The Amusement Park Railroad Thread

[silver2005]

There's a locomotive on display at CP near the tunnel under MF.  Has that always been for display or is that a retired locomotive?

[SonofBaconator]

1 hour ago, Magenta Lizard said:

I was a little disturbed by the green engine pulling red cars. I have a young friend I made through Cirque who also loves the trains, and I mentioned the change in passing to his mother before one of the shows (he was off playing with some of the other kids elsewhere at the time). She said that he was also disturbed by the change, and he noticed it because he had been watching the trains running the day before on the webcams. Later she asked him to tell me about it, and he was clearly personally offended about the change although I'm not sure he realizes that would be the name for that emotion yet

They switched it back though and all is right with the world again.

I also hope the green cars get a new paint job, too, because the red ones are looking very nice now. 

I personally like the change every now and then. I'm so used to seeing green on green that green on red doesn't bother me at all. I hope they alternate the passenger cars and the engines more frequently to see if people notice and to give a change in scenery.

41 minutes ago, silver2005 said:

There's a locomotive on display at CP near the tunnel under MF.  Has that always been for display or is that a retired locomotive?

That's a retired locomotive that was one of the original locomotives to operate at Cedar Point. It's name is Albert and it's been out of service for a while.

[kimv1972]

But if they run the train for Winterfest, green and red are OK, right?

[kimv1972]

Albert at Cedar Point was the last Davenport to receive a new replacement boiler from the factory.  It ran on a sugar plantation in Louisiana, and Arthur LaSalle backdated it for Cherokee Wonderland in Cherokee, NC.  George Roose at CP must have been willing to pay more than Hubert Mitchell at CW, so Albert came north.  It was still in backup service on heavy days when I was there in 1989, but needs frame work so it was stuffed and mounted.  However, CP did make a whole new beautiful wood cab for it before they let it sit out in the rain.  It does get tarps during the winter.  Even with a blind center driver, the wheelbase is probably a bit much for CP's 200' radius curves.

[Magenta Lizard]

On 6/28/2017 at 5:03 PM, kimv1972 said:

But if they run the train for Winterfest, green and red are OK, right?

With me (although I think it would still offend my young friend's sensibilities :)) but only if they run a single train. Since the blue engine has red trim, it would look particularly odd with the green and gold cars IMHO. 

[SonofBaconator]

If you looked at Six Flags Mid America, they had two different colored locomotives with the same colored coaches.

http://condrenrails.com/20th-Century-Steam-p2.html

[kimv1972]

Six Flags over Mid America (now Six Flags St. Louis) ran with five coaches and a caboose.  I ate lunch with the crew in the cupola in 1975 as we rode around the park.  They only used the caboose for the public when there were large crowds since it was slow to load.  They used to have the water tower on the uphill side of the enginehouse, and they would stop with the coaches in the building.  They had to start a loaded train from there right into a 2.5% grade.  They have since moved the water tower to the curve entering the enginehouse.  The track is a big 'B' shaped dog bone with the two stations at the narrow part of the dog bone.  It was faster to walk to the other station than wait for the train, hence ridership was low and today they have only one train.  Truly a track layout that only a government designer would enjoy.  #6 had a wrinkle in the smokebox door.  I was told it was from someone trying to light the engine off without ventilating the firebox first.  Surprise!  I once tried lighting #12 off without taking the cap off the stack.  That was exciting.  I'm glad Crown put the main gas shutoff on the front of the tender so I could slap it shut during my quick exit from the cab.

