most likely it was supplied by Santa Fe (an original sponsor) and was from their vintage collection. There is another poster that once hung at the station in the early days (shown below) that I have yet to find the original inspiration for or a larger more visible version. One day!



Here is the iconic original poster that promoted the three stations/depots at Disneyland:



This image from the summer of 1955 shows that attraction posters were not part of the entrance experience:



The other interesting thing that it DOES show is that originally, two trains could run side-by-side from Main Street to Frontierland:



By September 1956, attraction posters graced the front entrance along the wall on either side of the Mickey Floral:



From October 1956:



In this shot you can see the Main Street Station poster towards the left of the photo. Though stamped January 1959, this image is most likely from December 1958, since the Christmas bunting is still up.



When the Grand Canyon Diorama was introduced to the Park in March 1958, it got its own attraction poster:



You can see it at the entrance in this June 1959 image, behind the woman in the gray sweater:



1966 saw the addition of the Primeval World diorama:



This October 1966 image shows the poster next to one of the Disneyland Mail Boxes:



Frontierland/New Orleans Square eventually received its own railroad poster, but it was many years later and the style had radically changed, so I cannot include it with this group of classics!

See more Disneyland Railroad photos at my main website.

Evolution of a Depot

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.



Get that “E” coupon ready! NO CASH!!



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.

The Viewliner Sits Empty

Here’s an undated shot of the Disneyland Viewliner, the attraction known for its extremely short lifespan at the Park (June 1957-September 1958). The poor cast member driving the Tomorrowland Viewliner in the photo looks extremely bored.

In 1959, the Tomorrowland Viewliner station was demolished to make way for the Monorail, The Matterhorn, and the Submarine Voyage attractions.

Wonder what was on the other side of that billboard we see from the vantage point of the Skyway bucket?

UPDATE: It pays to have readers who aren't lazy like me OR have a better memory. Thanks to Darryl for pointing out that in a previous post I showed the front side of what is most likely the billboard in the previous shot:

See more Disneyland Viewliner photos at my main website.

Motor Boats and The Viewliner

This undated 1950’s image of Disneyland was taken from the dock of the Motor Boat Cruise attraction and affords a rare view of the Fantasyland Viewliner station. Why so rare, you ask? Because the Viewliner barely lasted a year before it was removed.



To give you an idea of where the photo was taken, here’s a May 1958 view from the Skyway, showing both the Motor Boat and Viewliner attractions:



A detailed shot of the Fantasyland Viewliner station, with (appropriately) the Blue Fantasyland Viewliner parked at the station.



Another view of the same area from the ground:



A detailed view of the station:



…and the Motor Boat Cruise dock, as well as the regular Disneyland Railroad Fantasyland Depot:



For Motor Boat Cruise fans, here’s an August 1958 shot:



I can just here the little girl now. “I don’t see mom and dad, Tommy. Full speed ahead!”



I believe the track seen in this portion of the photo belongs to the Viewliner:



Got enough to last you for the weekend? I sure hope so!

See more vintage Disneyland Viewliner photos at my main website.

Nikon on Opening Day

In this Opening Day at Disneyland image from July 17, 1955, California Governor Goodwin Knight, Walt Disney, and Santa Fe President Fred Gurley descend the steps of the Main Street Train Station to join the throngs of guests below. Behind Knight and Disney is Art Linkletter, who acted as host for the live telecast.

When I zoomed in to get a closer look at the photographer’s camera, I was happy to see it was a Nikon! Maybe not quite as advanced as mine, but the same brand. Like me, he was living dangerously by walking along the edge of the wall of the steps, most likely attempting to get ahead of the action. I wonder what happened to his photos from that day?!?

See more vintage Disneyland opening day photos at my main website.

The Only Train Of Its Kind!

How can one image yield three additional images? When it’s of the Disneyland Viewliner, the “only train of its kind in the world!” That may not necessarily be a good thing, especially since the Viewliner lasted barely a year at Disneyland (June 26, 1957–Sept. 15, 1958).



Nearby you can see the Disneyland Railroad Fantasyland Depot (background) and the entrance to the Motor Boat Cruise (foreground):



And of course a closeup of the Viewliner itself. It looks so tiny when you see people next to it. It does not look very comfortable! One can easily see why Walt scrapped it in favor of the Monorail!



For you youngsters, the two boxes in the foreground are called phone booths. That’s where people used to go when they had to make a phone call and they were away from home.

See more Disneyland Viewliner photos at my main website.

Futura Friday

Let’s hop into our December 1960 Autopia vehicle and cruise into the weekend! Unfortunately I can’t get a good sharp closeup of the dashboard sign from this image.



Note the Santa Fe sponsorship sign is still on the Tomorrowland Train Depot:



Here’s another December 1960 shot that I previously posted:



Cropping in closer, we get the real joy of this shot: focusing on the determined look of the little boy who is behind the wheel of a "car" for the very first time.



Have a great weekend!

See more Disneyland Autopia photos at my main website.