Walt Disney's Railroad Story: The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom [Hardcover]

Michael Broggie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1997

Thousands of books and articles have been written about Walt Disney and his organization, yet few people realize the significance railroading played in the evolution of the Disney empire. Encouraged by Walt's family and railfans inside and outside the Disney organization, Michael Broggie has chronicled the tale of Walt Disney's personal involvement in railroading.

This book unveils the private realm of Disney railroading through hundreds of photographs, many of which have never before been made public, and interviews with Mrs. Walt Disney, Diane Disney Miller, Ward Kimball, Ollie Johnston, Bob Harpur, Bill Cottrell, Roger Broggie, Bill Evans, and many others.

Walt Disney's love affair with trains began in his hometown of Marceline, Missouri. His first job was selling tobacco, candy, and newspapers on the Missouri Pacific line. By 1950, his enthusiasm for realistic model trains had evolved into an elaborate backyard live steam railroad. Walt's Carolwood Pacific Railroad included a 46-foot-long trestle, loops, overpasses, gradients, an elevated dirt berm, and a 90-foot tunnel underneath Mrs. Disney's flower bed!

The complete history of the Disney railroads, from small scale models to steam trains for the Disney parks is covered. This is a book all Disney collectors and railroad enthusiasts will want to experience! Over 300 illustrations, many previously unpublished.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 435 pages
• Publisher: Pentrex; 1st edition (September 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1563420066
• ISBN-13: 978-1563420061
• Product Dimensions: 12.5 x 10 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,062,714 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #75 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( D ) > Disney, Walt

More About the Author

Michael Broggie is an author and historian. He is an authority on the life and legacy of Walt Disney and the global empire he inspired. As a public speaker, he has toured throughout the country lecturing at universities, libraries, organizations and conventions on his first-person experiences with Walt Disney and many of the Disney legends, including his father, the late Roger Broggie, who was selected personally by Walt Disney to be his first Imagineer--the designers and engineers who built Disneyland and other resorts throughout the world.
Michael's first Disney assignment was as a 12-year-old test driver of the Autopia prototypes on the back lot of Disney Studios in Burbank, California.
After graduating from high school, he spent summers at Disneyland working his way through college. After completing his undergraduate education, he joined Walt Disney Studios as a publicity writer in the motion picture marketing department.
His career led to management and consulting positions with Marriott, Boise Cascade, Lake Arrowhead Resort and General Motors. He served on the ABC Television Network sponsorship team for the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
He is chairman of the board of governors of the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society, which he co-founded with his wife Sharon. He's chairman emeritus of the Carolwood Foundation, the operator of Walt Disney's Carolwood Barn Museum in Griffith Park, on behalf of the Disney family.
His published books include "Walt Disney's Railroad Story," which earned the Benjamin Franklin Gold Medal for Best Biography. He has written other books including a biographical profile of Warren Buffet's longtime business partner Charlie Munger, which is contained in "Poor Charlie's Almanack" edited by Peter Kaufman, and "Walt's Words of Wisdom," an inspirational booklet based upon the teachings of Walt Disney. Other works include "The History of Disney Merchandise" and a child's illustrated biography, "Walt Disney's Happy Place." His book, "Air Force One--The Final Mission" is about the last Presidential Boeing 707 displayed at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. He wrote "Irwindale: Garden of Rocks" for the city that supplied a billion tons of rocks and gravel to build Southern California. He's written and edited numerous articles for national publications and is currently doing research for a book on the history of Walt Disney Studios.
A native of Los Angeles, Michael earned his MBA and a Doctorate in Marketing at Pacific University, San Diego; a BA in Communications at California State University, Northridge; and, an AA in Journalism from Los Angeles Valley College.
He is a veteran of the United States Air Force. He attended law school at Lincoln University. Michael and Sharon Broggie reside in Thousand Oaks, California, where they are active in civic and charitable endeavors including the Westlake Nautical Foundation.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Also an excellent book on the history of DIsneyland, May 16, 1998

By 

Alastair Dallas - See all my reviews

This review is from: Walt Disney's Railroad Story: The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom (Hardcover)

I consider myself an expert on Disneyland; I'm a former Imagineer and a collector of Disneyland information. Michael Broggie is not exaggerating his father's importance to the realization of Walt's dream. This book goes slightly beyond the sanitized "official" version that the Disney company promulgates and includes some stories and details that haven't been widely known. It's a beautiful coffee table book, complete and accurate (except for one or two nits someone like me might pick). I love it particularly for all the never-before published photos--you get so tired of seeing the same old approved shots when you collect Disneylandiana.

In case Amazon doesn't provide links, I would also recommend "Walt Disney Imagineering" by David Mumford, et.al. and "Inside Story" by the late Randy Bright. Both are "official," but just as authoritative as Broggie's.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading from Cover to Cover, May 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Walt Disney's Railroad Story: The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom (Hardcover)

I normally only read technical books. I picked this book up just to look at the pictures. Then I started to read the short articles within the chapters. I found them so fasinating that I found myself reading the main articles. My son asked my wife "what is Dad doing reading?". Walt Disney said that it all started with a mouse, but after reading this book you will realize that it all started with a train.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very fascinating book for railroaders & Disney fans, October 23, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Walt Disney's Railroad Story: The Small-Scale Fascination That Led to a Full-Scale Kingdom (Hardcover)

As a backyard railroader for the last 30 years, I had always wanted to find out more about Walt Disney's backyard, the "Carolwood Pacific". Now in "Walt Disney's Railroad Story", you can read about all of his interest in railroading, first building a miniature railroad in his backyard, and finally developing theme parks, complete with railroads. Author Broggie knew Walt personally, and covers all of the details of the many Disney railroads. This is one book that I could hardly put down until I had read it completely. I feel that this is a book that should be on the shelf of every backyard railroader and most Disney fans.