[kimv1972]

Also notice that the SFMA engines came from Crown with turbogenerators on the left running board.  At KI, Lew and Dick found and rebuilt old ones and added them around 1974.  We ran strictly on batteries in 1972-1973, and I spent a few evenings riding the cowcatcher through the dark forest with a flashlight shining on the track so Bob Adams could see where he was going.  I wonder what OSHA would say about that today?  It was a great ride with the panting of the stack right behind my head.  Dick Carmell really should have had an engine named after him since he did most of the work on the engines to get them running right.  He worked at the Reading powerplant during the day and came in during the evenings to work in the enginehouse while Randy Hale (Lew's grandson) or I ran alone in the cab.  It was just Lew, Kenny, Randy, and I during the day in the beginning with Dick in the evenings.  Sadly, we lost Dick to leukemia in his 50s.  He was a great mentor and taught me a lot about locomotives.  He and Lew worked together on Lew's 15" gage 4-6-2 "Nancy" at Waynesville's (later Der Deutschler) park up until Lew took the KI job in the fall of 1971, then Lew sold Nancy to someone in Kentucky and Dick became Lew's righthand man at KI.  I've never found Nancy in 45 years.  Big boiler, little drivers, oil fired.  If you see her, let her know I've been looking for her!

[SonofBaconator]

Another chapter will be coming very soon- work has been keeping me busy all summer long. I will give you all hint- this locomotive bares the #6, but you'll never see it.

[SonofBaconator]

Chapter 2- Six Flags St. Louis

http://themeparkreview.com/forum/files/img_0063__copy_.jpg

The 70's where a historic time if you're an amusement park enthusiast. Parks were being erected nearly every year luring guests to their gates with their nostalgic charm and promise of adventure. Six Flags St. Louis, or as some remember it- Six Flags Over Mid America, was one of the many amusement parks that were built in the 70s. As you could imagine, to go along with the spirit of constructing an amusement park, there had to be a train ride. Similar to other amusement parks at the time, Six Flags St. Louis featured a 36" narrow gauge railroad that encompassed the entire park. Also like other parks, it was Crown Metal Products out of Pennsylvania who brought the idea of a miniature railroad to life.

The Six Flags Over Mid America Railroad, or Six Flags Railroad for short, featured two authentic steam spitting locomotives powered on propane and propane accessories. The railroad line ran similar to a dog bone shaped layout where the trains ran beside, and even above, popular park attractions. There were two stations, one being the station for the 1904 World's Fair, and the other was in a section called "Old Chicago." There were a couple unique features on this railroad. The first was the placement of stations. The two stations were placed parallel to each other by only 458 feet which made walking from station to station a lot quicker and more effective than riding the train. The second was that the line actually traveled through the engine shed as opposed to beside it. So while guests would ride the train, they would get a glimpse at what the inside of the train shed looked like. I nicknamed these locomotives the "Apple Brothers" because their coats resembled the colors of a green and a red apple. Maybe Applebees could have sponsored the train ride.

 The #6, red locomotive, now named the Tommy G Robertson, was one of the two locomotives custom built for the park. The locomotive featured a apple-red paint scheme with yellow decals and a golden headlamp. The train featured two domes and a HUGE balloon stack rarely seen on any Crown models. The locomotive pulled four standard crown passenger coaches as well as a caboose. The smokebox door originally bared the #6 but from what I heard, an engineer lit the firebox incorrectly resulting in damage to the smokebox. Now the smokebox door has the initials TR for Tommy Robertson. Like the #552, (see Chapter 1), this was one of my favorite Crown designs. It had a simple color scheme and, like I said before, a HUGE smoke stack. Later this locomotive would be given a black boiler jacket which resembled a traditional 4-4-0 from the old west. Later on the red boiler jacket would reappear and the domes would be painted black as well as the yellow decals. Somewhere throughout its existence it lost the logs on its tender giving it a less authentic look.

The #5, green locomotive, named the Little Rock, was one of the two locomotives built for the park. This locomotive featured a traditional Crown balloon stack and three domes. The locomotive was painted green with yellow decals and a golden headlamp. Like its brother, the #5 pulled 4 red coaches but also carried a green caboose. There is very little photo evidence to prove that the #5 pulled a green caboose, however, there was one picture that showed a bright green caboose. 

