| Walt Disney World Railroad |
Article Index for Walt Disney |
Limousines in Walt Disney World |
Website Links For Walt Disney |
Information AboutWalt Disney World Railroad |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT WALT DISNEY WORLD RAILROAD | |
| disney attractions | |
| magic kingdom | |
| railways of amusement parks | |
| united states railroad museums and tourist lines | |
| three foot gauge railways | |
| SHOPPER'S DELIGHT | |
|
The Walt Disney World Railroad (WDWRR) opened at the Magic Kingdom in September 1971. Operated by Main Street Operations, the 1.5-mile Narrow Gauge railroad circles the entire park with stations at Main Street, U.S.A. , Frontierland , and Mickey's Toontown Fair . The railroad has four different Locomotive s and four sets of Passenger Car s. The four locomotives are rebuilt narrow-gauge locomotives, originally built more than seventy years ago by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia . The WDWRR transports over 1.5 million passengers each year, making it among the busiest steam-powered railroads in the country. Walt Disney was an avid railroad enthusiast who had his own 1.5 inch scale, 7-1/2 inch gauge live steam railroad in his Los Angeles -area backyard, the Carolwood Pacific Railroad . Disney's love for the railroad is reflected in each of the four steam railroads at Disney parks in California , Florida , Paris , and Tokyo . A round trip on the WDWRR takes around 20 minutes. The railroad operates daily, year-round along with the rest of the park, although for safety reasons it is closed during the fireworks show due to its proximity to the staging area (about 100 yards or so behind Fantasyland ). It also does not operate during special events such as Grad Nite , Night of Joy, and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party . HISTORY The four locomotives of the WDWRR came from the Ferrocarrilles Unidos de Yucatan (United Railways of Yucatan) on Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. These narrow-gauge locomotives, originally built between 1916 and 1928, hauled passengers, hemp, and other goods to the vicinity of the railroad's headquarter city of Merida . Disney scouts, lead by Roger Broggie , visited and purchased five locomotives in 1968, however the fifth was deemed to be in too poor of condition to be restored and was later sold upon arrival in the US. The four other locomotives were brought to Tampa Shipyards in Tampa, Florida and restored by a crew headed by Disney imagineer and accomplished live steam builder Bob Harpur , who had previously built four replica narrow-gauge locomotives from scratch for Texas' Astroworld theme park as well as Six Flags Over Georgia . While the mechanics and machinists of Tampa Shipyards went to work on the tired running gear, Dixon Boiler Works of Los Angeles was busy constructing new boilers for all four locomotives. The locomotives were converted to burn oil (more specifically, no. 2 diesel), a more practical and cleaner-burning fuel, and cosmetically backdated to give off the appearance of a much older vintage when bright colors and polished brass were commonplace on these hard-working machines. The tenders and passenger coaches were all built from the ground up at the shipyard. Of the four locomotives, there is one 2-6-0 or "Mogul" (#2 "Lilly Belle", 1928), one 4-4-0 "American" (#4 "Roy O. Disney", 1916), and two 4-6-0s (#1 "Walter E. Disney" and #3 "Roger E. Broggie", both of which were on the floor of the Baldwin erecting shop at the same time and their construction numbers are just one digit apart. The locomotives' namesakes were company founder Walter Elias Disney (#1), his wife Lillian Bounds Disney (#2), trusted right-hand man and friend Roger Edward Broggie (#3), and brother/business partner Roy Oliver Disney (#4), who saw to the completion of his late brother's dream after his death in 1966 and opened Walt Disney World just months before his own death in 1971. THE TRAINS The railroad rosters four complete trainsets. A regular train consists of a steam locomotive, tender, and five passenger cars with a capacity of approximately 360 passengers and 2 wheelchairs. The tender has a capacity for 1,837 gallons of water and 664 gallons of fuel oil. The tender needs to be topped off with water every two or three trips (or circuits) around the park. The water tower is located at the Mickey's Toontown Fair station. Train Identification It is easiest to identify each locomotive by its number and the name boards on the side of the cab. While cars may be switched to run behind different locomotives, each typically remains with the below sets of cars:
In recent years it has become necessary for the locomotives to be overhauled, along with some of the passenger cars. During this period one will commonly see passenger cars interchanged with the locomotives. Key modifications to the passenger coaches in the past involved removing the PA system/conductor's panel from a position on the rear of the third car, leaving the panel on a deck at the rear of the train for safer operation. Side panels were also recently added to the outside-facing sides of the coaches to keep passengers' legs (and other body parts) from reaching out the sides of the cars. THE LOCOMOTIVES Each of the four locomotives is named after those who greatly contributed to the efforts of the Disney Company and Walt Disney World. No. 1 "Walter E. Disney" This locomotive needs almost no introduction. It is named for the man behind the mouse Walt Disney / Walter E. Disney (1901-1966). Walt loved railroads and his parks have always displayed his love for trains. It is only proper that his name is on the No. 1 locomotive.
