perhaps the damage might have happened when the Lily Bell jumped the track when a guest was driving her who was going a bit too fast. I believe Walt was very upset about the crash because a little girl was hurt by the steam coming out of the boiler
When the stack came off and was incorrectly replaced isn't clear. It may have happened in the incident you cite, but I suspect it happened post 1966 (after Walt). I continue to look for photographic evidence to confirm when that happened.
I believe a “G” scale version should be available at Disneyland with electric track and not that plastic set they sell now. I see more of those sets at Goodwill because of the quality.
In the book, it said that the engine derailed and turned onto its side. Steam was coming out and a small girl ran up and stood in the steam getting badly burned. It was no longer fun. That is probably when the stack got broken. The small train that created Disneyland. That is where I saw it in 1998.
It would make sense that the stack came off during that accident in 1953. But it seems unlikely that Roger Broggie, the machine shop, and Walt would have all missed that mistake. Especially because the stack was one of the pieces hand-built by Walt. I’ve not seen any photographic evidence that shows it backwards while Walt was alive. New evidence pops up every now and then; hopefully one will solve this mystery.
One of my best buddies, Colt Stewart of MA, USA, owns what I believe to be the only operable original Disney American locomotive. The locomotive is named “Mount Nebo”, was professionally painted and detailed by live steam legend Bob Hornsby of TX, and the locomotive runs better than any other 1.5” scale American I’ve ever seen. The Disney shop guys didn’t mess around with those castings, the proportions are perfect! You may find videos if you search the locomotive here on TH-cam.
I highly recommend anyone who is around the Inland Empire in SoCal to visit the Southern California Railway Museum in Perris. Ward Kimball's personal collection is housed there
Railroad Supply still offers 1.5" scale castings of the CP 173 not identical to the Lilly bell but pretty close there are quite a few of those locomotives around. Nice little Americans.
Yes, the RS version is very close to the Lilly Belle. I've been tempted to buy one and convert it over to a Lilly Belle as a couple of other folks have done.
Great video. Do you know the origin of the car that is presented in the game room of the Boulder Ridge resort at Walt Disney World.? The case says it was part of Walt’s Carolwood railroad.
Thanks for your kind comment! Yes, there are two Carolwood Pacific cars at WDW. That lounge started out as the “Iron Spike Room”. It was renamed the Carolwood Pacific room several years ago. I’ll talk about all the CPRR rolling stock in a future episode.
@@onceuponatrain, thank you for the reply! I very much look forward to your video on the CPRR rolling stock. Kaye been to the Disney Family Museum and saw the display there, trying to understand where everything is now!
Excellent Video! I had always wondered about the full history of the engine inside Main Street Station today. Many live steam clubs here in the South Bay have a connection with Walt as well. Southern California, as well as the Los Angles Live Steamers both list Walt Disney and Ward Kimball as early members. Irene Lewis, owner of the Little Engines company, was also apparently an acquaintance of Mr. Disney. I have herd from multiple firsthand sources that he apparently liked her apple pies, and she was even invited to the opening day of Disneyland (which she had kept the ticket stub from).
📔Ho ho ho thanks for the history of Walt Disney's locomotive 🚂🚃🚃 true train story like IT so much and merry MERRY CHRISTMAS 2023 and happy new year 🎊 2024 thanks 👍 🕊️🎄🎄🎄🌛😺🧑🏫🇺🇸🦉❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚🎉
Walt and C.P. 173 "LILLY BELLE are in "POPULAR MECHANICS; APRIL 1957, Page 85 with a b&w photo of Walt running 173 downhill from on top of the large brick wall towards the photo Left, and pulling 6 freight cars of Gons and cattle cars, and smaller Bobber Caboose, and carrying 4 people of a man and boy, with a mother and daughter.!!! My dad had a large collection of both P.M., and Mechanix Illustrated from the 1950s, and many photos 📸 of the change from steam into new Diesels!! YET, this Main Story was the old GOLETA VALLEY RR in Santa Barbera by the late and GREAT 👍 MR. SEYMOUR JOHNSON, with 4-8-4 Northern 4751, on 7&1/2" guage for the wider guage instead of the REAL SCALE GUAGE OF 7& 1/16th"!! Plus ➕ here in Green Bay Wisconsin at the NATIONAL RAILROAD MUSEUM our live steam club wanted to Restore the large 20TH CENTURY LIMITED J3A STREAMLINER 4-6-4 HUDSON for 12" guage; but in 1990 they got a new manager who was very rude; and suddenly Canceled our volunteers; and other volunteers who were working 💪 on the narrow guage 3' SHZY 5 built in Lima in 1917; and working for the ELY THOMAS LUMBER CO IN WEST VIRGINIA, until bought by Mr. Allen in the 1960s for a private rr, but not consyrucyed; until donated to the NRRM in 1972; sadly stored outside for27 Years, SHAY 5 Suffered bad damage from rust and rot. The 1988 volunteers started the disassembly; but Suddenly canceled in 1990 by that other manager!! But SHAY 5 has been lying in pieces that are scattered haphazardly ; until 2001 when SHAY 5 was loaded on the red flatcar; and parked in the Large MCCORMICK PAVILLION!!!!! OK! TU. MAR.11, 2024A.D.!
