WALT DISNEY's BACKYARD RAILROAD

Photographed and Copyright © 1950-1998 by Ollie Johnston. Used with permission.

The Carolwood Pacific Railroad was Walt Disney's hobby for several years in the late 1940's and early 1950's. He built many of the parts himself, with help from other rail and steam hobbyists at the Disney studio, such as Ollie Johnston and Ward Kimball.

Photo by J-E Nystrom.

This is the "Lilly Belle", a live steam engine in 1:8 scale, 7 1/4" gauge, built by Walt and his friends in the workshops of the Disney Studio. It is now on display at the railroad station in Disneyland.

Photo by J-E Nystrom.

Another wiew of the Lilly Belle. The caboose was entirely built by Walt Disney himself. It is extremely detailed, with full interior furnishings.

Photographed and Copyright © 1950-1998 by Ollie Johnston. Used with permission.

The edge of Walt's home and garage can be seen in the center & upper left in the picture above.
Walt had 2.615 feet (870 meters) of track around his home, with a long tunnel and several bridges:

Here is a closeup of Walt Disney on his 1 1/2" to the foot -scale engine:

Photographed and Copyright © 1950-1998 by Ollie Johnston. Used with permission.

All of the equipment was removed when Walt's interest shifted to
the 3-foot gauge steam locomotives at Disneyland.

For more information about this fascinating subject, see the book "Walt Disney's Railroad Story", by Michael Broggie. Forewords by Ward Kimball and Ollie Johnston.
ISBN 1-56342-006-6

For more info about Walt's railroads, see the
Carolwood Pacific Historical Society's webpage!

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Counter zeroed 2005-05-29