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Six_Flags_Railroad_-_St._Louis.jpg

There were many changes made to the railroad in the mid 80s. Popularity for the railroad decreased and the park decided to "downsize" the train ride. One of the biggest changes to the railroad was the selling of #5 to Busch Gardens. Realistically Six Flags never really needed two locomotives on the line it ran. The stations where so close together that it wasn't really useful as a transport ride as compared to Disney or even Kings Island. Could the railroad still have functioned with two locomotives? Yes. However, operations would still only require one locomotive. I read somewhere that there were so many railroad crossings that it made two locomotive operations a nightmare (Notice that the Soak City crossings stay down during two train operations at Kings Island? Imagine that times about 4.) In addition, there was really no point in two train operations when one train could barely be filled. All in all, it was an economic decision by the park and they were right by it. (I wish Kings Dominion had the same idea back in the 90s....)

The Tommy G Roberston, or the red and black locomotive, still operates on the line to this day. The line is now called the Tommy G Robertson Railroad and has remained a nostalgic and popular attraction for families. I always considered this locomotive the unofficial mascot for Six Flags St. Louis as it is still seen in the background of many SFSL ads. The Tommy G Robertson shares a shed with a narrow gauge Plymouth diesel shunter which I can only assume was acquired after the selling of engine #5. Lately, the TGR has only pulled three coaches and the caboose as opposed to four. Capacity low or perhaps a damaged wheel? The roofs of the coaches have been painted a royal blue, perhaps to give the ride a more patriotic feel? The ride still performs daily operations and is used for the parks seasonal events.

https://shipsnmoreships.smugmug.com/keyword/Loco;busch/i-H7kb73H/A

The #5, formerly green engine, operates for Busch Gardens in Tampa Florida. Like locomotive #601 (see Chapter 1), this engine received a very radical overhaul. The original green was repainted a bright yellow, something you rarely see on a steam locomotive, with a red cowcatcher, green wheels as well as green and red decals. I assume it was repainted yellow because there was already a green locomotive at the time. The domes (as seen on the picture above) were "harvested" from a previous Busch Gardens locomotive which is residing sadly near their roundhouse facility. The cab was modified with two large exhaust fans for those humid Tampa days. The locomotive's original cars and caboose were broken up and sold to multiple parties. The engine currently pulls #601's old consist painted yellow to resemble the engine. The lesser used out of the three operating locomotives, this locomotive only sees action during busy days when three train operations are required or when its giving #601 or #9 a break. But that's a chapter for another day

Questions? Comments? Please leave them below and please let me know what other railroads I should do. I'll try to post more chapters in the following months!

 

 

Edited September 20, 2017 by SonofBaconator
Updated information

[jcgoble3]

Great story! I find it interesting that SFSL uses cabooses. AFAIK I've never seen an amusement park train that does that. Do you know why they use a caboose, and if it serves any specific purpose in the amusement park setting?

[SonofBaconator]

58 minutes ago, jcgoble3 said:

Great story! I find it interesting that SFSL uses cabooses. AFAIK I've never seen an amusement park train that does that. Do you know why they use a caboose, and if it serves any specific purpose in the amusement park setting?

I think the caboose was just an additional product that Crown sold if they were asked by the clients. To my knowledge, SFSL was the only park to have Crown cabooses made for their railroad. 

http://amusementpics.com/TPT/BGW/BGW052011-276.jpg

Crown cabooses are basically just regular passenger cars gutted and made to look like a caboose. The main purpose they serve is for guests with wheelchairs. I have no clue how many wheelchairs a single caboose can accommodate but I'm sure it's a lot. There are seats for guests onboard but it's mainly for guests with disabilities and for children who like to ride in a caboose. It also serves as one of the posts for the conductors on board. Other than wheelchairs though, they just add some showmanship to the train. Kings Island, or any other park for that matter, could have purchased cabooses but decided not to. 

http://amusementpics.com/TPT/BGW/BGW052011-280.jpg

I believe Disneyland and Knott's are of the only other parks that features a caboose on its railroad. On a real railroad, a caboose would be used on strictly freight trains. They would house the crew members assigned to that specific train. They had brakes, a chimney, sleeping quarters, and even a Crow's nest.  

http://www.mendotraintony.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/dfrr2009.jpg

[King Ding Dong]

Thanks for this.   I grew up at this park from opening year when I was just a tot and to small for most rides and hod lots of aunts and uncles that took me every year.  

