When people ask me what my favorite Walt Disney World attraction is, they are often surprised when I give the Walt Disney World Railroad as my answer. I guess they are expecting something thrilling and fast, such as the Tower of Terror or the Rock 'N' Roller Coaster. Or maybe something like Pirates of the Caribbean or the Haunted Mansion. True, those are all great attractions, and I make it a point not to miss them. But still, my favorite is the Railroad.

So now you are asking, "Why the Railroad?" I think there are several reasons. History is an important one. Steam engines just like these once crossed the country, serving as the fastest way to get from place to place. And each of the four engines at Walt Disney World has its own history, built almost a century ago. Another reason is atmosphere. The Railroad provides a few relaxing minutes on a trip around the park. You can get several views of the park as you ride, but you seem to be away from it all, just watching from a distance. A third reason is convenience. Don't feel like walking all the way from Mickey's Toontown Fair back to Main Street? Just take the train. And I guess the final reason is that trains have always fascinated me. In this day where almost everyone has a car, I enjoy forms of mass transportation, especially those that aren't widely used any more.

When Disneyland was just a distant dream, Walt Disney had a small scale live-steam railroad installed at his house. The earliest plans for Disneyland included a railroad, and Walt made certain that that one element made it into the actual park. He enjoyed the Disneyland Railroad so much that it was owned and operated by his private company, Retlaw. And when Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom was being planned, the Imagineers included a railroad in that park as well.

Engine No. 1 at the Walt Disney World Railroad is appropriately named Walter E. Disney. Not just in honor of the founder of the company, but more in honor of his great love of railroads. No doubt that the Walt Disney World Railroad would have been Walt's favorite attraction at the new park, if he had lived to see it built.

The Walter E. Disney, like all the Walt Disney World engines, is an authentic steam engine. Of course, a few modifications have been made. The look of the engine is a good bit different from its original form. It was redesigned to have a more elegant, Victorian look. Also, the engine was converted to burn diesel fuel, instead of coal or wood, to boil the water to make steam. But much of the original engine survived the rebuilding.

In this picture, you can see that the Walter E. Disney is a 4-6-0 engine. Those numbers indicate the wheel arrangement. The first number represents the wheels on each side at the front of the engine, followed by the number of drive wheels (the large ones), followed by the number of wheels behind the drive wheels.

This picture was taken at one of my favorite locations for taking railroad pictures, the northeast corner of Mickey's Toontown Fair, as the trains approach the Toontown Fair Station. The track on the right goes back to the roundhouse (which isn't round) in the Magic Kingdom's service area. When a train is finished operating for the day, all the passengers are unloaded at Mickey's Toontown Fair. The train is then backed down the spur track to the roundhouse.

Here is a shot of the Walter E. Disney at Mickey's Toontown Fair. You can see Walt's name on the cab, and the number "1" on the sand dome. On railroad engines, sand from the dome can be released onto the track to help increase traction. The old steam engines had the sand dome on top of the boiler, so that the heat would keep the sand dry, allowing it to move through the tubing more easily.

This pictures shows the Walter E. Disney arriving at the Main Street Station. Here you can see the plate on the front of the boiler, which also has the number "1". The boiler plate also has the name and location of the engine's manufacturer, the Baldwin Locomotive Works of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

One of my favorite shots of the Walter E. Disney. Everything worked out just right for this picture - the lighting, the steam, the engineer waving. Incidentally, the engineer sits on the right side of the cab (facing forward), while the fireman, responsible for keeping the fire going to boil the water, sits on the left. The engines are always kept well polished, so that they gleam in the sunlight, making them a great treasure for the Magic Kingdom.

Other engines in this series include:
Engine No. 2 - Lilly Belle
Engine No. 3 - Roger E. Broggie
Engine No. 4 - Roy O. Disney

- Story and Photos by Steve Burns
Posted

Steve is a three-time Disney Store National Trivia finalist and webmaster of BurnsLand, home of Steve's Disney Railroad Adventures.

E-mail Steve at steve@startedbyamouse.com, discuss this article in the StartedByAMouse.com Discussion Boards or use the Talkback feature below.

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