Walt Disney World Railroad

From WDW History

Location: Magic Kingdom » Walt Disney World Railroad

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The Walt Disney World Railroad is a narrow gauge railroad that circles for 1.5 miles around the Magic Kingdom with stations at Main Street, U.S.A., Frontierland and Mickey's Toontown Fair. The trains are the busiest steam-powered railroads carrying 1.5 million guests a year. The train engine needs to be topped off with water every two or three times around the track. The water tower is located in Mickey's Toontown Fair station. The train opens at 9 am year round and is closed prior to any fireworks or any extra-ticket events.^[2]

[edit] Ride Beginnings

Roger Broggie purchased 5 train locomotives from the United Railways of Yucatan in 1968. One of the trains was in too poor of shape to be used and was later refurbished and sold. The four that were used were shipped from the Yucatan, through the Panama Canal and into Tampa, Florida. There the trains were restored by Disney Imagineers and steam builder Bob Harpur. The trains opened with the park in 1971. The four trains were originally built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia. The track used was from Nome, Alaska due to it being cheaper to ship them than make new ones.^[3]

[edit] Mickey's Birthdayland Express

In 1998 (1998), the train was given a new theme for Mickey's Birthday which played the songs "Mickey's Birthdayland Express" and "Rollin' on the Walt Disney World Express". The train station in Mickey's Birthdayland was named Duckberg Station.

[edit] Construction of Splash Mountain

In 1990 (1990), the construction of Splash Mountain caused some issues with the train. Disney attempted to keep the train working while the station was being moved up the tracks. Splash Mountain was then built over the train tracks. For a time while the tracks were unusable, the train used to run backwards to Mickey's Starland and then back to the Main Street, U.S.A. station.

[edit] Upgrades

Lately trains and the cars have gone through some upgrades including addition of side panels on the outward facing coaches to keep guests in.

[edit] Train's Crew

Each train operates with specialized three cast members; a conductor, an engineer and a fireman. The engineer makes sure the operation of the locomotive is correct during its trip. The fireman is responsible for keeping the water level in the boiler in check and keeping the fire in control. The conductor is in charge of the operation and safety of the stations and trains. The conductor is the final say if the train is ready to operate.

[edit] Safety Features

The train has many safety features to make sure it stays safe for passengers. One of them is the safety valve which is used to release extra steam to make sure the boiler's pressure doesn't become to high. The other one is automatic breaks if the train runs a red block light (a stop sign for trains). Every morning the crew tests both of these safety features to make sure they are working

[edit] Train Whistles/Signals

This is a list of the whistles used by the trains at the parks.

1. One Short - Attention
2. Two Short – Forward Movement
3. Three Short – Reverse Movement
4. One Long, One Short – Approaching Station
5. One Long, Two Short – Crew spotted along track. (Also used as a general greeting)
6. Two Long, One Short, One Long – Public Crossing ahead.
7. Two Long, One Short – Meeting Point (Junction)
8. One Long – Stop Immediately / Emergent stop.
9. Four Long – Train in distress.

In addition to the whistles, the train rings its bell on its arrival and departure from every station. This is a mandatory thing for the safety of guests and the trains.

[edit] Closing

The trains actually back into the roundhouse located behind the park where all four trains and ten monorails (other two stay on the beams) stay for the night.

[edit] Related Items

[edit] References

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