Forgot about it going through the maintenance shed back then.  Don't think it does that now.

[SonofBaconator]

1 hour ago, King Ding Dong said:

Forgot about it going through the maintenance shed back then.  Don't think it does that now.

You need to go back to St. Louis Ding Dong

 

[jcgoble3]

So it's mainly for children and ADA access. Interesting.

As for your talk about real cabooses on freight trains, I've seen the inside of one. The Greene County Historical Society maintains an original caboose (manufactured in 1937, I believe) on display at the Xenia Station bike hub in Xenia. The caboose is quite popular with kids at the playground adjacent to it. My dad, in addition to being the GCHS's vice president, is also on their Railroad Display Committee, which directly performs maintenance on the caboose, and loves explaining what everything is to the little kids, so I've heard his spiels multiple times. There isn't a set schedule for opening the caboose to the public, but my dad will usually open it up for a little bit anytime he goes down there to work on it, and it's usually open for any major festival downtown (such as First Fridays). I don't know where you live, but if you're ever in the Xenia area, go check it out. It's at the corner of South Detroit St. and Home Ave., just a few blocks south of the center of town.

[SonofBaconator]

I'll have to check it out! And when I say mainly for kids, it's an assumption. Whenever I was a child, I always ran to the back of the train (whether it was at KI or the Zoo) to ride in the last car. Realistically there's no need for a caboose to be a part of a passenger train since it's uses are primarily for freight.

[King Ding Dong]

Yes, I need to.   We were there for HitP last year but didn't ride the train if it was even operating.   Probably been 15-20 years since I have been on it anyway.  Couldn't make it in June due to my ankle and then St. Louis got to darn hot in July.  These cool Ohio summers have spoiled me.  

[kimv1972]

First of all, I went to KI on Tuesday and was a bit sentimental when confronting my old friend #19 Lew (nee Simon).  The valves sounded like they were set very square (much better than I had heard in years), though the air pump was running all through the station stop at the waterpark.  I'm guessing some brake chatter on the last coach indicated that the triple valve was leaking a bit and making the pump run continuously.  It sure was good to be back on the KI&MV even if #12 was feeling blue and stayed in the engine shed.  I can't believe it was 44 years ago that I last pulled the throttle on those locos.  Mystic Timbers is awesome and a great addition to the train ride as well.  When I worked there, that corner of the park was absolutely dead.  Rivertown was Kings Mill (now Run for your Life), the train, the boring two person canoes, and the even more boring ten person canoes.  That was all there was to Rivertown.  And the train ride ate up fully one third of the land of the original rather small Kings Island.  My guess is that a lot of people never even made it back to us since there were no "magnets" in that area like The Beast.  One rainy night, I sat on the engine for over an hour without seeing one guest walk through Rivertown.  The neighborhood out there has changed a bit.  Now the train may sit in the noisiest area of the park!

Actually, the ADA access has only come about in the last twenty years, so the Crown Cabeese did not have side doors.  They built the two for Six Flags, one for Legend City, one for Pioneer and Western, and one for Lakeside, all 36" gage.  They might have built them for Frontierland and Fort Fun as well, can't remember.

The Alpengeist #17 and train at Williamsburg all came from Lakeside in Salem (Roanoke), VA.  It ran only a very short time there due to a fatality on a roller coaster and a flood, both of which bankrupted the park.  #17 and train was rumored to have then gone to a park in Greensboro, NC that never used it.  Tweetsie rebuilt it for Williamsburg.  It was originally baby blue like KI&MV #12, but with a big diamond stack like SF #6.

