"Combine"

Last week we told you that we would fill you in on the new mission that the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society has taken on! The code word for this project is "Combine"! "Combine" is a railroad term for a coach that carries both passengers and freight. One such car was used on the Missouri Pacific train upon which Walt Disney worked as a 14-year-old news butch. He'd take his breaks in the baggage half of the car. He'd sometimes go out the front door and climb over the tender to get to the cab. Walt would offer the engineer and fireman apples from his family's farm in exchange for getting to ride with them. The crews took a liking to him and it was on this train that he learned how to operate a steam locomotive.

Walt had great memories of that combine. This is why one was part of the "Retlaw 1" passenger train at Disneyland. In 1992, Bill Norred acquired the Retlaw 1 cars, except for the Lilly Belle coach. A few years ago, four of these five coaches were sold, but Bill's family retained the combine because of the special connection to Walt. The Norred family, concerned about the long term survival of the car, have agreed to sell it to the Carolwood Foundation. The plan is to finish restoration of the car and put it on public display at Griffith Park right next to Walt's railroad barn. If you would like to donate to the "Combine" fund and be a part of this historic restoration then go to the link below and follow the instructions.

www.carolwood.org

Talk about your toy trains!

Get ready to start making your Christmas list early this eary because the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society has just updated their website! On their store link there is a whole list of Carolwood treasures that would make any train enthusiats scream! They provide your typical Carolwood Railroad gear with conductor hats, jackets and shirts. There are some really neat collector pins and literature but the crown jewel is the train set. They are offering a full Carolwood Pacific Railroad set with Lilly Belle, rolling stock and caboose in G scale. Now i freqent the Carolwood site every couple of weeks and they never offer any of this stuff in their store in fact i have always laughed at how dismal their product page always was. I think the new restructure of this part of their website is a way to generate some revenue for a new project the society is calling "Combine" but we can leave that discussion for next week. Check out the website.

www.carolwood.com/store

The one that started it all!

Starting in 1949, Ollie Johnston built a 1" scale backyard railroad, with three 1/12th scale locomotives, now owned by his sons. This railroad was one of the inspirations for Walt Disney to build his own backyard railroad, the Carolwood Pacific Railroad, which again inspired the building of the railroad in Disneyland. Ollie was a founding Governor of the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society along with his fellow Disney animator and railfan, Ward Kimball. The 1/4 scale Victorian depot from Ollie's backyard was moved and restored to a location near Walt Disney's Carolwood Barn at the area of the Los Angeles Live Steamers club in Griffith Park, Los Angeles.

In the 1960s Ollie acquired and restored a full-size narrow-gauge Porter steam locomotive, which he named the "Marie E." On May 10, 2005 it ran during a private early morning event on the Disneyland Railroad. To date, the only time The Walt Disney Company permitted outside railroad equipment to run at any Disney Resort. This engine and its consist were sold to John Lasseter (of Pixar Studios fame). The engine is fully operational and ran recently at the Santa Margarita Ranch near San Luis Obispo, CA, in May 2007.

Grizzly Flats Railroad

In 1938, Ward Kimball, a life-long railroad fan, decided to purchase the last remaining passenger coach from the Carson and Colorado Railroad. The intention was to use the coach to house the Kimball's growing collection of railroadiana and model trains, but this plan was quickly changed. When the Kimballs learned that the Nevada Central Railroad had a vintage 1881 Baldwin 2-6-0 steam locomotive for sale (the "Sidney Dillon"), arrangements were made to purchase it. The old coach would then be used for its original purpose, as a passenger car.
The dilapidated railroad equipment was soon resting on a short section of track among the Kimball's orange trees. Ward and Betty decided to name their new empire the "Grizzly Flats Railroad", and heralded it as the "Scenic Wonder of the West". Friends and family helped to restore the locomotive to look like a flashy 1860s locomotive. Ward renamed it "Emma Nevada", after a famous opera star of the late 1800s. Coach #5 was colorfully painted and its Carson & Colorado letterboard was changed to "Grizzly Flats Railroad". This work took place on weekends through 1942, at which point, the "Emma Nevada" was first fired-up.
The following years saw addition of a cattle car, a caboose and a Baldwin 0-4-2T plantation locomotive that once ran in Hawaii, which the Kimballs named "Chloe" after their youngest daughter. Ward ceased steaming the "Emma Nevada" in 1951 when it developed boiler problems. In 1956, Kimball began to run the newly-restored "Chloe". The neighbors were probably relieved, as the wood-burning "Chloe" produced cleaner smoke in smaller quantities than the larger coal-burning "Emma Nevada". Over the years, Ward added the Grizzly Flats Depot and some other out-buildings to house his burgeoning toy train and railroadiana collection.

Ticket to Ride

If you were a friend of Walt Disney's during the 1950's then you probably had this piece of documentation. Any personal friend of Walt's would recieve this card, and it would be a pass for unlimited fun and adventure on the Carolwood Pacific Railroad. As you read last week this was a similar pass that helped Harper Goff out of some legal troubles. Yes the name of Walt Disney can be pretty powerful.

A Membership Goes A Long Way!

This is an excert from the book "Walt Disney's Railroad Story"

Chugging Along!