I have an N scale model of the Lilly Belle that was sold by Lowell Smith. However I purchased it on eBay at a reasonable price. It’s a beautiful N scale model. I just wish I had some Carolwood Pacific cars for it to pull. But as you mentioned, all sold out. Now hard to find. They never even released an N scale CPRR Caboose. But I still like the locomotive itself no matter what. I like to take it with me to Disney World. I kinda wish I had the Bachmann HO CPRR set one day.
Hi, @stradplayer90. (Do you play a Stradivarius?) We put the lucite under the train for stability and safety (in case any bits dropped off). We carefully lubricated all the key points on the engine, tender and cars just to ensure they wouldn't seize up over time. But not too much so that it wouldn't drip.
@onceuponatrain I do have a Bach made stradivarious trumpet that I play. Very good catch! Great thinking for a stabilization aid and thank you for the response!
It may be noteworthy that Hong Kong Disneyland also has a Lilly Belle on display at their Main Street train station, although I’m not sure how that one came about.
That is interesting! Hong Kong is the only Disney Park I haven’t visited. We can be assured that this model isn’t Lilly Belle 1 or 2. I’ll have to do some digging. Thanks for sharing this.
@@onceuponatrain no problem! So in short, Lilly Belle mini locomotives exist at the Walt Disney Family Museum, the Main Street USA station in Disneyland California, and the Main Street USA station in Hong Kong Disneyland. I also recently found out that at Walt Disney World, a small replica exists in the Carolwood Pacific room at the Fort Wilderness Lodge as well. Also thanks for sharing this video! I enjoyed it thoroughly!
Thanks again for bringing this up, @davidng2336. I have since found a photo of the 1/8th size Lilly Belle on display at Hong Kong Disneyland. After speaking with some Imagineers who worked on that Park, I discovered that this one was likely built by the late Jack Sessums. Jack was a master model builder and created many miniatures -- cars, planes, helicopters and trains, for motion pictures. This is exactly the kind of information I love to find! The Lilly Belle on display in the Carolwood Room (formerly Iron Spike Room) at WDW's Wilderness Lodge is one of the Hartland Locomotive Works models that I mention in the video. There are also two original Carolwood Pacific cars on display there; I'll cover this in a future episode.
This was such a wonderful and thoughtful look into a great man's personal joy. I think Walt Disney was both amazing and successful because he was always just a kid at heart. And nothing demonstrates this more than the story of his train hobby. I have always loved trains. And I love people who love trains.
I'm over 65 and don't remember a time when I did not love trains. When I was four and learning to read, my parents gave me a copy of a Disney children's book called "Donald Duck's Toy Train" (I wish I still had it). In it Donald had a live steam 4-4-0 around his home (like Walt). One day chip monks Chip and Dale came across the train sitting unattended and took it for a joy ride. The rest of the story of Donald trying to find it ensues. My point is that I was then fascinated with miniature trains that you could ride, but didn't know of any, other than the ads for Little Engines kits in the back of Popular Mechanics Magazine. Eventually I met someone in the local railroad club with his own live steam railroad (and one of those Little Engines Americans) and became involved in helping him expand it in my teenage years. Live steam has been an important part of my interest in railroads ever since. Thanks, Walt.
