The Carolwood Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a -inch () gauge ridable miniature railroad run by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

in the backyard of his home in the

Holmby Hills Holmby Hills is a neighborhood on the Westside of Los Angeles, California, United States. The neighborhood was developed in the early twentieth century by the Janss Investment Company, which developed the rest of Westwood as well as other Los Ang ...

neighborhood of

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. It featured the ''Lilly Belle'', a 1:8- scale

live steam Live steam is steam under pressure, obtained by heating water in a boiler. The steam is used to operate stationary or moving equipment. A live steam machine or device is one powered by steam, but the term is usually reserved for those that ar ...

locomotive A locomotive or engine is a rail transport vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. If a locomotive is capable of carrying a payload, it is usually rather referred to as a multiple unit, motor coach, railcar or power car; the ...

named after Disney's wife, Lillian Disney, and built by the Walt Disney Studios'

machine shop A machine shop or engineering workshop (UK) is a room, building, or company where machining, a form of subtractive manufacturing, is done. In a machine shop, machinists use machine tools and cutting tools to make parts, usually of metal or pla ...

. The locomotive made its first test run on December 24, 1949. It pulled a set of freight cars, as well as a

caboose A caboose is a crewed North American railroad car coupled at the end of a freight train. Cabooses provide shelter for crew at the end of a train, who were formerly required in switching and shunting, keeping a lookout for load shifting, dam ...

that was almost entirely built by Disney himself. It was Disney's lifelong fascination with trains, as well as his interest in

miniature models A scale model is a physical model which is geometrically similar to an object (known as the prototype). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small prototypes ...

, that led to the creation of the CPRR. The railroad, which became operational in 1950, was long and encircled his house. The

backyard railroad __NOTOC__ A backyard railroad is a privately owned, outdoor railroad, most often in miniature, but large enough for one or several persons to ride on. The rail gauge can be anything from to or more. Smaller backyard or outdoor railroads that c ...

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 Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envisio ...

theme park in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

. 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 in Los Angeles'

Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large municipal park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains, in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park includes popular attractions such as the Los Angeles Zoo, the Autry Museum of the ...

. The ''Lilly Belle'', some of the freight cars, and the caboose are now on display at the Walt Disney Family Museum in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

, California.

History

, the owner of the Carolwood Pacific Railroad, was a

rail enthusiast A railfan, rail buff or train buff (American English), railway enthusiast, railway buff or trainspotter (Australian/British English), or ferroequinologist is a person who is recreationally interested in trains and rail transport systems. Rail ...

... As a young boy, he wanted to become a

train engineer A train driver, engine driver, engineman or locomotive driver, commonly known as an engineer or railroad engineer in the United States and Canada, and also as a locomotive handler, locomotive operator, train operator, or motorman, is a pers ...

like his father's cousin, Mike Martin, who drove main-line trains on the

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway , often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the larger railroads in the United States. The railroad was chartered in February 1859 to serve the cities of Atchison and Topeka, Kansas, and ...

... Disney's father worked as part of a track installation crew for the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

. As a teenager, Disney worked as a news butcher on the

Missouri Pacific Railway The Missouri Pacific Railroad , commonly abbreviated as MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers. In 1967, the railroad ...

, where he sold newspapers, candy, cigars, and other products on trains.. 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 A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

with

chewing tobacco Chewing tobacco is a type of smokeless tobacco product that is placed between the cheek and lower gum to draw out its flavor. Some users chew it, others do not. It consists of coarsely chopped aged tobacco that is flavored and often sweetened; ...

, they showed him how to operate the locomotive. Disney renewed his interest in trains after injuries forced him to stop playing

polo Polo is a ball game played on horseback, a traditional field sport and one of the world's oldest known team sports. The game is played by two opposing teams with the objective of scoring using a long-handled wooden mallet to hit a small ha ...

.. Seeking a calmer recreational activity, he purchased several Lionel train sets in late 1947. By 1948, his interest in model trains was evolving into an interest in larger, ridable miniature trains after observing the trains and backyard railroad layouts of several hobbyists.. These hobbyists included Disney animator

Ollie Johnston Oliver Martin Johnston Jr. (October 31, 1912 – April 14, 2008) was an American motion picture animator. He was one of Disney's Nine Old Men, and the last surviving at the time of his death from natural causes. He was recognized by The Wal ...

, who had a ridable miniature railroad, as well as Disney animator

Ward Kimball Ward Walrath Kimball (March 4, 1914 – July 8, 2002) was an American animator employed by Walt Disney Animation Studios. He was part of Walt Disney's main team of animators, known collectively as Disney's Nine Old Men. His films have been honore ...

, who owned the full-size,

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

Grizzly Flats Railroad The Grizzly Flats Railroad (GFRR) was a 3-foot () narrow-gauge heritage railroad owned by Disney animator Ward Kimball at his home in San Gabriel, California. The railroad had of track, and was operated from 1942 to 2006. It was the first ful ...

.. 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. Disney purchased this land to build a new family home with an elaborate backyard railroad behind it. Plans for the railroad's layout included of -inch () gauge track with eleven

switches In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type of ...

, as well as

gradients In vector calculus, the gradient of a scalar-valued differentiable function of several variables is the vector field (or vector-valued function) \nabla f whose value at a point p is the "direction and rate of fastest increase". If the grad ...

overpass An overpass (called an overbridge or flyover in the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries) is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that crosses over another road or railway. An ''overpass'' and '' underpass'' together for ...

es, a

trestle ATLAS-I (Air Force Weapons Lab Transmission-Line Aircraft Simulator), better known as Trestle, was a unique electromagnetic pulse (EMP) generation and testing apparatus built between 1972 and 1980 during the Cold War at Sandia National Laborato ...

, and an elevated dirt berm... The layout would completely surround the house. Disney's wife, Lillian Disney, objected to the plan that part of the layout be built in an area where she intended to plant a flower garden. As a compromise, Disney had an S-curve

tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

built underneath the spot where the garden was eventually planted. Aided by a Walt Disney Studios attorney, Disney had a

tongue-in-cheek The idiom tongue-in-cheek refers to a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walter Scot ...

legal contract written to establish his right to own and operate the railroad's

right of way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' also exists on land held by a gov ...

... He and his wife signed the contract and their two daughters witnessed it. Disney named his railroad ''Carolwood Pacific Railroad'' (CPRR) in reference to his address at 355 Carolwood Drive. The railroad eventually cost $50,000, split evenly between its layout and

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars. Passenger vehicles ca ...

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 Gerald M. Best (1895–1985) was a noted railroad historian, writer, photographer, and one of the top sound engineers in the motion picture industry.. After receiving an electrical engineering degree from Cornell, Best served in the Army Signal Co ...

, was based directly on copies of the

blueprint A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets. Introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842, the process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...

s for the Central Pacific No. 173, a

4-4-0 4-4-0 is a locomotive type with a classification that uses the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement and represents the arrangement: four leading wheels on two axles (usually in a leading bogie), four ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...

rebuilt by the

Central Pacific Railroad The Central Pacific Railroad (CPRR) was a rail company chartered by U.S. Congress in 1862 to build a railroad eastwards from Sacramento, California, to complete the western part of the " First transcontinental railroad" in North America. Incor ...

in 1872. The initials for the Carolwood Pacific Railroad, ''CPRR'', matched the initials for the Central Pacific Railroad, one of the railroads that helped complete the

first transcontinental railroad North America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the " Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line constructed between 1863 and 1869 that connected the existing eastern U.S. rail netwo ...

in 1869.. Under Broggie's guidance, Disney helped build several parts for the ''Lilly Belle'', including its

smokestack A chimney is an architectural ventilation structure made of masonry, clay or metal that isolates hot toxic exhaust gases or smoke produced by a boiler, stove, furnace, incinerator, or fireplace from human living areas. Chimneys are typ ...

and

headlamp A headlamp is a lamp attached to the front of a vehicle to illuminate the road ahead. Headlamps are also often called headlights, but in the most precise usage, ''headlamp'' is the term for the device itself and ''headlight'' is the term for ...

. Most of the

machining Machining is a process in which a material (often metal) is cut to a desired final shape and size by a controlled material-removal process. The processes that have this common theme are collectively called subtractive manufacturing, which utilizes ...

was done by Broggie's machine shop team, and the wooden cab was built by Disney personally.. 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. The tender could carry up to of water and of coal crushed to scale-sized lumps to fuel the locomotive.. 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, wood-grain-patterned gondolas made by the studio's machine shop.. There were also two

boxcar A boxcar is the North American (AAR) term for a railroad car that is enclosed and generally used to carry freight. The boxcar, while not the simplest freight car design, is considered one of the most versatile since it can carry most ...

s, two

stock cars Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing run on oval tracks and road courses measuring approximately . It originally used production-model cars, hence the name "stock car", but is now run using cars specifically built for racing. It ori ...

, a

flatcar A flatcar (US) (also flat car, or flatbed) is a piece of rolling stock that consists of an open, flat deck mounted on a pair of trucks (US) or bogies (UK), one at each end containing four or six wheels. Occasionally, flat cars designed to carry ...

, and a

made of wood from the studio's prop shop. Disney's fascination with miniature models was apparent from the level of detail he applied to the miniature interior of the caboose, which included a calendar hung on the wall, a broom, and a working

potbelly stove A potbelly stove is a cast-iron, coal-burning or wood-burning stove that is cylindrical with a bulge in the middle. Gove PB (editor in chief) (1981). ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language Unabridged''. Springfield ...

.. Except for its frame and

trucks A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construction ...

, Disney built the entire caboose himself. All of the train cars, except for the caboose, were stored in the CPRR's tunnel when not in use. The CPRR's caboose was stored in a special barn where Disney monitored and controlled the CPRR's track. The barn's design was based on a set piece for the 1949 Disney film ''

So Dear to My Heart ''So Dear to My Heart'' is a 1948 American live-action/animated film produced by Walt Disney and released by RKO Radio Pictures. Its world premiere was in Chicago, Illinois, on November 29, 1948. Like 1946's ''Song of the South'', the film comb ...

'', and it brought back Disney's childhood memories of a similar barn on his family farm in

Marceline, Missouri Marceline is a city in Chariton and Linn counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 2,123 at the 2020 census. History Marceline was laid out in 1887, and named after the wife of a railroad man. A post office called Marceline h ...

... The barn had a

centralized traffic control Centralized traffic control (CTC) is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America. CTC consolidates train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system con ...

board, which had several lights designed to indicate the presence of trains along the railroad's route. The CPRR's switches could also be electrically controlled from this board. Articles about the CPRR appeared in several magazines, including 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 As used in mechanical engineering, the term tractive force can either refer to the total traction a vehicle exerts on a surface, or the amount of the total traction that is parallel to the direction of motion. In railway engineering, the term t ...

of more than , the ''Lilly Belle'' could pull a train with up to 12 adult passengers. Due to its lack of

brakes A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Backgroun ...

, the locomotive was set in reverse if it ever needed to stop quickly.. In early 1953, a visitor drove the ''Lilly Belle'' too fast along a curve, causing it to

derail A derail or derailer is a device used to prevent fouling (blocking or compromising) of a rail track (or collision with anything present on the track, such as a person, or a train) by unauthorized movements of trains or unattended rolling stock. ...

.. As a result, the ''Lilly Belle'' fell on its side, broke its

whistle A whistle is an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a lar ...

, and released a jet of steam across the ground. A five-year-old girl ran through the steam jet, which left minor burns on her legs. As a result of this incident, Disney, fearing the possibility of future accidents, closed down the CPRR and stored the locomotive in the studio's machine shop.. Disney removed the Carolwood Pacific Railroad's track in 1964.

Influences

Walt Disney credited the Carolwood Pacific Railroad with inspiring the creation of

.. 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 __NOTOC__ The Casey Jr. Circus Train is the name of a ridable miniature railroad attraction found at Disneyland and a powered roller coaster attraction found at Disneyland Park (Paris). Based on the train of the same name from the 1941 film '' ...

, 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 The Disneyland Railroad (DRR), formerly known as the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, is a 3-foot () narrow-gauge heritage railroad and attraction in the Disneyland theme park of the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, in the United St ...

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 Magic Kingdom Park, previously known as Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom (1971–1994) and The Magic Kingdom (1994–2017), is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando, Florida. Owned and operated by The ...

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

near

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

;

Tokyo Disneyland (local nickname ''TDL'') is a theme park at the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, Japan, near Tokyo. Its main gate is directly adjacent to both Maihama Station and Tokyo Disneyland Station. It was the first Disney park to ...

in Japan; and

Disneyland Park Disneyland is a theme park in Anaheim, California. Opened in 1955, it was the first theme park opened by The Walt Disney Company and the only one designed and constructed under the direct supervision of Walt Disney. Disney initially envision ...

near

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

. 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 Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attra ...

.. 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 Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

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...

Preservation

In 1965, Walt 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. The completion of the CPRR's track installation at the Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum in Los Angeles' Griffith Park was celebrated on October 22, 1966, and the route utilizing that track became known as the ''Disney Loop''. This event occurred a few weeks before Disney's death on December 15, 1966.. 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. After Lillian Disney died in 1997, the Disney residence, including the area where the CPRR was located, was put up for sale. Mexican investor Gabriel Brener, who bought the property in 1998, demolished the original house due to issues with

lead paint Lead paint or lead-based paint is paint containing lead. As pigment, lead(II) chromate (, "chrome yellow"), lead(II,IV) oxide, (, "red lead"), and lead(II) carbonate (, "white lead") are the most common forms.. Lead is added to paint to acce ...

, lead piping,

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

, and a weak

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

. The CPRR's tunnel was still in place in 2013. In 2014, the property was sold to an unknown buyer. In 1999, Walt Disney's Carolwood Barn, the CPRR's former control center, was relocated to the Los Angeles Live Steamers Railroad Museum. 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. On July 19, 1999,

Diane Disney Miller Diane Marie Disney-Miller (December 18, 1933 – November 19, 2013) was the eldest daughter of Walt Disney and his wife Lillian Bounds Disney. Diane co-founded the Walt Disney Family Museum alongside her family. She was president of the Board ...

, Disney's daughter, participated in the rededication ceremony for the barn. Since 2009, the CPRR's ''Lilly Belle'', some of the freight cars, and the caboose have been on display at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco, California. 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 Disney's Wilderness Lodge is a resort hotel located at the Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Opening on May 28, 1994, the resort is owned and operated by Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. Disney's Wilderness Lodge is ...

within Walt Disney World.

References

Bibliography

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External links