Six Flags #5's coaches went to Iowa.  Two were rebuilt for Michael Jackson.  The other three and caboose are a wild guess.  I think they are at Dry Gulch, though rebuilt from the frame up so it would be hard to tell.  Dry Gulch has 11 coaches, most of them rebuilt from used Crowns.  KD #552 and #5 would account for the chassis of nine of them.  The other two are a mystery.  They might have come from Melodia's set at Carowinds.

Busch Tampa has four engines and three coach sets.  One set is from #601 at KD, the others are originals from #4 and #9 at Busch.  It wasn't long ago that #4's drivers were at Tweetsie.  Hopefully, it will be back on the road soon if it isn't already.  When I was at Tweetsie this summer, Scott McLeod, their Master Mechanic, had Tampa air pumps in for rebuild.  Apparently the sand in Florida eats them.  And for those wondering, WDW #1 is not at Tweetsie.  They did not bid on the job.

Enough for now.  Great job on the history of SFSL.  Love the old pic of the two engines in the enginehouse, back when the water tower was located so you couldn't get a run for the hill.  By the way, send my compliments to whomever did the video of the history of the KI&MV on YouTube.  Fantastic job.  Only one correction:  the Crowns are most definitely NOT 1/3 scale models!  They are full size narrow gage and match the dimensions of a Baldwin 8-14C or a Porter catalog code "HADRIA".  They are the same size as the engine that pulled the first train into Lebanon, OH.  Only the wheelbase was shortened to take 150' radius curves at the park.  Disney's first two and the four at Six Flags over Georgia and Astroworld were scale models.  Kings Island's never were!

[SonofBaconator]

Interesting, I heard that the cars from six flags went to BGW while the locomotive went to Tampa but you learn something new everyday

[silver2005]

Does Busch Gardens Tampa just have this massive collection of amusement park train equipment or something?

[SonofBaconator]

@silver2005 They have a total of 4 locomotives, 3 of which currently operate, as well as 15 passenger cars

[SonofBaconator]

While looking at old pictures on my iPad I found this.

Notice the "Cincinnati and Toledo" on the tender which I assume payed homage to the narrow gauge "Toledo, Cincinnati, and St. Louis Railroad" 

@kimv1972 Do you have any information on this?

[SonofBaconator]

Chapter 3- The Walt Disney World Railroad

At the beginning of the 20th century, one man began his to follow his dreams and went on to build a legacy that would continue for nearly over a century. Like most boys Walter Elias Disney grew up with a passion for trains. This passion however would stick with him for the rest of his life and lead him to success and prosperity. If Walt Disney never had an interest in trains, the world would never be the same.

History

The earliest beginnings of the Walt Disney World Railroad predates back to the mid 20th century even before the creation of Disneyland. After a visit to the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan, Walt Disney's love of steam trains sparked again. Taking inspiration from the Henry Ford Museum, Disney wanted to replicate the park in his own image in California. Like Greenfield Village, Disneyland would feature old buildings, live shows, a large steam boat, and of course a steam train circling the park. The Disneyland Railroad opened in 1955 featuring two inhouse 36" (narrow gauge) locomotives. The ride circled the park proving to be a popular attraction among park guests. Naturally when the idea was made to add a larger, more elaborate park in Florida one of the first things Walt wanted was a steam train circuling the park. 