I have that book! It’s based on the short “Out of Scale”. I enjoy it not just for the backyard train - a true sign of proper priorities - but also for the twist that Donald is happy to have some “scale” residents.
@@onceuponatrain Yes. I also have a minor connection to the Disneyland RR (besides riding on it when I was 10). When I was in college in the late 1970s I worked on the Cedar Point railroad in Ohio when your current "Ward Kimball" was our "Maude L". I contributed a couple of photos of it as "Maude L" to Steve DeGaetano's "From Plantation to Theme Park", nearly 20 years ago (pages 48 and 50).
Thank you for the videos. I really enjoyed them and learning so much about Walt Disney. I mentioned to some other train guys about your video and Walt use to sell plans and castings, and the consensus is everyone is in disbelief or surprised. I tried finding some plans but have had no luck or leads. Any idea if there is anything left to build my own?
Thanks for your kind comments! I can assure you and your friends that the Miniature Locomotive Company was real. I have one of the original catalogs and several original advertisements. Roger Broggie Jr. had the patterns and made castings and other parts before he passed away a few years ago. Michael Broggie used to see copies of the construction drawings; perhaps these could help you?
@onceuponatrain Thanks I appreciate the info. It really is a neat little bit of Disney trivia. For the plans, would Roger Broggie Jr. your referring to would be the one and the same who was the first "imagineer" and headed the Disneyland machine shop? And Micheal being the one who wrote Walt Disney's Railroad Story?
Roger Broggie Jr. was a son of Disney Legend Roger Broggie Sr., who was among the first Imagineers. Roger Jr. also managed the Studio machine shop. Yes, Michael Broggie wrote “Walt Disney’s Railroad Story”.
@@onceuponatrain I gotcha. Thank you for explaining and taking the time to respond. I got myself all mixed up on the Jr/Sr suffix. Hopefully the plans are still out there somewhere in the wild!!!🤞
I was lucky to get my Lilly Belle for less than $1000 (due to it initially missing the COA (which I later lost in a move). It’s the highlight of my G scale collection, and I since have added DCC, Bluetooth control, sound, smoke and a flickering firebox. I love it to death!
Great feature on this locomotive! I would love to see a model train store at Disneyland proper that sold the replicas - plus the Lionel hand car redone.
I'd love that, too! The PRR No.331 (formerly CP No. 63 "Leviathan") and Jupiter are close to the 173. Probably as close as anyone will get... until I win the lottery!
@@onceuponatrain The 'Jupiter' and 'Leviathan' (AKA 331) are pretty close, but don't forget we've also got the Virginia & Truckee’s No. 18 the 'Dayton', the sole survivor of 173's design.
This is the video that just so happens to shine as the true and richest regardingization of Walt Disney's love of trains, with Casey Junior being just only the beginning! Keep up the good work! 🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃
San Francisco, like every big city I've seen, has some rough spots. But the Presidio is safe, clean, and beautiful and the view from the Museum is magnificent. I hope you can visit it someday.
Loved the video, just subscribed and look forward to more post. I live about an hour from La Port, IN and was acquainted with the Coats, Kenny, Barbara and their one son Red of HLW. Been to their home 2 different times to ride their "Paradise Railroad"12-inch gauge railroad. Kenny was part of the Hesston Steam Museum and would come down to Wakarusa, IN where Delton Schrock owned the "Come and Dine Restaurant" where Delton had built a 15 " gauge railroad around the grounds. For power we were using Sandley built 4-4-0 #98 steamer. Ken would come to eat, talk about the trains and take a ride. He always told me that I gave him a good train ride. Delton and him talked about making a G gauge set painted to match the train we had w/ passenger car, cattle car, gondola and caboose to sell out of the station and the restaurant. Delton choose not to invest into all the sets that would be needed to make it possible for HLW to do the production, so it never came about.
Thanks for doing the video. Last year my wife and I stumbled across the Walt Disney Family Museum during a trip to San Francisco. Having grown up in Southern California, I have been going to Disneyland since the late 1960's and was very familiar with Walt's love of trains. I have read several books about Walt's trains and his railroad related adventures with Ward Kimball. I have seen Walt's "barn" is at Griffin Park in the past. I was thrilled to see the Lilly Belle and her train in the museum. The museum is impressive. I was disappointed that I didn't leave myself more time to visit the museum as we had to catch our flight home.
