The Disneyland Railroad Train Engines

Engine # 1 C.K Holiday

Engine #2 E.P Ripley

Engine #3 The Fred Gurley

Engine #4 The Earnest Marsh

Engine #5 The Ward Kimball

 

 

 (DLRR or DRR), originally the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad (SF & DLRR), is a 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge railroad at Disneyland, Anaheim, California, United States, that was inaugurated on the park's live television preview on July 17, 1955. This live steam railway was constructed for $240,000; the two original locomotives cost $40,000 each. Riders use it as transportation to other areas of the park or simply for the experience of the "Grand Circle Tour". The Main Street railroad station is situated at the entrance of Disneyland.

It closed temporarily on January 11, 2016, to accommodate the construction of Star Wars Land.

 

 

The Disneyland Railroad Train Engine #1 C.K Holiday  – The C. K. Holliday Namesake: Cyrus Kurtz Holliday (1826 – 1900) Founder of the Atchison & Topeka Railroad (forerunner of the Santa Fe Railroad, established in 1859) Builder: WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering) Burbank, California, U.S.A. Year:    1955 Disneyland Service Date:  July 17, 1955 Stack Design:   Diamond Scale:    5/8 Gauge:    36″ Wheel arr./type:   4-4-0 American Weight:    23, 200 lbs. Color:    Red cab / Red Wheels Original Owner:   Retlaw Enterprises * The design of the C.K. Holliday was inspired by Walt Disney’s model train engine called the Lilly Belle which was the centerpiece of Walt disney's backyard railroad – the Carolwood Pacific -

 

The Disneyland's Railroad Engine #2 - The E.P. Ripley Train Engine was named for Edward Payson Ripley (1845-1920)  , who was the first president of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad (1895) . Built by WED Enterprises (now Walt Disney Imagineering), the engine made its debut on Disneyland Opening day – July 17, 1955. Along with the C.K. Holliday, the E.P. Ripley was featured at the opening ceremonies of Disneyland, and Walt Disney himself occasionally took the throttle of both trains for excursions around his park.

Here are some specs for the E.P. Ripley:

• Stack Design: Cap Stack

• Scale: 5/8

• Track Gauge: 36″

• Wheel arrangement: 4-4-0 American

• Weight: 22,500 lbs.

     Color:    Green cab / Red Wheels Original Owner:   Retlaw Enterprises 

 

 

Disneyland Fred Gurley Engine number #3 is steam train locomotive on the Disneyland Railroad at Disneylandin Anaheim, California. Gurley is a 2-4-4T locomotive built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1894, and went into service at Disneyland on March 28, 1958.

It was named after Fred Gurley, then the current chairman of the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway, which was the sponsor of the Disneyland Railroad from 1955 to 1974. It is the oldest piece of operating railroad equipment in any Disney park.

 

Fred Gurley Train Engine Today

The steam engine was converted to burn biodiesel in 2007, as it is less polluting than oil.

 

Restoration of the Disneyland Fred Gurley Train Engine 2006-2008

After many years of service to the Disneyland Railroad, the Fred Gurley was scheduled for a complete restoration down to the last bolt. Disney had made a contract with Mission Tool & Manufacturing Company, Inc, which specializes in supplying precision stamped and machined parts to aeronautical, automotive, computer, consumer, medical, microwave, and military industries, to complete phase one. On December 11, 2006,the beginning of phase one begun: dismantling the 113 year old Fred Gurley. Mission Tool & Manufacturing Company, Inc completed their job in January 2007. Disney then put the locomotive up for bidding of who will complete phase two. Phase two consists of one goal: rebuild the engine.

On the 10th of April 2007, phase two was awarded to Boschan Boiler & Restorations Inc. The first major rebuild they determined was that the Fred Gurley needed a new boiler so Boschan, being a professional boiler builder, made a brand new boiler that would stand up and meet the new state requirements for steam boilers. New components made for the Fred Gurley included a new cab exactly like the old one, a new set of rear trucks, brand new driving wheels (which are now the same pattern of the Ward Kimball's), new tires for the driving wheels, a new rear frame for the trucks (since the previous one has suffered too much damage over the years which was classified as unrepairable), new plumbing and pressure gauges were added in the cab, new builder's plates, and a new water tender was built.

