The Hidden Mickey Book Fan Club BLOG! - v017

The OFFICIAL HIDDEN MICKEY FAN CLUB!

the continuation of the Special Feature Article...

The Santa Fe and Disney Connection... What's In a Name? (part 2)
By Steve DeGaetano

In the last issue we saw how Walt's career with the railroad was short-lived. He didn't have the business acumen of his older brother, and through errors and poor judgment, often ended up owing more than he took in. 'My railroad career was brief, exciting and unprofitable,' he later wrote.

But trains were never far from his thoughts...

	Years later, Walt Disney was running the largest animation studio in the world. He discovered that some of his animators'particularly Ward Kimball and Ollie Johnston'were deeply involved in the live steam and model railroading hobbies.

Indeed, Ward Kimball had a full-size steam locomotives running on 900 feet of track in his backyard! In the late 1940s, Walt decided he wanted to pursue the live-steam hobby himself, and with the help of his employees, built a 1/8th scale steam locomotive and train set that he operated about his Holmby Hills backyard railroad, known as the Carolwood Pacific, beginning in the spring of 1950. He hosted large gatherings of family and friends on the weekends, serving fountain drinks to the kids from his personal soda fountain, and running the train. Friends and family, all having fun outdoors together—with a binding element being a train. Nebulous ideas that Walt had entertained in the past about family amusement began gelling into something concrete.
Walt’s first ideas for what would eventually be known as “Disneyland” all included a train. In mid-1954, work began in earnest designing the trains themselves. There would be two steam locomotives and two sets of cars. The first engine would look like the Lilly Belle, the 1/8th scale engine in Walt’s backyard. The second engine would derive its basic mechanical foundations from the first engine, but would differ in style and details.
Work also began to secure sponsorships for the new Park. Coke and Pepsi, Upjohn Pharmacy, Timex and Bank of America all ponied up sponsorship fees to associate their name and product with Walt Disney's dream. Several railroads were approached to share their name with the Disneyland trains, but all refused to take the risk. All, that is, except Walt Disney's favorite boyhood railroad'the mighty Santa Fe.
The fact that the Santa Fe was the only railroad to jump on board the Disneyland bandwagon has an almost storybook-like quality, given Walt's personal history with the railroad through the years. Through Walt's very public pursuit of model railroading, he was a friend with several executives on the Santa Fe's board. The Park's railroad would henceforth be known as the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad.

	In keeping with the romantic Victorian notions of the 'Chief Engineer,' Walt Disney, each of the engines would also feature a name as well as a number. The naming of the first engine seemed easy'it would be named after the Santa Fe founder, and be known as the C.K. Holliday.

The naming of the second engine was not as intuitive. In early concept drawings, Engine No. 2 bore the name 'Wm. B. Strong.' Connoisseurs of Disney's sometimes tongue-in-cheek naming conventions might see this as a humorous take on the name, as in 'Will Be Strong,' in much the same vein as the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad engines have similarly cute names, such as 'U.R. Bold.' But in fact, William B. Strong was an important President of the Santa Fe as well, and had a locomotive on the real railroad'also number 2'named for him. But events conspired to eliminate his name from the cab of Disney's engine No. 2 (Don't worry'that 'B' in his name stood for 'Barstow.' So even though he didn't get a Disneyland locomotive named for him, he at least lent his name to a California desert town).
The name of the second locomotive was changed from Wm. B. Strong to E.P. Ripley. Edward Payson Ripley oversaw the reorganization of the Santa Fe Railway in 1896. But why change the engine's name mid-course in development from one president of the railway to another?

Coincidentally, Donn Tatum, one of the attorneys in Disney's corporate legal department, was Edward Payson Ripley III's brother-in-law. In fact, E.P. Ripley III, Edward Payson Ripley's grandson, was on hand for the dedication of the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad in 1955, as a representative of the Santa Fe! So, perhaps the re-naming of locomotive No. 2 from Wm. B. Strong to E.P. Ripley was a smart move in the big scheme of things.
	In 1958, crowds on the hugely popular Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad were beginning to tax the little trains. The hunt began for an existing locomotive that could be rebuilt to run at Disneyland, instead of building one from scratch. Soon, a suitable specimen was found near the bayous of New Orleans, a veteran of the sugar cane railroads that was just the right size. Additionally, her running gear would require very little work. Over the course of several months, Engine No. 3 would be completely rebuilt.

Many thanks go to Steve DeGaetano for this wonderful article...
Steve is the author of "From Plantation to Theme Park: The Story of Disneyland Railroad Locomotive #5, The Ward Kimball"

Well... that's it for this issue...
Enjoy, and have a Magical Hidden Mickey Day!
 

Be sure to check The Hidden Mickey BLOG for the latest Hidden Mickey news and Book Signing Dates. 

POST YOUR BOOK REVIEW online at:
Double-Rbooks.com
AMAZON.com

If you don't see HIDDEN MICKEY in your local bookstore, please ask the Store Manager to order it, or contact our publisher with the Bookstore name & address, Managers name, (plus their Phone and/or eMail if possible). We will contact them and maybe even set up a Book Signing there.