Walt Disney’s love of railroading is well known by Disney fans around the world. It is what gave him his inspiration for Disneyland, and the Santa Fe and Disneyland Railroad was the very first attraction to be put into the park. The one car that Walt held most dear was the combine car.
Walt’s fondness for the combine car started when he was a young lad growing up in Missouri, and he got a job as a news butch selling goods to train passengers like newspapers, sodas and fruit, and he kept his goods in the combine car. So he always had a soft spot in his heart for a combine car. And when he started up the Disneyland railroad, it went right behind the engine-- car #101.
That combine car is now fully restored and on display in Griffith Park at the site of Walt’s Carolwood barn. The barn itself is a historical treasure as it was Walt Disney’s personal workshop from his estate on Carolwood Drive. There is no more natural place for Walt’s favorite railroad car than next to the barn that is considered the birthplace of Imagineering.
When Walt was growing up in Marceline, Missouri, the Santa Fe Railroad ran right through the middle of town every 20 minutes, all via steam locomotive. One of the engineers on the Santa Fe was Walt’s uncle Mike Martin. He used to stay at the family’s home there in Marceline. Walt got infected with all this lore and legacy of railroading in America. He knew America was the strongest country in the world because we had the best railroad system. And he put that passion and patriotism into Disneyland and its railroad.
Walt passed away in 1966, and Mrs. Disney lived at the Carolwood property until she passed away in 1997. Walt’s daughter Diane called and asked the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society to preserve her father’s barn because they had to sell the property. So a crew including Michael Broggie went up to the ranch, took it all apart, restored it, and put it back together on the property of the LA Live Steamers, for which Walt was a charter member.
There were a total of six original wooden railroad coaches. One is the Lilly Belle, which is still in use at Disneyland. The other four are up in Santa Margarita, San Luis Obispo.
The Carolwood Foundation is arranging a reunion of those cars the third weekend of May. The rail cars will be coupled up for the first time since 1975 and hauled around the large property at the Santa Margarita ranch. The event will be organized as a fundraiser to build the protective enclosure under which the historic combine car will sit.
The enclosure will be in architecture that will be similar to the barn, stylized early architecture that will be designed by Disney Imagineers. Currently it has a temporary tarped canopy to protect the restored coach from the elements.
The fundraising event will take place in the third weekend of May. Guests will be taken to the ranch on two trains, one leaving from Oakland, one leaving from Union Station. There will be two days of events featuring meet and greets and storytelling with legendary Disney Imagineers Tony Baxter and Floyd Norman telling stories. There’s still space available on the AmTrak train to the event. Visit www.Carolwood.org for more information or to purchase tickets to the event.
Walt's Carolwood barn and LA Live Steamers is located on the north side of Griffith Park just east of the Travel Town museum. The barn is open to the public the third Sunday of every month. It is completely volunteer run and operates solely on donations. They boast the only free Disney attraction in the world, and it is a must-see for any Disney fanatic.
Special thanks to Walt Disney Historian Michael Broggie for contributing to this article.
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