Disneyland Railroad - Locomotives

Locomotives

The Disneyland Railroad currently has five narrow-gauge steam locomotives (the original four are named after former Santa Fe CEOs):

• 1: C.K. Holliday, a 4-4-0 built in the Walt Disney Studio in 1954; went into service at Disneyland on Opening Day, 1955. It was named for Cyrus Kurtz Holliday, founder of the Santa Fe Railroad in 1859.

• 2: E.P. Ripley, a 4-4-0 built in the Walt Disney Studio in 1954; went into service at Disneyland on Opening Day, 1955. It was named for Edward Payson Ripley, an early president of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) after its 1895 reorganization.

• 3: Fred Gurley, a 2-4-4 built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1894, went into service at Disneyland March 28, 1958. The locomotive, named for the then-current chairman of the ATSF, Fred G. Gurley, is the oldest single piece of railroad equipment in use at any Disney theme park. The 2-4-4T tank locomotive, used in Louisiana to transport sugar cane, was purchased in working condition for US$1300; nevertheless, more than $35,000 was spent on its restoration. A commemorative plastic plaque celebrating the Gurley's centennial was mounted under the engines running board in 1994. In 2008, the Fred Gurley returned from an extensive overhaul and was featured as a static display at the Fullerton Railroad Days.

• 4: Ernest S. Marsh, a 2-4-0 originally built by Baldwin Locomotive Works as a 0-4-0 saddle-tank in 1925; went into service at Disneyland July 25, 1959. It was named for the Santa Fe's then-current president, the Marsh originally served the Raritan River Sand Company in New Jersey before it was purchased and used by the Pine Creek Railroad, a tourist railroad in central New Jersey. During shipment from New Jersey to California, the locomotive was misrouted and ended up in a rail yard outside Pittsburgh. Disney placed a call to personal friend Marsh who personally oversaw the rerouting and rapid shipment of the locomotive to its final destination. The Ernest S. Marsh is undergoing an extensive overhaul and is planned to return to service in 2012.

• 5: Ward Kimball, a 2-4-4, serial number 20925, built by Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1902 for the Laurel Valley Plantation of Louisiana and later received in trade from Cedar Point Amusement Park as the inoperative Maud L in 1999. Cedar Point added a lead truck during its service there, making it a 2-4-4T. Restoration was begun by Boschan Boiler and Restorations of Carson in 2004 and went into permanent service on June 25, 2005, as part of the park's fiftieth anniversary celebration. The new locomotive's headlight features a gold leaf silhouette of Jiminy Cricket, based on a drawing of the character Kimball made shortly before his death. Thus, the locomotive marks a break in Disneyland Railroad's tradition of naming engines after Santa Fe officials, and instead being named in honor of a Disney railroading and animation legend.

To compliment the two original engines the park added two more engines and consists, totaling four engines and trains, and more recently, a fifth engine was acquired. Since many narrow-gauge lines were closing down and selling their equipment these locomotives were acquired from outside sources, which was both less costly and less labor intensive than fabricating new ones from scratch. All three were given extensive renovations before entering service, including new boilers. Number 3 and the "new" Number 5 are "Forney" tank locomotives which normally ran "in reverse" with the tender fuel tank facing forward and were converted to imitate conventional engines. Number 3 is the oldest locomotive in service at any Disney property, built by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in 1894.

The engines, with the exception of the park's most recent fifth engine, were each named after Santa Fe railroad officials. Disney had traded the yellow Retlaw-1 train for a locomotive, which after restoration proved unsuitable for the DLRR or Magic Kingdom. In 1999, Disney traded it to Cedar Point Amusement Park in Sandusky, Ohio for the inoperable 1902 Baldwin locomotive Maud L originally named for Maud Lepine, daughter of one of the original owners and a name kept throughout the locomotive's service life. They sent it to a Southern California shop in 2004 to restore it and transform it into Disneyland Railroad locomotive number 5, the first added since 1959. It is now named after Ward Kimball, one of Disney's Nine Old Men and an avid railroad preservationist.

As of 2007, each Disneyland Railroad locomotive has been converted to burn B98 biodiesel which burns cleaner than traditional coal, wood, or heavy "Bunker C" oil normally used on oil burning steam locomotives. Disneyland then began recycling its own cooking oil into biodiesel, further reducing fuel costs. The locomotives are fueled by biodiesel blended primarily from used cooking oils drained from Disneyland kitchen fryers then filtered and blended with enough soy based fuel to supply operation, giving credence to guests being able to smell french fries in the tunnels.

In 2006 the #2 E.P. Ripley was displayed at the former annual Fullerton Railroad Days in Fullerton, California. It was the first time a DLRR locomotive was displayed at an off-site public event. The next year, the #1 C.K. Holliday was displayed at the Fullerton Railroad Days. The #3 Fred Gurley was displayed there in 2008, the year after the Holliday.