Now if you had been lurking about the Disneyland Railroad roundhouse yesterday morning, you would have noted a bit of activity outside of the ordinary goings on. Seems that in another display of the commitment to getting the Park ready for it’s big birthday event that a somewhat long awaited project is actually getting up a head of steam.
Fans of the Disneyland Railroad will recall that the DRR has traditionally rostered four steam locomotives for daily service. And over the years, there have been three other locomotives that came onto the property. One was little more than a parts source and was never intended for operation. Then a few years back, in an effort to extend operational flexibility (for the non-railroaders, that means having an extra locomotive ready for service while another is down for maintenance), a fifth locomotive came to Anaheim, and was announced to be named in honor of Disney animator and railroad enthusiast, Ward Kimball.
The locomotive was somewhat similar to the DRR #4, the “Ernest S. Marsh” with the same wheel arrangement. (That is 2 pilot wheels, 4 driving wheels and four trailing wheels, with the water/oil tank all on the same frame as the locomotive; also known in the railroad world as a 2-4-4T.) Former Disney railroad cast member Bill Norred traded it to Disney in exchange for the remaining passenger cars (the baggage/coach combination and four coaches) from the Retlaw One trainset. These had been stored out of service in the rear of the roundhouse for a number of years. One car had been converted into the railroad’s business or V.I.P. car and was now known as the “Lilly Belle”. Sadly, Bill passed away before he was able to complete his plans for the cars. Since then, the four coaches have been sold and are currently stored awaiting restoration and operation near San Luis Obispo, California.
However, before the plan for Disneyland operation of the “Ward Kimball” could come to fruition, the locomotive was sent east to spend some time filling on the Walt Disney World Railroad. Again, the announced intention was to allow additional flexibility for the WDWRR fleet during a maintenance blitz for the railroad’s four steam locomotives. While restoration efforts did proceed, the locomotive ultimately proved unsuitable for operations in Orlando. A brief moment in the sun was allowed for display purposes.
Steve Burns has a great site with all kinds of Disney railroad information. One of the features is a Disney Railroad Discussion Board. Among the hot topics at the moment is one (Disneyland Railroad – No. 5 Ward Kimball) that features a photo of that display at Epcot’s American Adventure during Black History Month in February of 1998.
According to a post on that board, the locomotive was sent back to Anaheim, but ultimately was deemed too heavy to operate on the DRR’s Critter Country trestle. Another trade ensued and a newer, smaller locomotive was acquired from the Cedar Point amusement complex in Sandusky, Ohio. That locomotive has been in storage awaiting restoration at Disneyland, but seemed to have been caught in the budget quagmire of the recent administrations.
However, in recent weeks, that all changed. As part of the ongoing effort to catch up on a number of deferred maintenance issues, the fire was turned up under the “Ward Kimball” project. So much so, that a contract was completed with a Southern California firm that specializes in steam locomotive restoration to complete the project. And with that, the locomotive that will honor the railroad legacy shared by Walt Disney and Ward Kimball, left the Disneyland Railroad roundhouse (it’s more of a rectangle-house, actually) yesterday afternoon. If all goes as planned, and right now there is no indication that things should not, there will be festivities to welcome the new locomotive back and into service sometime next summer.
Now that’s something to celebrate!