Ollie Johnston was my Railroading Merit Badge counselor ! He had plans for a Shay to work switchbacks down the embankment in the front of their home. That would have been something!
Having Ollie for your Merit Badge counselor is fantastic! I got to know him a few years before he passed away; he was a true "gentle"man. His railroads and running the Marie E. at Disneyland is the subject of a future episode.
He told a great story of the difficulty of getting the photo shot of emerging from smoke. They used bee hive smokers etc etc and he was choking and his eyes were very teary! @@onceuponatrain
I wish Disney would release a limited run of an O scale or even live steam version of Lily Belle. I was once a part of a committee that never got off the ground to look into the feasibility of firing up the original Lily Belle in time for the Disney company's 100th birthday or Walt's 120th birthday.
@@onceuponatrain I'd gladly buy one. Surprised Lionel didn't do one for the 100th anniversary celebrations. What would Walt's daughter think of the idea of firing up the engine for an anniversary?
I didn't mention it in the video, but I discussed the idea of running the Lilly Belle one last time before installing it in the exhibit. From a practical standpoint, it would not only take additional restoration and testing to operate, it would run the risk of damage. More importantly, though, Diane felt that the Lilly Belle was "Dad's thing" and it wouldn't be right to run it without him. For the Napa exhibition I curated, we borrowed a fully operable Lilly Belle clone that gets run on a regular basis. So, we can get an idea of what the original would look like if ran today. BTW, Walt's daughter Diane died in 2013. The odds of the Lilly Belle being deinstalled and run again are amazingly low.
@@onceuponatrain that's a shame. Though I couldn't speak for the man, I'm sure Walt would be tickled to see his locomotive still running long after he was gone. But it's the Disney family's. They get the final say. Though I wonder if non destructive testing would be permitted... Like an ultrasonic testing of the boiler. Just to see if it could be steamed again.
once we put the Lilly Belle on that shelf, it’s not going anywhere. The Museum has HEPA filters, highly controlled humidity, the the train is vacuum dusted on a regular basis. There’s no need for it to come down… and I don’t want to go through that holding-our-breath moment again.
Thanks for your comment. I should add one important detail: Walt was not very rich when he built the Lilly Belle. Executive compensation and stock valuations then weren't what they are today. The Carolwood property cost about $625K in today's dollars; the same estate today is worth many tens of millions of dollars. Walt sold a home and borrowed against his life insurance to get the money to help build Disneyland. Walt wasn't what we would now consider very wealthy until near the end of his life. That's part of the charm of his story: he started out with no money - somedays in Kansas City he would only have food to eat if someone gave it to him - and was able to become successful through his creativity, passion, and determination.
Michael, what a magnificent history. I have been a railroad nut from childhood. I also have been a Disney history nut. The names and reproductions you mentioned made me smile in acknowledgment as I knew them all… separately. It’s great to have a complete overview of how they came together. Thank you and keep up the good work!
1:32 to this very day strongly believe _that_ handcar is the main reason Lionel was not only saved, but also went 180 degrees into making the first/sought-after/mass produced scale New York Central Hudson.
perhaps the damage might have happened when the Lily Bell jumped the track when a guest was driving her who was going a bit too fast.
I believe Walt was very upset about the crash because a little girl was hurt by the steam coming out of the boiler
When the stack came off and was incorrectly replaced isn't clear. It may have happened in the incident you cite, but I suspect it happened post 1966 (after Walt). I continue to look for photographic evidence to confirm when that happened.
I believe a “G” scale version should be available at Disneyland with electric track and not that plastic set they sell now. I see more of those sets at Goodwill because of the quality.
In the book, it said that the engine derailed and turned onto its side. Steam was coming out and a small girl ran up and stood in the steam getting badly burned. It was no longer fun. That is probably when the stack got broken. The small train that created Disneyland. That is where I saw it in 1998.
It would make sense that the stack came off during that accident in 1953. But it seems unlikely that Roger Broggie, the machine shop, and Walt would have all missed that mistake. Especially because the stack was one of the pieces hand-built by Walt. I’ve not seen any photographic evidence that shows it backwards while Walt was alive. New evidence pops up every now and then; hopefully one will solve this mystery.
