Happy Anniversary Number 5!

Nine years ago today, The Disneyland Railroad put Locomotive No. 5, The Ward Kimball, into service. It was named after the late Ward Kimball (seen in the cab in photo #1), a legendary Disney animator, musician, and railroad aficionado. Upon first glance, you might think that photo number 2 is showing the New Orleans/Frontierland Depot at Disneyland. Nope…it's Ward Kimball's backyard railroad setup, The Grizzly Flats in 1962. Yup…Ward loved trains!



Today's post shows a few shots that I have taken over the years of the #5 at Disneyland. Hope you enjoy!











Zooming in for a closer look at the headlamp, you can see one of Ward's beloved creations, Jiminy Cricket.



See you back at the station!



See more Daveland Disneyland Railroad photos at my main website.

Trip Report, Pt. 1

My TPE series will be briefly interrupted to take us back to the present to see what's currently going on in Anaheim. As the deadline draws closer, all kinds of exciting things to see are springing up at Disney California Adventure. The entrance looks wonderful with Buena Vista Street growing quickly behind it; unfortunately, the lights of the marquee letters were off when I shot this photo (granted, it was after 1am!).

The next day, things were much brighter as I captured a few daylight shots:



Zooming in, you can see the Hyperion Bridge:



Glad to see the installation of interesting weather vanes:













Apparently these trolley line wires are faux, added for visual authenticity only.



Next to signage, I am almost as big a geek about light fixtures. You can imagine the feelings elicited by what I see here.





I am also digging the signage, which does a wonderful job of conveying the era.











Much of The Carthay Circle Theater is back under wraps...



but there are still quite a few parts of it that are impressively on display:



More cool light fixtures...I need my heart medicine! Wowza!





Cars Land was abuzz with activity on Sunday; here are a few shots of the progression being made:











The rockwork is absolutely stupendous; so well done.



Last but not least for today, the Eureka Mill got a little refurb recently and its new paint color is pretty darn fab!



Much more to come! See more vintage & current Disney California Adventure photos on my Disney California Adventure web page.

Evolution of a Train Station

In 1948, Disney released a movie titled, “So Dear To My Heart,” which features a small Victorian-styled Train Station called the Fulton Corners Station. Once the film was finished, Walt offered the Train Station set to Ward Kimball for his backyard railroad setup, The Grizzly Flats. Since the building was a set, it was somewhat flimsy, and Ward & Team spent much time making it sturdy (including adding a backside to it, since the set had none). Picture 1 from today shows the station in Ward’s Backyard, circa October 1962. This photo also features engine #1, Chloe (named after Ward’s daughter). Two more shots from this set show Engine #3, Olomana; both engines came from Oahu.





Flash forward to 1955; Walt is busy with Disneyland, and of course, being the railroad enthusiast that he is, he wants a train to circle the park. For the Frontierland Train Station, he remembers the Fulton Corners set and asks Ward if he can have it back; after the amount of time and labor that Ward put into it, his response is a firm “no” (can’t blame him!). So instead, Walt just recreates the whole darn thing, using a different paint scheme. This black and white shot shows the original location of the Frontierland Depot, which was much closer to the New Orleans Street area. Eventually, it was moved back when the New Orleans Square area was built. The slob on the left definitely has a modern sensibility about him.



Here are two color views from 1958. You can see the corner of Adventureland/Frontierland in the background, which gives you an idea of how close it was.





And here is how the Station looks today, in its present location. Sadly, it is on the other side of the tracks and we do not get to sit inside or look around this quaint looking turn of the century building. Note the removal of Western Union from the Telegram signage; and who says Disney is all about crass commercialism!





If you love this station and want one of your own, you can always dig up one of the model kits made years ago by a company called PIKO, and hunt down one of the Chloe models; Ebay is probably your best source.







To see more vintage & current Disneyland Railroad photos, visit my website.