Greetings family, friends and Disney buddies! Walt Disney was heavily influenced by Henry Ford's Greenfield Village in Michigan as he invisioned his own educational family attraction in Anaheim. I hope that you enjoy this brief back story about Henry Ford's Railroad...Bill
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Locomotives of “The Henry Ford”
The Edison is based on an 0-4-0 switcher locomotive built about 1870 by Manchester Locomotive Company. Henry Ford purchased the switcher from Edison Portland Cement company in 1932 and had the locomotive rebuilt into a 4-4-0 wheel arrangement by the staff at Ford Motor Company’s Rouge locomotive shop. The Edison later went into regular service on Greenfield Village’s Weiser Railroad.
Located in Dearborn, Michigan and re-branded as “The Henry Ford”, the Henry Ford Museum together with Greenfield Village is the largest indoor-outdoor museum in the United States. The museum opened in 1933 and displayed Henry Ford’s extensive collection of Americana and Greenfield Village’s assemblage of historic buildings and attractions. The Weiser Railroad operates daily on a two mile loop of standard gauge track circling the Village with four themed stations, a hand operated turntable and a fully operational “replica” roundhouse based on the Detroit, Toledo, & Milwaukee Railroad roundhouse. A staff of skilled mechanics, machinists and boilermakers maintain and repair four vintage steam locomotives on a cycle of 30 days including a 1897 Baldwin, 1902 American Locomotive 4-4-2, 1873 Mason Machine Works articulated locomotive, and the Edison 4-4-0. Two non-steam maintenance locos, a large number of open ai r passenger coaches, freight rolling stock combined with the Museum’s collection of non operating historic streetcars, trolleys and locomotives complete The Henry Ford’s rail collection.
Photo by Bill Ralph
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