One of my best buddies, Colt Stewart of MA, USA, owns what I believe to be the only operable original Disney American locomotive. The locomotive is named “Mount Nebo”, was professionally painted and detailed by live steam legend Bob Hornsby of TX, and the locomotive runs better than any other 1.5” scale American I’ve ever seen. The Disney shop guys didn’t mess around with those castings, the proportions are perfect! You may find videos if you search the locomotive here on TH-cam.
my favorite part of the museum. great informative video
Excellent video! Glad to hear about Hillcrest's contributions. Thank you!
I highly recommend anyone who is around the Inland Empire in SoCal to visit the Southern California Railway Museum in Perris. Ward Kimball's personal collection is housed there
We’ve been there and completely agree!
Thanks for keeping this history alive, Michael! Looking forward to many more fascinating episodes.
Railroad Supply still offers 1.5" scale castings of the CP 173 not identical to the Lilly bell but pretty close there are quite a few of those locomotives around. Nice little Americans.
Yes, the RS version is very close to the Lilly Belle. I've been tempted to buy one and convert it over to a Lilly Belle as a couple of other folks have done.
I have the HO scale model!
Nicely done Michael! I look at my Accucraft LB and Walt’s barn shingle plaque every day!
Great video. Do you know the origin of the car that is presented in the game room of the Boulder Ridge resort at Walt Disney World.? The case says it was part of Walt’s Carolwood railroad.
Thanks for your kind comment! Yes, there are two Carolwood Pacific cars at WDW. That lounge started out as the “Iron Spike Room”. It was renamed the Carolwood Pacific room several years ago. I’ll talk about all the CPRR rolling stock in a future episode.
@@onceuponatrain, thank you for the reply! I very much look forward to your video on the CPRR rolling stock. Kaye been to the Disney Family Museum and saw the display there, trying to understand where everything is now!
Excellent Video! I had always wondered about the full history of the engine inside Main Street Station today. Many live steam clubs here in the South Bay have a connection with Walt as well. Southern California, as well as the Los Angles Live Steamers both list Walt Disney and Ward Kimball as early members. Irene Lewis, owner of the Little Engines company, was also apparently an acquaintance of Mr. Disney. I have herd from multiple firsthand sources that he apparently liked her apple pies, and she was even invited to the opening day of Disneyland (which she had kept the ticket stub from).
📔Ho ho ho thanks for the history of Walt Disney's locomotive 🚂🚃🚃 true train story like IT so much and merry MERRY CHRISTMAS 2023 and happy new year 🎊 2024 thanks 👍 🕊️🎄🎄🎄🌛😺🧑🏫🇺🇸🦉❤️💚❤️💚❤️💚🎉
Walt and C.P. 173 "LILLY BELLE are in "POPULAR MECHANICS; APRIL 1957, Page 85 with a b&w photo of Walt running 173 downhill from on top of the large brick wall towards the photo Left, and pulling 6 freight cars of Gons and cattle cars, and smaller Bobber Caboose, and carrying 4 people of a man and boy, with a mother and daughter.!!! My dad had a large collection of both P.M., and Mechanix Illustrated from the 1950s, and many photos 📸 of the change from steam into new Diesels!! YET, this Main Story was the old GOLETA VALLEY RR in Santa Barbera by the late and GREAT 👍 MR. SEYMOUR JOHNSON, with 4-8-4 Northern 4751, on 7&1/2" guage for the wider guage instead of the REAL SCALE GUAGE OF 7& 1/16th"!! Plus ➕ here in Green Bay Wisconsin at the NATIONAL RAILROAD MUSEUM our live steam club wanted to Restore the large 20TH CENTURY LIMITED J3A STREAMLINER 4-6-4 HUDSON for 12" guage; but in 1990 they got a new manager who was very rude; and suddenly Canceled our volunteers; and other volunteers who were working 💪 on the narrow guage 3' SHZY 5 built in Lima in 1917; and working for the ELY THOMAS LUMBER CO
IN WEST VIRGINIA, until bought by Mr. Allen in the 1960s for a private rr, but not consyrucyed; until donated to the NRRM in 1972; sadly stored outside for27 Years, SHAY 5 Suffered bad damage from rust and rot.
