The Carolwood Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a -inch () gauge ridable miniature railroad run by Walt Disney in the backyard of his home in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It featured the Lilly Belle, a 1:8-scale live steam locomotive named after Disney's wife, Lillian Disney, and built by the Walt Disney Studios' machine shop. The locomotive made its first test run on December 24, 1949. It pulled a set of freight cars, as well as a caboose that was almost entirely built by Disney himself. It was Disney's lifelong fascination with trains, as well as his interest in miniature models, that led to the creation of the CPRR. The railroad, which became operational in 1950, was long and encircled his house. The backyard railroad attracted visitors to Disney's home; he invited them to ride and occasionally drive his miniature train. In 1953, after an accident occurred in which a guest was injured, the CPRR was closed to the public.

The Carolwood Pacific Railroad inspired Disney to include railroad attractions in the design for the Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, California. Railroad attractions in Disney theme parks around the world are now commonplace. The barn structure that was used as the railroad's control center is now at the Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum (LALSRM) in Los Angeles' Griffith Park. The Lilly Belle, some of the freight cars, and the caboose are now on display at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, California.

History

thumb|left|upright=1.5|The layout of the CPRR|alt=A diagram of a model railroad layout consisting of a loop of track encircling a house, garage, and pool, interlaced with a figure-eight section of track surrounding a small barn

Walt Disney was a rail enthusiast. As a young boy, he wanted to become a train engineer like his father's cousin, Mike Martin, who drove main line trains on the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Disney's father, Elias, once worked as part of a track installation crew for the Union Pacific Railroad. He sometimes climbed over the tender and into the locomotive's cab while the train was in motion. After he bribed the engineer and fireman with chewing tobacco, they showed him how to operate the locomotive. Seeking a calmer recreational activity, he purchased several Lionel train sets in late 1947. These hobbyists included Disney animators like Ollie Johnston, who had a ridable miniature railroad; as well as Ward Kimball, who owned the full-size, narrow-gauge Grizzly Flats Railroad.

On June 1, 1949, Disney purchased of vacant land in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles. The property consisted of a bluff, which was in size, and a level shelf of land behind it, which Disney named Yensid Valley. The word Yensid is Disney spelled backwards. The layout would completely surround the house. Aided by a Walt Disney Studios attorney, Disney had a tongue-in-cheek legal contract written to establish his right to own and operate the railroad's right of way. He and his wife signed the contract and their two daughters witnessed it.

thumb|right|The CPRR's Lilly Belle and caboose on display at the Disneyland Railroad's [[Main Street, USA#Disneyland|Main Street, USA Station in 1993|alt=A ridable miniature steam locomotive, tender, and yellow-colored caboose in a display case with an image of a desert behind them]]

The railroad featured the Lilly Belle, a 1:8-scale live steam locomotive named after Disney's wife and built by the Walt Disney Studios' machine shop team led by Roger E. Broggie. The locomotive's design, chosen by Disney after seeing a smaller locomotive model with the same design at the home of rail historian Gerald M. Best, was based directly on copies of the blueprints for the Central Pacific No. 173, a 4-4-0 steam locomotive rebuilt by the Central Pacific Railroad in 1872. Under Broggie's guidance, Disney helped build several parts for the Lilly Belle, including its smokestack and headlamp. On December 24, 1949, the Lilly Belle and its tender were first test run on a small loop of track during the studio's Christmas party in front of the staff. Disney ran the Lilly Belle on the Carolwood Pacific Railroad for the first time on May 7, 1950.

The CPRR's train cars consisted of six cast-metal, woodgrain-patterned gondolas made by the studio's machine shop. There were also two boxcars, two stock cars, a flatcar, and a caboose made of wood from the studio's prop shop. Except for its frame and trucks, Disney built the entire caboose himself. The barn had a centralized traffic control board, which had several lights designed to indicate the presence of trains along the railroad's route.<!--This is an image of the September 1951 issue of Look magazine.--> These articles attracted visitors interested in the CPRR to the home of Disney, who invited them to ride and occasionally drive his miniature train. With a tractive effort of more than , the Lilly Belle could pull a train with up to 12 adult passengers. In early 1953, a visitor drove the Lilly Belle too fast along a curve, causing it to derail. As a result, the locomotive fell on its side, broke its whistle, and released a jet of steam across the ground. Disney removed the Carolwood Pacific Railroad's trackage in 1964.

Influences

thumb|left|The Disneyland Railroad's C.K. Holliday locomotive is very similar in appearance to the CPRR's Lilly Belle locomotive|alt=A red steam locomotive with a 4-4-0 wheel arrangement (four leading wheels, four driving wheels, and no trailing wheels) passing over a bridge

Disney credited the Carolwood Pacific Railroad with inspiring the creation of Disneyland in Anaheim, California. In one early concept for the park, the CPRR was included as an attraction, in which its train would carry passengers past miniature towns and settings. The Casey Jr. Circus Train, a different ridable miniature railroad that travels past miniature scenes of animated Disney films, is one of Disneyland's original attractions. Another early design for the park included a narrow-gauge steam railroad encircling it, a feature which was retained in the park's final design. Disneyland, and the Disneyland Railroad encircling the park, opened on July 17, 1955. The Disneyland Railroad's No. 1 locomotive, the C.K. Holliday, bears a strong resemblance to the CPRR's Lilly Belle, since their designs were based on the same blueprints. There are also steam railroads in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida; Tokyo Disneyland in Japan; and Disneyland Park near Paris.

Copies of the blueprints for the CPRR's Lilly Belle were sold to model railroad hobbyists through a company named Walt Disney Miniature Railroad, formed by Disney in 1950 as a legally separate entity from Walt Disney Productions. After that company evolved into Walt Disney, Inc., in 1952 and had its name changed to WED Enterprises in 1953, it developed rides and attractions for Disneyland and later Walt Disney World. In 1965, Walt Disney Productions purchased WED Enterprises, and in 1986 changed its name to Walt Disney Imagineering. According to Los Angeles magazine, the CPRR's barn has been referred to as the "birthplace of Imagineering."

As well as inspiring rail attractions at Disney theme parks, the CPRR became the inspiration for the 1951 Disney animated short film Out of Scale, in which Donald Duck is portrayed running a ridable miniature railroad in his backyard. The train of the CPRR also appeared in several Disney television specials in the 1950s. The Walt Disney World Railroad's Fantasyland Station area is nicknamed Carolwood Park, paying tribute to the CPRR.

Preservation

thumb|right|Disney's Carolwood Barn preserved at the LALSRM|alt=A red barn with white trim and a shingle roof

In 1965, Disney donated of the Carolwood Pacific Railroad's track, as well as the railroad's trestle, to the Los Angeles Live Steamers, a group of miniature steam train enthusiasts. Disney was a charter member of that group. In 1968, Lillian Disney donated the rest of the CPRR's track to the Los Angeles Live Steamers. The original CPRR track on the Disney Loop has since been removed and replaced with newer, more durable track. Morgan "Bill" Evans, the original landscaper of the Disney residence and several Disney theme parks, arranged for Walt Disney Imagineering to provide a landscaping plan for the barn's new site. There are also two pieces of CPRR rolling stock on display inside the Carolwood Pacific Railroad Room in the Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge within Walt Disney World.

See also

  • Olomana (locomotive)

References

Bibliography

  • Carolwood Society