We are almost half way through the summer which means fall is just around the corner! The big event that awaits us next season is the grand opening of The Walt Disney Family Museum! The scheduled opening date is October 1, 2009 and tickets go on sale August 1, 2009. In addition to the many awards and personal belongs that will be on display to tell the tale of Walt Disney, there is one that is of personal interest to us! The display of the Carolwood Pacific Railroad with Lilly Belle and all! We will keep you posted on any further devlopement on the museum.

We Lost our Captain!

The King of Animation with the King of Pop


I know it is a different topic then what we talk about here at the Carolwood blog but it is worth discussing. On June 25, 2009 the world lost one of the most diverse and amazing entertainers, Michael Jackson. For 50 years he has been apart of our life and culture and has left this world with a legacy that will continue to move and inspire us through this contributions to music and dance. He was an inovator who always tried to deliver the best quatliy product regarless of what anybody else thought, reminds me of someone else i know....
During the height of his career he partnered with Disney (a company in which he admired) to create a new form of attraction involving a 3D short movie titled Captain EO. In September of 1986 Captain EO opened in Tomorrowland at Disneyland and had an eleven year run. When Michael opened his private estate Neverland Ranch in 1988 it included a zoo and a theme park, with a Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, zipper, spider, sea dragon, wave swinger, super slide, dragon wagon kiddie roller coaster, and bumper cars, and what do you know it was surrounded by a train!
It's sad to see such a wonderful individual gone who has made such a mark on this world, it's almost like seeing a piece of your child hood pass away as well.

Michael Jackson
1958-2009

The Broad Side of a Barn

The first run on the Carolwood Pacific Railroad took place on May 7, 1950. The 2,615 feet of track included a 46 foot long trestle and a 90 foot long tunnel under his wife's flower bed. Amidst the railroad, Walt had a barn built where he could monitor and remotely control the switches on the track. The barn also served as a workshop and a place for Walt and his friends to relax.
When the Holmby Hills home was sold, the new owners had plans to preserve the house, but discovered that due to structural issues and asbestos, they demolished the existing structures and built a new home.
Fortunately, Walt's daughter Diane Disney Miller recognized the importance of the Barn and began the process of saving it before escrow closed. Diane contacted Michael and Sharon Broggie, founders of the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society, who began planning what to do with the Barn. A general contractor, Bill Abel, was hired to dismantle the Barn and it was stored until an agreement was secured with the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Live Steamers Museum. It opened in Griffith Park as a loan to the people of Los Angeles on July 19, 1999, and is located inside the 1/8th scale track, the same scale that Walt had at his home.Walt spent many hours in the Barn not only working on his trains, but thinking about new projects and ideas. One could say that this Barn is the birthplace of Imagineering.
Today, the Barn is in a beautifully landscaped part of the park, with several nice picnic tables and many benches. Bring your family and a picnic basket to enjoy your lunch and some Walt Disney, railroad, and Disneyland history. The Barn is small, but full of many interesting items to learn about, and lots of wonderful stories.
The barn is open to the public every 3rd Sunday of the month by LA Live Steamers at Griffith Park. They just issued this statement about tomorrow.


Sunday, June 21, 2009
Dad's Day at Walt Disney's Barn and Ollie Johnston's Depot
Walt Disney's Carolwood Barn, Griffith Park LA Live Steamers area
Celebrate Father's Day at Walt Disney's Barn. Free commemorative Barn pin to all fathers who bring a child or grandchild to Walt's Barn (while supplies last). Opens at 11 am closes at 3 pm. Free admission and free parking. Free rides on miniature trains by Los Angeles Live Steamers. Steam demonstration plant will be operating. Picnic area available.

We hope to see you out there!

The E-Ticket

When most people here the word e-ticket they think of something spectacular, such as a wonderful experience or a ride, or even a Disneyland ticket book. But, today i am talking about the magazine, The E-Ticket. If your not familar with The E-Ticket Magazine it is a seasonal magazine that features articles about Disneyland attractions and interviews with some of the people who helped bring these wonderful experiences to life. I am sad to report that The E-Ticket is going to be completing its run this summer with their final issue of #46. Even though they will be finishing distribution of new magazines you can still purchase older issues that are currently on CD-ROM. One issue that strikes perticular interest here at the Carolwood Blog is issue #10. This individual magazine debuted during the Winter of 1990-1991 and it was titled Riding the Carolwood Pacific Railroad with Walt Disney. You cannot buy it as a magazine any more but it is still for sale on their website with the CD-ROM. Check out the website at www.the-e-ticket.com

Your Host Walt Disney

The Walt Disney Treasures collections has had this DVD set out since 2006. If you havent purchased it yet i suggest you do its worth every cent. There is one Disneyland Television show on here in perticular that is titled "Where Do The Stories Come From" which aried in 1956. During the last segment of the show Walt takes us on a journey through model railroading. We are able to hop aboard Ward Kimball's Emma Nevada Locamotive, check out Ollie Johnston's railroad club, and then the icing on the cake! You guessed it! A round trip ride through Walt's backyard Carolwood estate on the Lilly Belle! This is a must see for anyone.