The 1988 volunteers started the disassembly; but Suddenly canceled in 1990 by that other manager!! But SHAY 5 has been lying in pieces that are scattered haphazardly ; until 2001 when SHAY 5 was loaded on the red flatcar; and parked in the Large MCCORMICK PAVILLION!!!!! OK! TU. MAR.11, 2024A.D.!
I have an N scale model of the Lilly Belle that was sold by Lowell Smith. However I purchased it on eBay at a reasonable price. It’s a beautiful N scale model. I just wish I had some Carolwood Pacific cars for it to pull. But as you mentioned, all sold out. Now hard to find. They never even released an N scale CPRR Caboose. But I still like the locomotive itself no matter what. I like to take it with me to Disney World. I kinda wish I had the Bachmann HO CPRR set one day.
I saw that clear plastic. She must be leaking a bit.
Hi, @stradplayer90. (Do you play a Stradivarius?) We put the lucite under the train for stability and safety (in case any bits dropped off). We carefully lubricated all the key points on the engine, tender and cars just to ensure they wouldn't seize up over time. But not too much so that it wouldn't drip.
@onceuponatrain I do have a Bach made stradivarious trumpet that I play. Very good catch! Great thinking for a stabilization aid and thank you for the response!
It may be noteworthy that Hong Kong Disneyland also has a Lilly Belle on display at their Main Street train station, although I’m not sure how that one came about.
That is interesting! Hong Kong is the only Disney Park I haven’t visited. We can be assured that this model isn’t Lilly Belle 1 or 2. I’ll have to do some digging. Thanks for sharing this.
@@onceuponatrain no problem! So in short, Lilly Belle mini locomotives exist at the Walt Disney Family Museum, the Main Street USA station in Disneyland California, and the Main Street USA station in Hong Kong Disneyland. I also recently found out that at Walt Disney World, a small replica exists in the Carolwood Pacific room at the Fort Wilderness Lodge as well. Also thanks for sharing this video! I enjoyed it thoroughly!
Thanks again for bringing this up, @davidng2336. I have since found a photo of the 1/8th size Lilly Belle on display at Hong Kong Disneyland. After speaking with some Imagineers who worked on that Park, I discovered that this one was likely built by the late Jack Sessums. Jack was a master model builder and created many miniatures -- cars, planes, helicopters and trains, for motion pictures. This is exactly the kind of information I love to find!
The Lilly Belle on display in the Carolwood Room (formerly Iron Spike Room) at WDW's Wilderness Lodge is one of the Hartland Locomotive Works models that I mention in the video. There are also two original Carolwood Pacific cars on display there; I'll cover this in a future episode.
@@onceuponatrain glad I can help! And thanks for the extra info. I’m glad we are now able to know about it.
This was such a wonderful and thoughtful look into a great man's personal joy. I think Walt Disney was both amazing and successful because he was always just a kid at heart. And nothing demonstrates this more than the story of his train hobby. I have always loved trains. And I love people who love trains.
I'm over 65 and don't remember a time when I did not love trains. When I was four and learning to read, my parents gave me a copy of a Disney children's book called "Donald Duck's Toy Train" (I wish I still had it). In it Donald had a live steam 4-4-0 around his home (like Walt). One day chip monks Chip and Dale came across the train sitting unattended and took it for a joy ride. The rest of the story of Donald trying to find it ensues. My point is that I was then fascinated with miniature trains that you could ride, but didn't know of any, other than the ads for Little Engines kits in the back of Popular Mechanics Magazine. Eventually I met someone in the local railroad club with his own live steam railroad (and one of those Little Engines Americans) and became involved in helping him expand it in my teenage years. Live steam has been an important part of my interest in railroads ever since. Thanks, Walt.
I have that book! It’s based on the short “Out of Scale”. I enjoy it not just for the backyard train - a true sign of proper priorities - but also for the twist that Donald is happy to have some “scale” residents.
@@onceuponatrain Yes. I also have a minor connection to the Disneyland RR (besides riding on it when I was 10). When I was in college in the late 1970s I worked on the Cedar Point railroad in Ohio when your current "Ward Kimball" was our "Maude L". I contributed a couple of photos of it as "Maude L" to Steve DeGaetano's "From Plantation to Theme Park", nearly 20 years ago (pages 48 and 50).