No. 2 "Lilly Belle" The Lilly Belle is named after Walt Disney's wife Lillian Disney or Lillian Marie Bounds (1899-1997). "Lilly Belle" was also the name of the scaled-down steam locomotive Disney ran in his own backyard.
No. 3 "Roger E. Broggie" This locomotive is named after Roger E. Broggie (1908-1991) who lead the effort of acquiring the locomotives for the Walt Disney World Railroad and helped build Disney's own Carolwood Pacific Railroad , including Disney's 1-1/2" scale ridable live steam locomotive "Lilly Belle". Roger Broggie was the original Disney Imagineer who also worked on the EPCOT Project.
No. 4 "Roy O. Disney" The Number 4 locomotive is named after Walt Disney's older brother and business partner, Roy Oliver Disney (1893-1971). Roy saw to the completion of his brother's dream after Walt's death in 1966 and completed the construction of then named "Disney World". Roy renamed the resort in Walt's honor to "Walt Disney World" and died just shortly after the Magic Kingdom opened in 1971.
OPERATION Opening The WDWRR takes its first guests at 9AM everyday the park is open. But before that can happen, a lot of work takes place before hand. Early in the morning the first crew arrives at the Enginehouse to get the first train ready to depart. The maintenance crew will mark on the board which trains are to be used and the order they are to be removed from the roundhouse. The first crew will prep and take out the first train listed. A crew consists of 3 individuals; the engineer (charged with operation of the locomotive), the fireman (charged with operation of the boiler to provide the steam for the locomotive to operate), and the conductor (charged with management and safe operation of the train and its passengers). Safety and readiness checks are performed by the conductor as the enginemen prepare the locomotive for a day of operation, known as Hostling . As the atomizer requires around 30 pounds of steam pressure to operate, a compressed air line must be tapped into the atomizer line when the fire is first lit until enough steam has been raised to re-light the fire atomizing on steam. The conductor whom is in charge of the train and its motion at all times, will inspect the track and arrangement of the switches in the yard outside of the roundhouse to ensure the train will have safe passage out of the roundhouse all the way to the park. Once the boiler has reacher working pressure and the engineers are ready to go, they will signal using the forward motion whistle (2 short whistles). After a reply from the conductor's buzzer (2 short buzzes) recognizing the whistle signal, the train will proceed into the park. At different times during the trip into the park the engineers will test the safety systems on the train. The two main tests include intentionally popping the safety valves and running the train and running a red block light. The safety valves are set to release excess steam to maintain the boiler's maximum certified working pressure. Running the block light will trigger the brakes automatically, and this system is tested daily to insure it is working properly. These two tests are considered the most important to ensure safe operation of these steam trains. After the first train is on the line the second is not far behind. As this is going on, other conductors arrive at the stations in the park and prepare for the trains' arrival. In Service When the park opens, the first train departs from Main Street Station. The second will be just behind; at the block light between Toontown Fair and Main Street stations or in the Toontown Fair station. Typically, two trains are used daily, with a third sometimes coming out on busy days later in the morning. As mentioned earlier, each lap around the Magic Kingdom should be completed in around 20 minutes flat. This timing is established and maintained by the first train. The second and third trains keep up with the first train as much as possible. The goal is to have the first train at Main Street Station on the hour and at :20 and :40 past. If the trains fall behind, they will need to catch up or drop behind a lap to get the first train to the top of the hour. This is necessary to facilitate proper closing procedures on the park's schedule. Block Signals The block signals let the engineers and conductor know the position of the trains on the system. The block signals on the WDWRR resemble a typical traffic light with three lights that are green, yellow, and red. On the main line there are six blocks. Three of them are the stations which include some length of track before the station. The other three blocks are spread out with one between each station. The lights typically change in this order in both directions: Green <--> Yellow/Green <--> Red <--> Yellow/Red