Unfortunatly, Walt died in 1966 as a result of cancer. Determined to finish what he started, longtime business partner and older brother Roy Oswald Disney oversaw the building and completion of the Magic Kingdom. Seeking the help from Walt's old friend, Roger Broggie, they sought out to build a railroad that Walt would have been proud of. It was hard work to find operational narrow gauge locomotives as diesel power has taken over resulting in the scrapping of most steam locomotives. Their luck would soon change however when a railroad photographer who was visiting Yucatan discovered five locomotives ready to be scrapped. Broggie bought the five locomotives and had them shipped to Florida to be restored. Seeking the assistance from George Britton, an old steam ship operator, the locomotives were given new life in a Tampa freight shop. Four out of the five locomotives, which were built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, were able to be fully restored where the fifth one was deemed too in poor condition to operate and was used as a donor for the other four locomotives and was sold for scrap. 

The locomotives received an overhaul and a downgrade. To replicate the look of an early styled locomotive, the boilers had to be reduced significantly in size which reduced their pressure and power. The original wood cabs were replaced with fiberglass. Fitted with larger smoke stacks, larger domes, smaller boilers and large cowcatchers, these locomotives resembled the traditional steam locomotives that built America. The tenders were built from frame up as well as the coaches. The locomotives were converted to burn diesel fuel as opposed to coal

Locomotives

The Walt Disney Railroad operates four authentic steam locomotives and were all named after someone who contributed to the building of the Magic Kingdom

The # 1 Walter E. Disney 

The #1 engine was named after Walt Disney himself. The tallest of the four locomotives, the Walter E. Disney has four pilot wheels and six driving wheels which makes is a "Ten wheeler". The locomotive usually pulls the 100 series red coaches. The Walter E. Disney is currently undergoing an overhaul in Strasburg. The #1 was built in 1925 along with the #3 locomotive.

The #2 Lilly Belle 

The #2 engine was named in honor of Walter's wife Lillian Disney. Lilly was a huge supporter of her husband's dreams even allowing him to build a miniature railroad in their backyard in California. The youngest of the four, the Lilly Belle was built in 1928 which was notably the same year Micky and Minnie mouse were created. One of the few "Mogul" style locomotives, the engine has 2 pilot wheels and six driving wheels. One of the three locomotives to be ready on opening day, the Lilly Belle has seen her fair share of issues. For a long time the locomotive rarely saw action only being used for the park's opening ceremonies and some regular day operations. The locomotive was shipped to Strasburg where it received a major overhaul and returned to service in 2016. The locomotive usually pulls the 200 series green coaches. 

The #3 Roger Broggie 

The twin of the #1, it was intended to be named in Roy's honor and given the #2. Roy however declined stating that he didn't want to be compared to all the great achievements his younger brother had made. It was decided that the engine would be given the #3 and named in honor of Roger Broggie- the man responsible for the creation of the railroad. Roger was very opinionated on his locomotive showing distaste for the sound of the bell it had. It was later fitted with a bell from an old steam ship. The locomotive, like the Walter E. Disney, is a 4-6-0 "Ten wheeler" which pulls the yellow 300 series coaches. Like the #1, this locomotive was built in 1925. 

The #4 Roy O. Disney

The oldest of the four locomotives, the #4 Roy O. Disney was built in 1916 making it over 100 years old. It was the last locomotive however to be completed due to extensive frame work. After Roy died, the locomotive was named in his honor. Initially Roger Broggie showed skepticism for this locomotive being able to conquer the 2% grade the line had, however George Britton and Roy had confidence that it could tackle the grade and has been doing it ever since 1971. The locomotive is a 4-4-0 "American" style engine which was what a majority of early locomotives in America where built as. The locomotive pulls the 400 series blue coaches. 

The #5 

The only locomotive of the original five to not be built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, this engine was scrapped from being deemed too poor to operate. The locomotive would have been the oldest of the locomotives to operate had it not been scrapped. Also it would have been the second 2-6-0 "Mogul" type locomotive. The park intended to have five locomotives and built five bays to accommodate all five locomotives. There is very little information on this locomotive other than what I stated above. I've hear many different stories. One story states that the locomotive was found at a park not too far from the other four and bought on the spot. Another said that it didn't even go to Florida and was stored in California. It was rumored to be named the "Ward Kimball" after Walt's old friend who shared his passion for locomotives. 

