The Aerotrain and The Viewliner

The Aerotrain was a streamlined train from General Motors that was introduced in 1955. General Motors demonstrated their new lightweight concept on several railroads in 1956, including the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway, with the train operating in California between Los Angeles and San Diego as a San Diegan. Its general problems included a rough ride and under-powered locomotive. As a result, not a single railroad ordered a trainset despite extensive testing on both the New York Central and Pennsylvania. They were eventually purchased by the Rock Island and used in commuter service until 1966. The photo above was dated March 5, 1956 and taken at the Santa Fe Train Station in downtown San Diego. Although the San Diego Electric Company sign is gonzo, the building remains…



and now functions as the 43-story tall Electra Condos.



Even though the Aerotrain was a bust, that didn’t stop Walt Disney and Bob Gurr from being inspired by its sleek design when they built the Viewliner at Disneyland. Running from June 1957 to September 1958, it served as the precursor to the much longer lasting Monorail. The shot of the Tomorrowland Viewliner below is from July 1958.



An overhead shot from the Skyway, January 1958:



The Fantasyland Viewliner, from 1957:



August 1958:



The Fantasyland Viewliner Station:



Another Skyway shot, this one showing the Tomorrowland Viewliner Station, circa 1957:



See more Disneyland Viewliner photos at my main website.

The Portland Zooliner

There are probably a handful of you Disneyland geeks who wish you could have experienced one of its shortest lived attractions, The Viewliner. Good news: you can! Or, at least a reasonable facsimile of it. This 1960’s/70’s image shows the Washington and Park Zoo Railway in Portland, Oregon, aka “The Zooliner.”



This 5/8 scale narrow gauge train opened on June 7, 1958 and it appears to still be in operation (take that, Disney Corporation!). Like the Disneyland Viewliner, The Zooliner was inspired by the Aerotrain, shown in this 1957 image:



This post wouldn’t be complete without a shot of the Disneyland version:



…and the required closeup:



Anybody booking a trip to Portland now?

See more Disneyland Viewliner photos at my main website.

The Aerotrain: A Source of Inspiration

The September 1955 GM Powerama in Chicago was one of the largest of its kind, lasting 26 days at a cost of $7 million dollars. Some of the highlights included the first solar-powered electric car, a tractor hoe-down with choreographed tractors square dancing, a Bulldozer vs. elephant event, and the GM Aerotrain (see above photo), designed by Chuck Jordan (Chief Designer of Special Projects).

According to advertisements, The Aerotrain was supposed to...

"help railroads solve the problem of a $700 million yearly loss in passenger service.

Pulled by a General Motors Diesel locomtoive, this new 10-coach Aerotrain brings an entirely new concept of speed, comfort, safety and economy to rail travel. It's light, lower and faster — and a novel Air-Suspension system gives you the smoothest, most comfortable ride you've ever had.

Forty passengers per coach travel in air-conditioned comfort at sustained speeds of 100 miles an hour and better."



In March 1956 the Aerotrain made experimental runs for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in California as a San Diegan between Los Angeles (see photo above) and San Diego. Because the trainset had to be turned after each trip and it needed helper locomotives on the Sorrento Grade north of San Diego, the Aerotrain run between the two cities was short-lived. Here it is in San Diego:



In the summer of 1957 Union Pacific ran the Aerotrain as the City of Las Vegas between Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Here's a vintage photo of it at Union Station in LA:



Bob Gurr fell in love with the design of the Aerotrain and it served as his inspiration for the (also) short-lived Viewliner at Disneyland. Bob told me that Chuck Jordan, the Aerotrain designer, passed away a few years ago.

Despite what the ads promised, the Aerotrains were rough riding and uncomfortable. Because of the design, routine maintenance was difficult, and the train was underpowered. The Aerotrain was retired in 1966 and has become the stuff of romantic legend.

See more vintage & current Disneyland New Orleans Square photos on my New Orleans Square web pages.

TPE: Riding on the Viewliner

It may not be as sleek (or long lasting) as its replacement, The Monorail, but I would still love to venture back in time and squeeze into the Viewliner for a ride between Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. I remember seeing my first image of the Viewliner; I had no idea what this miniature was, or what it was doing on the railroad tracks next to the E.P. Ripley.

Apparently, it was inspired by this train, the Aerotrain:



Seeing Walt with a young guest, you get an idea of the scale of this thing:



And a front side-by-side view with the C.K. Holliday; this really looks odd to see the "future" right next to the past:



The Skyway gave guests a great view of the Viewliner:



From one great photo, I get many fantastic zoom-ins!



The Tomorrowland Viewliner Station:



Station Signage:



The Space Bar:



And last (but definitely not least), the original round Skyway buckets:



Enough digressions, let's get back to the Viewliner, in all its bright salmon-colored glory:



And let's not short-shrift the blue Viewliner, shown here at the Fantasyland station:



At the Tomorrowland station:



Last one for today shows plenty of energy: The Skyway, The Autopia, and The Viewliner. Note that the Matterhorn is still part of the future when this March 1959 photo was shot:



See more vintage Disneyland Viewliner photos on my Viewliner web page.

Wednesday WOW: The Viewliner

It’s sleek, it’s silver, and it’s shortlived! Yes folks, it’s Disneyland’s Viewliner, originally the transportation of tomorrow, it was quickly switched out for the much larger (and sexier!) Monorail. You’ll note in this closeup that the lettering on the side says "Santa Fe and Disneyland RY." Anyone know what the RY stands for?



Here’s a 1957 photo of its inspiration, the Aerotrain, which was also short-lived:



On another note, saw the "new" Pee Wee Herman show the other night at Club Nokia—it was out of this world, Globey! For the full write-up, go to my Pee Wee Herman web page.



See more Disneyland Viewliner photos at my website.

Disneyland in focus: The Viewliner

Today’s focus is 100% Viewliner—a few recycled photos and a few new ones. First shot shows the concept art by Sam McKim from 1957; stylistically, it is easy to see that this train of the future paved the way for the Monorail, right down to the color scheme. Billed as the fastest miniature train, the Viewliner was modeled after General Motors’ Aerotrain. Neither the Viewliner or the Aerotrain lasted long; the Viewliner was retired within a year of its debut on June 26, 1957 and the Aerotrain (which provided a fairly uncomfortable ride) after a decade. Today, the Aerotrain has found a new generation of fans through model trains. But I digress...shot #2 shows a proud Walt at the controls and a lucky Mouse-eared guest.



There were 2 Viewliners: Tomorrowland (Red) & Fantasyland (Blue). Here are 2 shots of the Tomorrowland Viewliner Station:





Over in Fantasyland, the Viewliner Station was situated near the Junior & Midget Autopia:





OK, I said 100%, but hopefully Viewliner fans won’t mind if I sneak in these 2 extra detail shots showing both Midget & Junior Autopia areas:





This shot shows the Fantasyland Viewliner cruising through Tomorrowland:





The Viewliner actually ran alongside the Disneyland Railroad at certain points in the journey, as can be seen in this image:



Here are a few more Viewliner shots to round out today’s post:





...and a detail shot:



The Viewliner made its figure-8 trip around the park in September 1958 to make way for the Monorail. See more vintage Viewliner photos at my regular website.