Thank you for the videos. I really enjoyed them and learning so much about Walt Disney. I mentioned to some other train guys about your video and Walt use to sell plans and castings, and the consensus is everyone is in disbelief or surprised. I tried finding some plans but have had no luck or leads. Any idea if there is anything left to build my own?
Thanks for your kind comments! I can assure you and your friends that the Miniature Locomotive Company was real. I have one of the original catalogs and several original advertisements. Roger Broggie Jr. had the patterns and made castings and other parts before he passed away a few years ago. Michael Broggie used to see copies of the construction drawings; perhaps these could help you?
@onceuponatrain Thanks I appreciate the info. It really is a neat little bit of Disney trivia. For the plans, would Roger Broggie Jr. your referring to would be the one and the same who was the first "imagineer" and headed the Disneyland machine shop? And Micheal being the one who wrote Walt Disney's Railroad Story?
Roger Broggie Jr. was a son of Disney Legend Roger Broggie Sr., who was among the first Imagineers. Roger Jr. also managed the Studio machine shop. Yes, Michael Broggie wrote “Walt Disney’s Railroad Story”.
@@onceuponatrain I gotcha. Thank you for explaining and taking the time to respond. I got myself all mixed up on the Jr/Sr suffix. Hopefully the plans are still out there somewhere in the wild!!!🤞
Thank you for this amazing video! I really did enjoy it!
I saw one of the G scale versions at Accucraft the other day, not sure if it was a live steam version or an electric version. Great video btw.
I was lucky to get my Lilly Belle for less than $1000 (due to it initially missing the COA (which I later lost in a move). It’s the highlight of my G scale collection, and I since have added DCC, Bluetooth control, sound, smoke and a flickering firebox. I love it to death!
Those are some awesome upgrades. Please post a video of it running sometime.
Great feature on this locomotive! I would love to see a model train store at Disneyland proper that sold the replicas - plus the Lionel hand car redone.
Another great show! Thanks for sharing some amazing information and even more so for keeping the Lilly Belle and Walt’s passion alive.
I'd still like to see a full-scale operational replica of the Central Pacific 173 built someday.
I'd love that, too! The PRR No.331 (formerly CP No. 63 "Leviathan") and Jupiter are close to the 173. Probably as close as anyone will get... until I win the lottery!
@@onceuponatrain The 'Jupiter' and 'Leviathan' (AKA 331) are pretty close, but don't forget we've also got the Virginia & Truckee’s No. 18 the 'Dayton', the sole survivor of 173's design.
@@TKSP4449 And, of course, the Governor Stanford and CP Huntington have, like most of CP's engines, been rebuilt and styled like 173 as well!
One day hopefully we will see it. For now, the C.K. Holliday is the closest rideable thing we got.
This is the video that just so happens to shine as the true and richest regardingization of Walt Disney's love of trains, with Casey Junior being just only the beginning!
Keep up the good work!
🚂🚃🚃🚃🚃
Thank you for your super-kind words! These are all Walt’s stories; I’m just the lucky guy who gets to share them.
I wish the museum was anywhere but there. Not traveling into such a filthy city
San Francisco, like every big city I've seen, has some rough spots. But the Presidio is safe, clean, and beautiful and the view from the Museum is magnificent. I hope you can visit it someday.
You should make a video about the Casey Jr. G scale model train that is very rare to come by.
Thanks for the suggestion. I discuss that very model in our “Walt Disney’s Casey Jr.” video.
Nice presentation.
Loved the video, just subscribed and look forward to more post. I live about an hour from La Port, IN and was acquainted with the Coats, Kenny, Barbara and their one son Red of HLW. Been to their home 2 different times to ride their "Paradise Railroad"12-inch gauge railroad. Kenny was part of the Hesston Steam Museum and would come down to Wakarusa, IN where Delton Schrock owned the "Come and Dine Restaurant" where Delton had built a 15 " gauge railroad around the grounds. For power we were using Sandley built 4-4-0 #98 steamer. Ken would come to eat, talk about the trains and take a ride. He always told me that I gave him a good train ride. Delton and him talked about making a G gauge set painted to match the train we had w/ passenger car, cattle car, gondola and caboose to sell out of the station and the restaurant. Delton choose not to invest into all the sets that would be needed to make it possible for HLW to do the production, so it never came about.