Ride Experience 

The railroad features three stations along its mile and a half stretch of track. The first and orignally built station is the Mainstreet station themed to an old Victorian station in New York. In 1972 a second station was added in Frontierland. The station would stay there until the mid 90's until is was demolished and rerouted to make room for Splash Mountain. At the time of construction the railroad only operated one locomotive that went in reverse to Mickey's Toontown Fair. In the late 80's a third station was added for a new section dedicated to Mickey's Birthday. Appropriatly named Birthdayland, the station was later remained Starland, Duckberg Station, and then Toontown Fair. The station received a major rebrand in 2012 where it was themed to the newly renovated Fantasyland. Throughout the ride, an audio recording of an old conductor narrates the whole ride. 

Operations

Each morning a crew comes in to light the locomotives and bring them to full pressure to ensure they can operate for the day. After that, they are shut off and wait for the engineers to arrive. Following a checklist, the locomotives are light and brought up to pressure. The conductor walks the train and checks the couplings and the spiel system. There is a man below the tracks checking the brakes on the coaches. The conductor sets the points so that their train leaves. The train slowly starts to exit the roundhouse following cues from the conductor until the whole train is out of the building. There are two safety tests that have to be done before the train enters the park. The first test is the safety valve test; this is where the locomotive goes over psi capacity which pops the safety valve releasing excess steam. The second test is where the engineer purposely takes the train past a red signal. Each locomotive is equipped with a fail-safe mechanism that breaks the train automatically if it runs past a red signal. Once those two tests are passed, the locomotive can officially operate. The first train has to be at the Mainstreet station by 9:00 am to keep on schedule. A lap should be completed around 20 minutes so the first train should arrive back at Mainstreet at the :20, :40, and :00 of every hour. The second train has to keep up with the first or drop back a lap to keep up with schedule. This done so passengers don't have to wait long at any of the stations. A third train is added to the rotation on busy days. Instead of using radio, the engineers and conductors rely on a series of block signals that tell them when they can depart and where the other locomotives are in the park.

When the train arrives in the station, there loading and unloading process begins. Passengers are unloaded and quickly loaded onto the train. The engineer will pay attention to the signal while the train is loading. Once they see that the signal is green, they will give two short "toots" of the whistle to let the conductor know they are ready to go. The station attendant on the platform yells "BOARD" to signal to the conductor that the platform is secure. The conductor then yells the famous "ALL ABOARD" and signals to the engineer with his hand and a buzzer. The buzzer is essentially a toggle switch that connects to a horn in the cab. When the conductor is ready, he'll respond to the engineer with two switches of the buzzer and a hand signal. If the conductor doesn't flip and buzzer or give the hand signal, the train is not allowed to leave. The train needs a buzzer and a visual signal from the conductor in order to be able to leave the station. If there is an issue while the train is in motion the conductor will flip up the switch immediately activating the buzzer in the cab. The engineer immediately stops the train as soon as he or she hears the buzzer, no questions asked. At the end of the day, the train makes a final stop at the Fantasyland Station. After the train is fully unloaded, the line is switched to the spur line. The conductor gives three short flips on the switch and a reverse signal and the engineer responds back with 3 short "toots". Every time a coach successfully passes the crossing, the conductor will flip the switch to communicate that with the engineer who will in turn reply back. 

There are a series of whistle signals that the engineers use on the train.

Two shorts- Forward motion

Three shorts- Reverse motion

Two longs, a short, and a long- crossing

One long and one short- approaching a station

One long and two shorts- a greeting to another train and to crew spotted along the track

One long- emergency stop

There is also a special whistle signal given between a train and the Liberty Belle riverboat. 

[silver2005]

Do you know what the Disney locomotives that were built in the early 1900's were doing prior to their trip to Florida?  It surprises me that steam locomotives of that size were still in production in the early 1900's.  

