Fans of the Disney California Adventure (yes, they do exist)
have known for some time that the impending Buena Vista Street project would
bring changes to the entrance to the theme park. As the Golden Gate Bridge
makeover is well underway, the next phase of this project starts to take shape
on Monday, August 1st. The shops of the Sunshine Plaza will emerge as a version
of Los Angeles that greeted Walt Disney when he arrived from Kansas City in
1923.
Several of those locations in the Sunshine Plaza were originally
opened with a railroad theme. A recreation of the famed California Zephyr
greeted guests instead of an ordinary building façade. The Burr-bank Ice Cream,
Bakersfield Bakery and Engineers Toys all were entered through the cars of the
train. From the locomotive on the front of the train to the dome observation on
the rear (with a faithful reproduction of the train’s neon tailsign), guests
were given the flavor of this 1950s passenger train. A bit of the story of the
historic Zephyr was presented through photos and artifacts from the train
displayed inside.
Guests to Disney’s California Adventure admire the replica
California Zephyr.
Photo by Roger Colton
Disney’s Imagineers had a good foundation to recreate this
train with. The cab of the locomotive actually had been a real locomotive once
upon a time. Built by General Motors for the Canadian National, this 1940s
design had served faithfully in freight and passenger service before heading
off to the scrap yard for recycling. Moved to Anaheim by truck, it emerged as a
locomotive from the Western Pacific – one of the three railroads that had
operated the Zephyr between Chicago and San Francisco from 1949 to 1970. It was
even detailed with a nod to the historic, being numbered the 804-A. That
locomotive pulled the last westbound California Zephyr into Oakland on March
20, 1970.
When the planning for Buena Vista Street project was begun,
the question arose as to how the train might fit into the new area. Perhaps it
could be remodeled into the Santa Fe’s famed Super Chief – a train that served
Southern California, trading the orange and silver of the WP for the red and
silver of the AT&SF Warbonnet? A nice idea, but the streamlined Chief
didn’t make its appearance until 1938, definitely outside of the 1920s era that
the Imagineers intended for the area. In the end, the Zephyr was destined to
make one last departure as it made way for retro-progress.
The California Zephyr made its mark with passengers when
introduced in 1949. It may not have been the fastest train between Chicago and
California, yet it offered the best of western scenery during the daytime
hours. To capitalize on this bounty, the CZ was one of the first trains
equipped with “Vista-Dome” cars, which featured a glass-enclosed upper floor
with seating for 24. With a morning departure from Denver, there was the sunny
climb up the Front Range of the Rockies, traveling the canyons of Colorado
rivers during daylight hours. Into
California, the train crossed the Sierra Nevada in daylight, traveling along
the canyons of the Feather River. A 1950s advertising slogan for the train
promised “Beauty by Day, All the Way!”
Today Amtrak operate its own California Zephyr over part of
the original route. As one of the most popular long distance trains, it still
offers the best scenery in daylight hours. The difference between the current
route and the 1949 route is that the train crosses the Sierra Nevada using the
Donner Pass (former Southern Pacific line, also now part of the Union Pacific
system) along Interstate 80 instead of following the Feather River route.
The Silver Solarium, an original California Zephyr dome
lounge observation car travels behind Amtrak’s
California Zephyr on a February
23, 2008.
Photo by Ryan Martin
Many of the passenger cars of the 1949 Zephyr survived the
end of the operation of the train. Many were purchased by Amtrak while others
went to Mexico and other rail operations. A surprising number still exist today
in museums as well as in charter service. Along the Zephyr’s original route,
one of those museums shares the legacy of the California Zephyr. The Western
Pacific Railroad Museum in Portola, California offers guests the chance to
learn more about the railroad (now a part of the Union Pacific system) and the
famed train. The Museum has among its collection a complete Zephyr locomotive,
the 805-A and several Zephyr passenger cars including a dome coach, dome buffet
dormitory and a full dining car.
Locomotives from the Museum’s collection on display in
Sparks, Nevada.
Photo courtesy of the Western Pacific Railroad Museum
Thanks to Disney Imagineering, Disney’s California Zephyr
will now live on as part of the Western Pacific Railroad Museum’s Zephyr
collection. Items previously on display
on the walls of the Burr-bank Ice Cream and Bakersfield Bakery will help show
museum visitors the vintage years of the trains operation between 1949 and
1970. And the cab of the recreated locomotive will offer museum visitors the
chance to experience what it was like for locomotive engineers to travel the
Zephyrs route as the train traveled the Feather River canyon.
The cab of the Disney Zephyr loaded aboard the truck for
its journey to Portola.
Photo courtesy of the Disneyland Resort
Although other pieces of Disney theme park memorabilia and
attraction vehicles have been preserved in various museums across the country,
this marks the first such effort for the California Adventure park.
The Western Pacific Railroad Museum in located in Portola,
California. A popular feature of the Museum is the Run-A-Locomotive program. It
offers guests the opportunity to learn about locomotive operation and then take
the throttle to operate the locomotive (under supervision) about the Museums
demonstration railway. Several different locomotives are available to choose
from. For more information about the Western Pacific Railroad Museum, visit
their website. The Museum is open 7 days a week
10am – 5pm, from the first Saturday in May through the first Sunday in
October. Weather permitting, the Museum
is open weekends and some days in April and November.
A rare opportunity to travel the original route of the
California Zephyr will occur August 19th through 21st as a special 12
car-passenger train heads from Oakland to Portola for the annual Railroad Days
festival. If you would be
interested in riding this special train, Private Car Service is offering a limited number of spaces aboard the former New York Central
lounge-sleeping car, “Two Rivers”. For more information, please visit the web
site or call (925) 321-0023.
Thanks to Disney Imagineering for preserving both the
history of the California Adventure theme park as well as sharing the legacy of
the California Zephyr as part of the Western Pacific Railroad Museum.
For more from Roger Colton, be sure to check out his stories
here on Jim Hill Media as well as on his own site, The Blue Parrot .