Disneyland Railroad
Wikipedia
Disneyland History for Middle School Readers
The Disneyland Railroad, formerly known as the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, is a 3-foot narrow-gauge heritage railroad and attraction in the Disneyland theme park of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, in the United States. Its route is 1.2 miles long and encircles the majority of the park, with train stations in four different park areas. The rail line, which was constructed by WED Enterprises, operates with two steam locomotives built by WED and three historic steam locomotives originally built by Baldwin Locomotive Works. The ride takes roughly 18 minutes to complete a round trip on its main line when three trains are running, and 20 minutes when four trains are running. Two to four trains can be in operation at any time, three on average.
The attraction was conceived by Walt Disney, who drew inspiration from the ridable miniature Carolwood Pacific Railroad built in his backyard. The Disneyland Railroad opened to the public at Disneyland's grand opening on July 17, 1955. Since that time, multiple alterations have been made to Its route, including the addition of two large dioramas in the late 1950s and mid-1960s. Several changes have been made to its rolling stock, including the conversion of one of its train cars into a parlor car in the mid-1970s, and the switch from diesel oil to biodiesel to fuel its locomotives in the late 2000s.
Beginning at Main Street, U.S.A. Station adjacent to Disneyland's entrance, where a pump-style handcar built by the Kalamazoo Manufacturing Company can be seen on a siding, the trains of the Disneyland Railroad travel along its single track in a clockwise direction on its circular route. An engineer accompanied by a fireman operates the locomotive, while conductors at each end of the train supervise the passengers. Prior to departing Main Street, U.S.A. Station, the engineer must confirm whether the signal light in the locomotive's cab is green, indicating that the track segment ahead is clear, or red, indicating that the track segment ahead is occupied by another train.
Once the signal light in the locomotive turns green, the journey from the Main Street, U.S.A. section begins with the train traversing a small bridge, passing by the Adventureland section, and going through a tunnel before arriving at New Orleans Square Station in the New Orleans Square section. While the train is stopped at this station, where the locomotive takes on water from the railroad's water tower if needed, a sound effect of a telegraph operator using a telegraph key to enter Morse code can be heard emanating from the old Frontierland Station depot building. The sound effect continuously repeats the first two lines of Walt Disney's 1955 Disneyland dedication speech. Adjacent to the old Frontierland Station depot building, a freight house building used as a train crew break and storage area can be seen, as well as a fully functioning historic semaphore signal connected to the station's block signal.
After the journey restarts, the train travels past the Haunted Mansion dark ride attraction, enters a tunnel through the Splash Mountain log flume attraction, and crosses a trestle bridge over the Critter Country section. It then moves over another trestle bridge that wraps around the Rivers of America in the Frontierland section, and rolls through another tunnel before reaching Mickey's Toontown Depot between the Mickey's Toontown and Fantasyland sections. While the train is stopped at this station, a non-functioning water tower can be seen on the opposite side of the track to the station's depot building.
Once the journey resumes, the train moves across an overpass and passes by the facade of the It's a Small World water-based dark ride attraction before reaching a fuel pump disguised as a boulder, where the train stops if the locomotive needs to be refueled. From this point, the train cuts across an access road and goes underneath the track of the Disneyland Monorail before stopping at Tomorrowland Station in the Tomorrowland section.
When the journey continues, the train goes across another access road and enters a tunnel containing the Grand Canyon Diorama followed by the Primeval World Diorama. As the train runs alongside the Grand Canyon Diorama, the main theme from On the Trail, the third movement of Ferde Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite, can be heard; and as the train runs alongside the Primeval World Diorama, music from the 1961 film Mysterious Island can be heard. Shortly after leaving the tunnel, the train arrives back at Main Street, U.S.A. Station, completing what the park refers to as The Grand Circle Tour.
The attraction was conceived by Walt Disney, who drew inspiration from the ridable miniature Carolwood Pacific Railroad built in his backyard. The Disneyland Railroad opened to the public at Disneyland's grand opening on July 17, 1955. Since that time, multiple alterations have been made to Its route, including the addition of two large dioramas in the late 1950s and mid-1960s. Several changes have been made to its rolling stock, including the conversion of one of its train cars into a parlor car in the mid-1970s, and the switch from diesel oil to biodiesel to fuel its locomotives in the late 2000s.
Beginning at Main Street, U.S.A. Station adjacent to Disneyland's entrance, where a pump-style handcar built by the Kalamazoo Manufacturing Company can be seen on a siding, the trains of the Disneyland Railroad travel along its single track in a clockwise direction on its circular route. An engineer accompanied by a fireman operates the locomotive, while conductors at each end of the train supervise the passengers. Prior to departing Main Street, U.S.A. Station, the engineer must confirm whether the signal light in the locomotive's cab is green, indicating that the track segment ahead is clear, or red, indicating that the track segment ahead is occupied by another train.
Once the signal light in the locomotive turns green, the journey from the Main Street, U.S.A. section begins with the train traversing a small bridge, passing by the Adventureland section, and going through a tunnel before arriving at New Orleans Square Station in the New Orleans Square section. While the train is stopped at this station, where the locomotive takes on water from the railroad's water tower if needed, a sound effect of a telegraph operator using a telegraph key to enter Morse code can be heard emanating from the old Frontierland Station depot building. The sound effect continuously repeats the first two lines of Walt Disney's 1955 Disneyland dedication speech. Adjacent to the old Frontierland Station depot building, a freight house building used as a train crew break and storage area can be seen, as well as a fully functioning historic semaphore signal connected to the station's block signal.
After the journey restarts, the train travels past the Haunted Mansion dark ride attraction, enters a tunnel through the Splash Mountain log flume attraction, and crosses a trestle bridge over the Critter Country section. It then moves over another trestle bridge that wraps around the Rivers of America in the Frontierland section, and rolls through another tunnel before reaching Mickey's Toontown Depot between the Mickey's Toontown and Fantasyland sections. While the train is stopped at this station, a non-functioning water tower can be seen on the opposite side of the track to the station's depot building.
Once the journey resumes, the train moves across an overpass and passes by the facade of the It's a Small World water-based dark ride attraction before reaching a fuel pump disguised as a boulder, where the train stops if the locomotive needs to be refueled. From this point, the train cuts across an access road and goes underneath the track of the Disneyland Monorail before stopping at Tomorrowland Station in the Tomorrowland section.
When the journey continues, the train goes across another access road and enters a tunnel containing the Grand Canyon Diorama followed by the Primeval World Diorama. As the train runs alongside the Grand Canyon Diorama, the main theme from On the Trail, the third movement of Ferde Grofé's Grand Canyon Suite, can be heard; and as the train runs alongside the Primeval World Diorama, music from the 1961 film Mysterious Island can be heard. Shortly after leaving the tunnel, the train arrives back at Main Street, U.S.A. Station, completing what the park refers to as The Grand Circle Tour.