A Grand Circle Tour of the Current Disneyland Railroad

Discussion about the Disneyland Railroad
qnity
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A Grand Circle Tour of the Current Disneyland Railroad

Post by qnity »

The DLR may not be circling the rails currently, but that won't stop me from making my own Grand Circle Tour of railroadiana in the park! All of the pictures below have been taken in the past several weeks at Disneyland. While nothing here is new or mind-blowing, my simple goal is to share some of the magic with those who may live far from Southern California. Enjoy!

We first stop to admire the Main Street station, which is closed at the moment.

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Let's head over to Disneyana to see the high end collectibles for sale. The piece below is 149.94 and was snatched up quickly (it was gone after a week). The DLR pin in the corner is a nice touch. While I am a huge fan of Jeremy Fulton (and own some of his works), I can't help but wish a similar item would be made with Steve's Ripley painting (whadya say Steve?).

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A similar print which includes the train;

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Next we travel into the adjacent gallery to admire the Carolwood collection of artifacts;

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There are a large number of frames on the wall detailing the different Disney parks railroads. Similar posters can be found at the New Orleans station.

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Great details of the trains from the other Disney parks;

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A larger version of the poster in the frame for sale above;

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Next we travel through the many shops along Main Street to see what DLR items are for sale. As noted in another post, there are slim pickings these days.

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As a side note, given the lack of items for sale in the stores, I have been perusing Ebay and did come across these pressed pennies with a locomotive on it (difficult to see from the picture, I was unable to photograph this well). These were given away for free at the Main Street bank in the 90s. I'm a sucker for anything related to the bank.

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Now let's head over to the New Orleans station and check out the trains.

This is a good opportunity to see the DLR's version of the "backside of water" (i.e. the left side of the trains)

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It's a great opportunity to explore the New Orleans train station. There is another set-up of the posters seen in the gallery on Main Street.

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While most would agree that the DLR is best when it is cruising around the park, the opportunity to climb aboard the trains into areas that are typically off-limits has been surreal. Since my pictures of the cab are mysteriously missing at the moment, you will need to settle for the spot where the conductor stands (at least until I find my cab pics).

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Are these hand signals universal or unique to Disneyland? They seem different from prior documented hand signals on other sites;
http://findingmickey.squarespace.com/di ... ad/2954998

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The magnificent and historic Lilly Belle was out on one of the days we visited, and we were lucky enough to receive a tour. For me, experiences like this help me to forget that the train is parked currently.

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I learned that Johnny Depp sat on that small seat on the right for a recent interview.

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More details inside. For the life of me, I have no idea what that thing on top of the right hand side of the table is. Anyone know?

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The carpet with the hidden Mickeys that came from the original roll used for Walt's apartment. The rarity of this is why there is a carpet protector running down the middle of the train car.

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Even though the train was not moving, they still gave us the reproduction Lilly Belle tickets, as well as the certificate below. The look on the face of a 2.5 year old who has been made a Disneyland Engineer for a day is the reason why Walt wanted a train in his park. I thank the cast members who made this happen.

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After leaving New Orleans station, we can tour the other train stations at the park but not much is going on there.

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Main Street station at night;

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I finish this trip report with a shout-out to Vaderdentist with the following item I bought in Critter Country. If you ask my wife, I paid $6 for the mediocre chocolate inside, NOT for the wickedly awesome custom Darth Vader graphics on the front :D

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I hope you all enjoyed!
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Locoboy5150
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Re: A Grand Circle Tour of the Current Disneyland Railroad

Post by Locoboy5150 »

Thank you so much for sharing your photos with everyone. Drat, I was at the park just a couple of weeks before you went in the Lilly Belle in late January, but it was raining a lot throughout my trip so the car was stashed away in the Adventureland/New Orleans Square tunnel. Thus, I still have never been inside it. Thanks to your photos though, at least I got to take a peek.

Engine 4's cab also was roped off throughout my trip, I'm guessing also due to the rain.
"Hello folks. Welcome aboard the Disneyland Railroad."

- Thurl Ravenscroft 1914-2005 -

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CP173
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Re: A Grand Circle Tour of the Current Disneyland Railroad

Post by CP173 »

Great tour! I'm pretty certain that object you can't identify is for a fountain for ink pens. Anyone know for certain?
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Varnish Car
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Re: A Grand Circle Tour of the Current Disneyland Railroad

Post by Varnish Car »

I believe the object in the photo on the table in the Lily Belle you were asking about is a brass inkwell desk set. The other object is a letter holder.
Steve DeGaetano
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Re: A Grand Circle Tour of the Current Disneyland Railroad

Post by Steve DeGaetano »

Great tour! I needed this!
Steve

The latest edition of Welcome Aboard the Disneyland Railroad! is now available to pre-order, with a special price for Burnslanders! You can read more about the book and pre-order a copy from http://www.burnsland.com/store/dlrrbook.shtml
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IDMT129
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Re: A Grand Circle Tour of the Current Disneyland Railroad

Post by IDMT129 »

That is indeed a brass inkwell and letter holder. you can get exact copies on ebay for $37. Love the photos and certificate.
qnity
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Re: A Grand Circle Tour of the Current Disneyland Railroad

Post by qnity »

IDMT129 wrote:That is indeed a brass inkwell and letter holder. you can get exact copies on ebay for $37. Love the photos and certificate.
Do you have the link for this? I can't seem to find it
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IDMT129
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Re: A Grand Circle Tour of the Current Disneyland Railroad

Post by IDMT129 »

qnity wrote: Do you have the link for this? I can't seem to find it
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=br ... l&tbm=shop
Steve DeGaetano
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Re: A Grand Circle Tour of the Current Disneyland Railroad

Post by Steve DeGaetano »

The ones on eBay are similar, but not exact copies.
Steve

The latest edition of Welcome Aboard the Disneyland Railroad! is now available to pre-order, with a special price for Burnslanders! You can read more about the book and pre-order a copy from http://www.burnsland.com/store/dlrrbook.shtml
Steve DeGaetano
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Re: A Grand Circle Tour of the Current Disneyland Railroad

Post by Steve DeGaetano »

qnity wrote:
Are these hand signals universal or unique to Disneyland? They seem different from prior documented hand signals on other sites.
These hand signals are unique to Disney - they are definitely not actual railroad hand signals.
qnity wrote: The carpet with the hidden Mickeys that came from the original roll used for Walt's apartment.
That carpet isn't from the "original roll" used to carpet the apartment. It was purchased when the Lilly Belle was refurbished several years ago, and carpet from the same roll was used to re-carpet the apartment.
Steve

The latest edition of Welcome Aboard the Disneyland Railroad! is now available to pre-order, with a special price for Burnslanders! You can read more about the book and pre-order a copy from http://www.burnsland.com/store/dlrrbook.shtml
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