After all the parts were made, the engine was given new coat of paint resembling the original paint scheme of the Santa Fe & Disneyland RR. The boiler was painted the same midnight blue as the C.K. Holiday and the water tender was given the painted ribbons it had when it was first put into service. The boiler domes were to be painted black with its original appearance from 1958, including the number design, but the painters mistakenly painted the number as it was previously.

Disney wished that the engine was to be reassembled at the roundhouse, but Boschan insisted that all the systems were to be tested before it was sent back.

Once the tests were complete, the Fred Gurley was loaded on the truck. Though, before going down the 91 freeway Disney demanded that all logos and indications of Disneyland were to be covered up in fear of any unsafe drivers, or any mega-fans noticing the term "Disneyland". After delivery at the roundhouse, weeks of work starting in November continued into January 2008. Small problems including a sticky throttle were fixed.

On Friday, January 4, 2008, the now almost 115 year old engine was fired for the first time in over a year, only a slight leak in the throttle was found and the boiler passed inspection. The next day, packing was put on the throttle to prevent any further leakage, and was once again fired up. Once enough steam was made the engine for the first time in over a year, the engine successfully moved and ran without any further problems. Early morning of January 8, the engine began the ATP testing, or the "Acceptance and Test Plan" At first they ran the engine light (no cars attached), and on the first lap one of the cylinders began to hit the back of the piston. To prevent any damage the engine was rolled back to the roundhouse. The next night they attached the passenger cars the Gurley would pull, and went 10 laps successfully around Disneyland. On the third night, they attached a second group of passenger cars to simulate a full load and went 5 laps before another small problem needed fixing. Once all the problems were fixed the State of California had their share of tests, and all were passed. After all the bugs were fixed, at 10am on March 5, the Fred Gurley once again rolled out of the roundhouse to pull passengers. Probably not by coincidence, the Fred Gurley rolled out in the same month 50 years ago to start pulling passengers.According to the engineer's who have run the Gurley, because of the hard work and hours put in by both Mission Tool, and Boschan, it is now the best running locomotive at the Disneyland RR, and is ready for many more years of service at Disneyland.

 

Disneyland's Train Engine #4 The Ernest S. Marsh

The Ernest S. Marsh (1903-1975)
President of the Santa Fe Railway from 1957-1966
Builder: Baldwin Locomotive Works, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Year Built:   April 1925
Disneyland Service Date:  July 25, 1959
Stack Design:   Diamond
Scale:    Full
Gauge:    36″
Wheel arr./type:   (Original) 0-4-0 Switcher, converted to 2-4-0
Weight:    23, 700 lbs.
Color:    Red cab / Red Wheels
Original Owner:   Raritan River Sand Company, New Jersey, U.S.A.
* The Disneyland Railroad was originally known as the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad. The engine was named for Ernest S. Marsh who was president of Santa Fe Railroad at the time the engine was added to Disneyland.

 

 

 

 

Disneyland Train Engine No. 5 – the Ward Kimball

The Ward Kimball is unique among its fellow steam engines, as it was the first new engine to be added to the Disneyland Railroad in nearly 50 years. The Ward Kimball is a 2-4-4 Locomotive, built by the Baldwin Lococomtive Works in 1902. Also, unlike the other engines, it was named not for an icon of the railroad, but for an icon of the Walt Disney Company. Ward Kimball was a Disney animator and one of Walt Disney’s “Nine Old Men”; among his many achievements was the creation of Jiminy Cricket. He was named a Disney Legend in 1989. Ward was a railroad enthusiast, whose passion for the hobby inspired Walt’s own love of trains and railroading. The Ward Kimball steam engine was put into service on the Disneyland Railroad on June 25, 2005, and dedicated on February 15, 2006, as part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Disneyland.​

Another interesting note about Engine No. 5 – it is often operated by Ward Kimball’s own grandson, Nate Lord, who is now a steam train engineer on the Disneyland Railroad.

Here are some specs for the Ward Kimball:

• Stack Design: Cap

• Scale: Full

• Track Gauge: 36″

• Wheel arrangement: 2-4-4T Forney

• Weight: 20,000 lbs.