Greeting family, friends neighbors and all of the educators out there. I have had teachers that had major impacts on my life and you will soon see why I'm calling today's rambling "Beginnings"......Bill
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Disneyana
WALT’S CATTLE CARS
Walt Disney’s lifelong fascination with trains has been endlessly documented in books, films, and in Disney history and lore. Trains were a part of his life beginning with working as a news butcher aboard the Missouri Pacific Railroad in his teenage years, building his own small scale backyard railroad railroad, to creating the 5/8 scale Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad. A stickler for authenticity, Walt’s first two Disneyland locomotives, C.K. Holiday and E.P. Ripley, were turned out in June 1955 by the Disney Studio and Disneyland shops along with consists of scaled down passenger and livestock rolling stock. Visitors to the park in the first several months had the option of riding in comfortable enclosed forward facing passenger cars, or viewing the park through narrow slats while standing in realistic cattle cars in the July heat.
At first, Walt resisted attempts to make adjustments, “ I want people to know how it feels to be a cow or a sheep riding in those cars” but after receiving complaints about the uncomfortable and unsafe stock cars he was convinced to make a few concessions. Visibility was improved by widening the space between slats from four inches to twelve inches. Guests still complained. All the slats above four feet were removed. Still complaints. Finally riders comfort was improved and complaints reduced with the addition of bench seating.
In order to shorten lines and increase the capacity of the highly popular attraction, Walt’s realistic but agonizingly slow two train double track passing operation was eliminated. The leapfrogging passenger and freight trains around the 1.2 mile route was replaced by a simple single tracking block system capable of handling more station stops and up to four trains. The Disneyland Railroad’s evolution continued with the installation of the Grand Canyon Diorama in 1958 and the introduction of today’s familiar comfortable, fast loading/unloading, front and outward facing passenger cars.
All aboard the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad Freight Train…….Moooove along!
Bill 3/24
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