I'll be going to WDW in Orlando at the end of the month while my daughter's dance team perfomrs in the Magic Kingdom.
I recall some of you guys here had been on a tour of the WDW Railroad operations, a behind the scenes look if you will.

Can anyone point me to how I find out more about this tour?.. or whom I need to contact for it?

Thanks,

This message has been edited. Last edited by: PRR Man,

It was in a Disney World book that my mom got. I'm sure if you went to your travel agent or called the hotel you are staying at, they will be able to help you.


Definately go on it. It was my favorite part of my trip to Disney world.

I'll be down there at the end of the month too.

I've been on the tour and really enjoyed it. It is called The Magic Behind Our Steam Trains Tour.

Here is some additional information.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wdw/parks/tourDetail?i...rainsTourPage&bhcp=1

http://www.allearsnet.com/tp/mk/rail.htm

It's a great tour. I went on it when I was down there in April. It was kind of funny because one of the Strasburg RR conductors was on the tour the same day I went. They had him throw the switch to the yard lead.

I have also taken the tour.
You will need to be up early for this one. But well worth it.
One special thing I really enjoyed was we entered the park when it was empty. Looks like a ghost town.
I will probably take the tour again next time we gon in November.
Bill

Must do when you are down there. Can't wait until my son is old enough to go

That's exactly what I was looking for!.. Thanks!

BTW Joe, we'll be arriving June 28 and staying thru July 5.

If you happen to be in Tomorrowland Mon, June 30 you can catch our girl's dance show, onstage near the people mover. There are some 50 odd dancers in the group, I think there are 8 numbers total. When I know the time I'll post it.

I took the tour and me "mr. Schraeder" himself.. that RR catalogue guy! Great TOur and highly recommend it... Just remember to catch the first Bus or monorail in order to see it!

Quick tip -
This is one of the few tours that you can bring a still/video camera on.
When you book it, they will tell you that you can not bring one. Reason being, most of the "The Magic Behind..." tours they will not let you take pictures, so they automatically tell everyone that for all tours. So I took my small still camera and left the video behide. When I got there I asked about taking pictures, their response was why wouldn't you? There is only one location, on they way back to the Backshop do they not want you taking pictures for security reasons and let you know that.
It was fun and the kids enjoyed it also. I will see about posting a picture or two later.

Enjoy

If you want a good preview of what to expect, go here.

And for those who want more information on Disney's railroads, Burnsland is the best site on the net.

Thanks for the link. Great pictures.
I'm ready to take it again!

We're headed to Disney World in August with my daughter, son-in-law and grandsons Matthew and Nathaniel.

I just saw this thread today and signed up for Thursday August 7. Guess I'll have to pack my bibs now!

Rich, perhaps you can sign up for their "Engineer For An Hour" program !!!

If they had one I probably would. I haven't run any steam for several years...

OK, I'm all set for July 1st! Thanks for your help.

quote:

We're headed to Disney World in August with my daughter, son-in-law and grandsons Matthew and Nathaniel.

I just saw this thread today and signed up for Thursday August 7. Guess I'll have to pack my bibs now!

Man who should be teaching who So much info is given on that tour, the history, etc etc. It's hard to take it all in.

quote:

Originally posted by superwarp1:
Man who should be teaching who

I don't know...Does Rich know how to work a crosshead pump?

I can't see Rich throwing a burning rag into the firebox everytime the fire goes out at a stop

That's OK. They can teach him to light off the bricks.

Steve: lighting off the bricks is a big time no-no at D'land. As bad as smoking out the diorama. And if you are firing No. 5, get used to re-lights, it can be one cantankerous loco.

quote:

Does Rich know how to work a crosshead pump?

A crosshead pump? Whazzat?

The "crosshead pumps" on the 765 only pump oil. One side pumps journal oil for the running gear and the other side pumps valve oil for the cylinders. But something tells me that you're not talking about pumping oil here...

As for lighting off the bricks and the other oil-related firing tecniques, this is an area where I hope to learn something new. I have very little experience with oil burning steam locomotives. I fired the 3985 once for about 50 miles and that's it, so I am certainly no expert on oil-firing.

