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.
