“Did you know Disney?”
Have you ever wondered why so many different companies put Disney characters on their engines and freight cars? Well it’s not just because Disney has all the money in the world. Walt Disney actually has a largely unknown history with trains going back quite a bit before the park even opened!
This all started back when Walt was a little boy. His father’s cousin Mike Martin, was an engineer for AT&SF and would tell Walt stories of his experience driving main-line trains. Once Walt became a teenager he got himself a job as a news butcher (A person who worked on railroads selling newspapers, candy and cigars to the passengers) on the Missouri Pacific Railway. Fast forward a couple years and the Disney brothers founded the Walt Disney Company.
During a polo game with his brother Roy, Walt Disney suffered a fractured vertebra as well as other injuries.His doctor at the time recommended Walt take up a more relaxing recreational hobby, thus leading Walt to buy his first of several Lionel train sets! Within just one short year Walt’s interest in model trains had evolved into something bigger… and rideable!
During the late 1940s Walt became obsessed with the rideable mini trains he had observed in the backyards of other hobbyists, including one of Disney's animators Ollie Johnston. By 1949 Walt had purchased about 2 acres of land in Holmby Hills, a neighborhood in LA, to begin construction on a new residence for him and his family. This would be the birthplace of one of the beloved attractions in Disneyland.
Walt had a beautiful 7 1/4in (184mm) gauge rideable railroad built in his backyard based on the blueprint copies of the Carolwood Pacific Railroad found in the house of Gerald M. Best. The exact blueprints used for Walt’s backyard dream were for the Carolwood Pacific No. 173.
The Lilly Belle, named after Walt's wife, came to life for the first time on May 7th 1950, just 5 years before the park opened.
Being the only house in the neighborhood with a railroad in the backyard, Walt would use his time over the weekend to give his visitors a ride on the Lilly Belle, even letting some other “guest engineers” take over on driving.
Unfortunately this fun would only last about three years before Walt shut down operation due to a five year old girl getting injured after a derailment. Right before this terrible accident Walt met up with Roger Broggie about the potential of having a miniature rideable tour of Walt Disney Studios in Burbank.
By this time in 1953 Walt was beginning the planning and construction process of Walt Disney Studios, which quickly turned into plans for an amusement park named Disneyland. Over 139 acres of orchard land in Anaheim, California was purchased and on August 8th Walt drew up the triangular route for the park's own railroad. By August 1954, after a year of planning and financing, construction on the park and railroad had begun. In the effort to cut costs during construction Disney found a well known sponsor for the railroad, resulting in a somewhat familiar railroad name for the park's train!
For almost twenty years the attraction was known as the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, only to be changed after the sponsorship with AT&SF ended in September, 1974 leaving the attraction named Disneyland Railroad. Two steam locomotives were built, both pulling about six passenger cars. Disney spent $240,000 on the trains.
One of the trains, “Retlaw 1” (Walter spelled backwards) would be stationed at Frontierland, the other, “Retlaw 2” would be stationed at Main Street. With one week left before the park opened, Disney and other designers of the railroad began testing.The full ride would last about 19 minutes long, being the first official attraction open and functioning on opening day back on July 17, 1955.