That's great! If you happen to see Red, please give him my best regards. It was fantastic working with him and Phil.
I had no idea the Paradise Railroad was connected to the Heartland Locomotive Works!
Another great show for me to enjoy!
Thanks for doing the video. Last year my wife and I stumbled across the Walt Disney Family Museum during a trip to San Francisco. Having grown up in Southern California, I have been going to Disneyland since the late 1960's and was very familiar with Walt's love of trains. I have read several books about Walt's trains and his railroad related adventures with Ward Kimball. I have seen Walt's "barn" is at Griffin Park in the past. I was thrilled to see the Lilly Belle and her train in the museum. The museum is impressive. I was disappointed that I didn't leave myself more time to visit the museum as we had to catch our flight home.
Ollie Johnston was my Railroading Merit Badge counselor ! He had plans for a Shay to work switchbacks down the embankment in the front of their home. That would have been something!
Having Ollie for your Merit Badge counselor is fantastic! I got to know him a few years before he passed away; he was a true "gentle"man. His railroads and running the Marie E. at Disneyland is the subject of a future episode.
He told a great story of the difficulty of getting the photo shot of emerging from smoke. They used bee hive smokers etc etc and he was choking and his eyes were very teary! @@onceuponatrain
I wish Disney would release a limited run of an O scale or even live steam version of Lily Belle. I was once a part of a committee that never got off the ground to look into the feasibility of firing up the original Lily Belle in time for the Disney company's 100th birthday or Walt's 120th birthday.
Yes, O gauge is the only popular scale that doesn't have a running Lilly Belle model... yet. ;-)
@@onceuponatrain I'd gladly buy one. Surprised Lionel didn't do one for the 100th anniversary celebrations. What would Walt's daughter think of the idea of firing up the engine for an anniversary?
I didn't mention it in the video, but I discussed the idea of running the Lilly Belle one last time before installing it in the exhibit. From a practical standpoint, it would not only take additional restoration and testing to operate, it would run the risk of damage. More importantly, though, Diane felt that the Lilly Belle was "Dad's thing" and it wouldn't be right to run it without him. For the Napa exhibition I curated, we borrowed a fully operable Lilly Belle clone that gets run on a regular basis. So, we can get an idea of what the original would look like if ran today.
BTW, Walt's daughter Diane died in 2013. The odds of the Lilly Belle being deinstalled and run again are amazingly low.
@@onceuponatrain that's a shame. Though I couldn't speak for the man, I'm sure Walt would be tickled to see his locomotive still running long after he was gone. But it's the Disney family's. They get the final say. Though I wonder if non destructive testing would be permitted... Like an ultrasonic testing of the boiler. Just to see if it could be steamed again.
once we put the Lilly Belle on that shelf, it’s not going anywhere. The Museum has HEPA filters, highly controlled humidity, the the train is vacuum dusted on a regular basis. There’s no need for it to come down… and I don’t want to go through that holding-our-breath moment again.
A very rich person like Walt Disney can make great train models and also a private railroad line
Thanks for your comment. I should add one important detail: Walt was not very rich when he built the Lilly Belle. Executive compensation and stock valuations then weren't what they are today. The Carolwood property cost about $625K in today's dollars; the same estate today is worth many tens of millions of dollars. Walt sold a home and borrowed against his life insurance to get the money to help build Disneyland. Walt wasn't what we would now consider very wealthy until near the end of his life. That's part of the charm of his story: he started out with no money - somedays in Kansas City he would only have food to eat if someone gave it to him - and was able to become successful through his creativity, passion, and determination.
@@onceuponatrain A great man with great passion for railway and model trains, if i was very rich i buy expensive model train and train path
Mike an absolute stunning video!
-Carmine
Michael, what a magnificent history. I have been a railroad nut from childhood. I also have been a Disney history nut. The names and reproductions you mentioned made me smile in acknowledgment as I knew them all… separately. It’s great to have a complete overview of how they came together. Thank you and keep up the good work!
Thank you for your very kind comments, Michael. I’m always glad to meet a fellow railroad “nut”. 😀
1:32 to this very day strongly believe _that_ handcar is the main reason Lionel was not only saved, but also went 180 degrees into making the first/sought-after/mass produced scale New York Central Hudson.