In a two train operation the conductors will not allow the train to proceed on a Yellow/Green signal. This keeps the trains spaced for more consistent service in the stations and prevents the train from having to stop in between stations. In a three train operation conductors can move trains on the yellow/green signal. The reason for this is because there will almost always be a train in the second block ahead. Four train operations are not possible as there is not enough space, nor are there enough blocks to do so safely. Whistles As with any railroad, the whistles you hear all have meaning as they are warning/signaling devices. Many guests are unaware that whistles/horns' primary purpose was in fact communication. On the WDWRR, engineers use the whistle to communicate while the conductor uses the same patterns with a button which activates a buzzer in the cab of the locomotive. While the train is operated as a team, the conductor has the final say in the operation of the train; he is in command. At the stations, engineers will request to depart by signaling with 2 short whistles. The conductor will signal it is safe to do so by buzzing the cab with two shorts. The common whistles on the WDWRR are listed below:
Closing If there is a third train, it is normally removed from service early in the evening as it is only in service for approximately 5-6 hours during the peak periods of attendance. At the end of the evening the conductors announce the departure of the last train. All guests can ride until the train arrives back at Main Street. Once back at Main Street the conductors walk the length of the train to ensure that there are no passengers remaining and any items left behind are unloaded to the station attendants and brought to lost and found. The procedure is the same for all trains. After the train is cleared for departure, the conductor will signal the engineers with the forward movement signal. The train then departs for the Toontown Fair station. As the train passes through Frontierland, the station attendants can give a "thumbs up" indicating that they would like to jump aboard and will do so while the train is in motion. Once a train arrives at Toontown, the conductor jumps off and throws the switch to allow the train to back to the roundhouse. Once the switch is thrown the conductor signals reverse motion (three short). The engineers will reply with the same signal. At this point the engineer relies on the conductor to guide the train to back towards the enginehouse. The fireman will jump off the train to throw the Toontown switch back to allow another train to leave if one remains, otherwise the switch is left where it is. At each switch and crossing the conductor with signal with the three short to let the engineer know that the train successfully cleared a switch and can continue. This continues until the train is backed completely into the roundhouse. WDWRR CAST MEMBERS Conductors The Conductors are responsible for the operation and safety of each station and the trains. Duties as station attendants involve passenger counts, answering questions and assisting passengers. While on the train the conductor runs the spiel box and makes safety announcements. Trains cannot move without approval from the conductor. The conductors work in rotation. There are three different rotations that conductors can be assigned to. Conductors are in each spot of the rotation for 20 minutes. The rotation is also assigned a train. The two main rotations are the Frontierland rotation and the Toontown/Main Street rotation. When there is a third train, only two conductors work that train. One rides for a lap while the other is on break. They switch every 20 min when the train arrives at Main Street. Unlike the other conductors, the third train crew opens and closes the third train. Enginemen A crew of two is assigned to the cab of each locomotive; the engineer or the fireman. The engineer is charged with operation of the locomotive and the fireman is responsible for maintaining the fire as well as water level in the boiler. TRIVIA AND TIDBITS
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |