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Walt Disney's 

Passion: Railroads


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Walt Disney's story begins  in 1901 in a small near north side Chicago neighborhood. 

Undoubtedly, Walt Disney's parents took baby Walt and his older brother Roy 

to see the Santa Fe's steam trains.. Maybe they even took the kids 

to see the circus train as it rolled into Chicago.

Disney's birth home Chicago

Chicago Illinois

Chicago - Midwest Rail Hub starting in 1860


Chicago's geographical location and its manufacturing dominance lured every major railroad as early as the 1850's.  Unlike most other Eastern and Midwest locations, Chicago based railroads were profitable as they were able to carry cargo to and from the city.  Manufactured goods were sent westward while  animals bound for the Chicago stockyards returned eastbound.


 Walt Disney -- Obsessed with Railroads

Historic Moment

As a child Disney watched Santa Fe passenger and freight trains rumble past his back yard in his childhood hometown of Marceline, Missouri.

 

Yet, it wasn't until Walt Disney was in his late 40's that railroads became a passion.


According to Michael Brogge, in 1945, Kimball Ward, a Disney animator was hosting a “steam-up” party for the local Live Steamers club and invited his boss, Walt Disney, to be the guest engineer for the event. 


Ward recounts that he never saw Walt smile more broadly than the moment when he pulled the throttle and the engine emerged from the roundhouse. By the time the party ended, Walt was hooked and railroading was in his veins.


From that point on, Walt was obsessed with railroads.





Disney operating the locomotive in 1955.


 



Disney operating his backyard railroad

The Story

Walt's railroad was eventually sold to the Disney corporation in 1982.Like many children, railroads captured young Walt Disney's attention. Walt Disney grew up in an era when trains dominated transportation.


In 1901, the year Walt Disney was born, Chicago had more railroads criss crossing the city than anywhere else.  Furthermore, it had more cable cars than San Francisco.


Thus, little Walt heard and saw trains and streetcars where ever he went.


When Walt was 4 years old, the family moved to a small Missouri town of Marceline, population less than 2,000 people.   


His days were spent watching the huge locomotives speeding past his backyard as Marceline was on Santa Fe's main line.


As a teenager, he worked as a "newsie", selling newspapers and magazines on the trains.


When he moved to California, he didn't lose his interest in trains.  However, they took a backseat as Disney had other challenges to deal with.


However, thanks to an invitation from Kimball Ward a Disney animator, to view his new train layout, Walt Disney's passion for trains took hold.


In 1948, Walt attended a railroad show in Chicago which  resulted in plans for a railroad in his back yard. 


For years Walt had been thinking of building a small park where children and adults could play together.  That park would eventually become Disneyland.


Walt determined that the park would have a railroad!


When Walt moved to a bigger house, he engaged a landscape architect to plan for a railroad in his back yard.  The only obstacle was Walt's wife garden.  


A section pf track had to be laid underground so not to disturb his wife's garden.


As Walt's idea for his park entered the planning stage, Walt included a railroad.


However, this railroad that would encircle the Park wold be owned by Walt Disney personally, not by the corporation.


He named one locomotive Lily Belle for his wife Lillian.  Another locomotive was named for a president of the Santa Fe Railroad, E.P. Ripley.


Probably one of Walt's memorable times occurred on the opening of Disneyland. On July 17, 1955, Walt sat in the engineer seat on the Lily Belle as it took passengers around the park.


The 10 year old boy who had been picked to be Walt's junior engineer on opening day became the president of Disney's railroad foundation.


Author's note:  Several years ago I meet him and learned how he was selected to be Walt's junior engineer.  

See story below.


Walt as engineer on his back yard miniature railroad.  

Walt Disney not only operated the train as it circled Disneyland in July 1955, 

he actually owned the train personally, not his corporation.

 His business card read:  


Walt Disney, CEO and Engineer

 Carolwood Pacific RR  

A Disney Secret Revealed

Roger Broggie and his future wife grew up in an institution for orphans called Mooseheart, 45 miles west of Chicago.


After graduating high school, they moved to California where their son Michael was born.


After working for an aero space company for several years, Roger was offered a job at Disney Co. His new position would be as an imagineer - the team of creative people who made Disney’s vision happen.


Walt Disney, a big time railroad buff, announced that he would be the engineer operating the train that circled the park on Disneyland’s opening day in July 17, 1955.


Disney also made it known that  he would be choosing a “junior engineer” to sit next to him on the train.


Roger approached Walt and asked for a favor. Walt replied, “Yes, I will".


On Disneyland's opening day, July 17, 1955, as the train approached the entrance, hundreds of children, including 10 year old Michael Broggie, screamed  “pick me”.  


 Walt Disney pointed to Michael Broggie to board the locomotive.  Michael proudly sat next to Walt Disney as his junior engineer. 


Michael many many years later learned why Walt Disney picked him to be his junior engineer on Disneyland’s opening day.


Michael's dad had asked Disney to do so!


Today, Michael serves as the chairman of the Carolwood Society, Walt Disney’s railroad foundation. 


Carolwood Pacific RR was the name Disney gave to his miniature railroad that ran around his backyard.

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