Bob, what is the issue with "...lighting off the bricks..." Why is it a no-no?

quote:

Originally posted by AmbBob:
Steve: lighting off the bricks is a big time no-no at D'land. As bad as smoking out the diorama. And if you are firing No. 5, get used to re-lights, it can be one cantankerous loco.

Sure it's a no-no. But it's still done!

Rich--lighting off the bricks can be very dangerous with the Disney engines, which burn diesel fuel (or, in Disneyland's case, bio-diesel). An inexperienced fireman will sometimes not realize the puddle of diesel fuel that's dribbled onto the pan, and relighting off the bricks can cause a HUGE explosion.

quote:

Originally posted by OGR Webmaster:

quote:

Does Rich know how to work a crosshead pump?

A crosshead pump? Whazzat?

The "crosshead pumps" on the 765 only pump oil. One side pumps journal oil for the running gear and the other side pumps valve oil for the cylinders. But something tells me that you're not talking about pumping oil here...

For the benefit of those who don't know, the WDW engines are equipped with crosshead-mounted water pumps that force water into the boiler. While they also have injectors, the crosshead pump is the main method used.

Crosshead water pumps were used on steam engines in the 1850s and 1860s before the intoduction of the injector. Their main drawback is that water can only be injected into the boiler when the engine is moving! Seeing engines with operating crosshead pumps is definitely like looking back into the very dawn of steam railroading. It's my guess that these are the only steam engines used today that make use of the ancient device.

The pumps appear to have been added when the engines were in the Yucatan. It's suspected that they were much easier to service than injectors, which must be finely machined.

Rich--when you take your tour, be sure to ask about their unique feedwater heaters! These "home grown" affairs use exhaust steam to pre-heat the boiler water, and are probably far different than the feedwater heater you're used to! But, they work, and I suppose that's all that matters!

We just returned from our trip to WDW and WOW!.. the steam train tour was really worth it. Our conductor was a gentleman named George, who is a retired TV production executive, and a great narrator for our tour. At the outset, I must admit I have no pictures to post since my wife had the camera over at Animal Kingdom that morning.

Most of the anecdotes George told us I was already familiar with, having read the book Walt Disney's Railroad Story. Getting up close and personal with the engines and rolling stock, for me was the best part. The Roy Disney engine was out of service with it's pilot truck removed on the drop table in the roundhouse, leaving the Walter E. Disney, Lilly Belle & Roger Broggie to manage the huge crowds in the Magic Kingdom over the Independence Day Weekend.
and I mean HUGE!

What was interesting to hear was how the engineers prefer one loco over another. With the Walt Disney being the best to drive, followed by the Broggie and Roy Disney, in that order. The Lilly Belle was the least favorite, I think mainly due to her being used the least amount of time and being far too finicky. They usually run 2 trains during operating hours, but had 3 on line during busy days.

If there was one item I wished they included, it would be adding the Monorail facility, which is overhead of the steamers. But that could be a whole separate tour!
Speaking of the monorail... since no Disney transportation runs at 6:15am, we took a cab to the transportation center and got the first Monorail ride of the day's operation. There was at least a 15 minute safety and operating checklist routine the driver went through (we were sitting in the cab), before the monorail was permitted to proceed.

One other sidenote is the steamboat in FrontierLand. It is a working, steam operated stern paddlewheel, which was a fascinating blast to watch operate. The boat does run anchored to a guide rail mounted in the river bottom, but its motion is completely self sufficient. Disney lore says that Walt's brother Roy, told him it cost too much to build, so Walt paid for it with his private funds.
(That would make another great tour).

My thanks to you guys for pointing me in the right direction on this.

quote:

Originally posted by PRR Manisney lore says that Walt's brother Roy, told him it cost too much to build, so Walt paid for it with his private funds.

Sounds like you had a great time! But no pictures?

Regarding the Steam Boat, I believe you're referring to the Mark Twain sternwheeler at Disneyland. Walt Disney was dead long before work started on the steam boat at Walt Disney World.

...then I must have ridden on a very realistic figment of imagineering!

yes, Walt Disney died in 1966, and Walt Disney World opened in 1971, but the paddlewheeler was already in the planning, if not construction stage by then.
No one would tell me if the ship was a rebuild or from scratch, but all the propulsion equipment was definitely