[SonofBaconator]

5 hours ago, silver2005 said:

Do you know what the Disney locomotives that were built in the early 1900's were doing prior to their trip to Florida?  It surprises me that steam locomotives of that size were still in production in the early 1900's.  

They worked on the Yucatan peninsula. They hauled hemp for rope. 

[TrainsWow]

On 8/13/2017 at 11:30 PM, SonofBaconator said:

 

 

https://shipsnmoreships.smugmug.com/keyword/Loco;busch/i-H7kb73H/A

The #5, formerly green engine, operates for Busch Gardens in Tampa Florida. Like locomotive #601 (see Chapter 1), this engine received a very radical overhaul. The original green was repainted a bright yellow, something you rarely see on a steam locomotive, with a red cowcatcher, green wheels as well as green and red decals. I assume it was repainted yellow because there was already a green locomotive at the time. The domes (as seen on the picture above) were "harvested" from a previous Busch Gardens locomotive which is residing sadly near their roundhouse facility. The cab was modified with two large exhaust fans for those humid Tampa days. The locomotive's original cars and caboose were broken up and sold to multiple parties. The engine currently pulls #601's old consist painted yellow to resemble the engine. The lesser used out of the three operating locomotives, this locomotive only sees action during busy days when three train operations are required or when its giving #601 or #9 a break. But that's a chapter for another day

Questions? Comments? Please leave them below and please let me know what other railroads I should do. I'll try to post more chapters in the following months!

 

 

Hello, I have a bunch of friends that work on the Serengeti Express at Busch Gardens Tampa. I'm a regular of the park and i'm a big fan of the Crown trains they have. I would like to let you know that they run #5 regularly. Right now all the 3 running engines are equally operated. Last year #5's tender was sent to a welding company in Tampa to be sand blasted for rust removal. Some other work was done on the engine. I wouldn't be surprised if #9's tender is sent for the same treatment in 2018.    

[SonofBaconator]

On 12/22/2017 at 10:16 PM, TrainsWow said:

Hello, I have a bunch of friends that work on the Serengeti Express at Busch Gardens Tampa. I'm a regular of the park and i'm a big fan of the Crown trains they have. I would like to let you know that they run #5 regularly. Right now all the 3 running engines are equally operated. Last year #5's tender was sent to a welding company in Tampa to be sand blasted for rust removal. Some other work was done on the engine. I wouldn't be surprised if #9's tender is sent for the same treatment in 2018.    

Thanks for the information! When I asked a BGT conductor in 2012 if the yellow train would be out, he said they didn't use the yellow train as much as the green and red. 

[TrainsWow]

Hey guys, remember the #4 Crown that was originally at Six Gun Territory Florida but then moved to the Atlanta Underground for Display? Well back in August they moved it back to Florida to Kirby Family Farm. 

 

[kimv1972]

Fantastic news about the #4 Crown going to Florida.  There were a LOT of parts missing when I was in Atlanta a dozen years ago, but it is neat to see it rescued.  Kirby has rescued two Custom Fabricators diesels (Elizabeth from Opryland and the red train from Great America in Santa Clara), plus Porter "Beatrice" from Opryland via Six Flags America in Maryland.  That guy is SERIOUS!

[kimv1972]

The Cincinnati and Toledo pic I believe was photoshopped by the owner of an HO layout to give his layout a historic past.  I stumbled on to it on the net one day as well.  That would be me standing on the tender apron looking at the photographer on either 4/29 or 4/30 of 1972, and I can vouch that I never worked for the C&T!

WDW #152 was included by the Yucatan people to sweeten the pot.  Broggie's book tells about how it ended up blocking Merida traffic due to a chain snapping when they were pulling it out of the park.  The engines were put on NdeM flatcars to Florida so I find it hard to believe that it went to California, but I have also heard rumors that the chassis of a steamer sat on the back lot at Burbank before being scrapped.  Probably a mystery that will never be solved.