Customer Reviews

Welcome Aboard the Disneyland Railroad!

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A few years ago, rail fans and Disneyland fans were treated to the publication of the massive 437 page "Walt Disney's Railroad Story" by Michael Broggie. And now we have another brilliant book (350 pages) on the subject. This new book concentrates more on the Disneyland trains, where Broggies book starts in the early part of Walt Disney's life long love of steam trains and has extensive coverage of his backyard train at home. Walt created his hand built garden scale train set in his backyard, named it the "Carolwood Pacific", giving rides to friends, employees and celebrities. His experience with that train and his life long love for steam trains helped drive him to build Disneyland and have a train as the key element.

Walt always knew he wanted a live steam train for his Disneyland park, and he turned to experts and live steam buffs like Roger Broggie, animator Ward Kimball, and other train enthusiasts on his staff to feed his personal fascination with trains and guide his ideas. I read an article recently that the train at Disneyland has more guests that any other attraction, a full 70% of visitors take a ride on it. Walt Disney once said that he preferred designing Disneyland to making movies, because his yard train set showed him you could constantly change and update things, but he could not do that with a film. Once it was released the film was done.

Most theme parks have a train that looks like a steam train, but only in looks. This new book takes you up close and personal with the real steam trains of the Disneyland railroad, where they came from, and the employees of Disney who rebuilt them and operate them. Some trains were built from scratch, and some were bought from sugar plantations in Mexico or other places and rebuilt. The Disney railroads at all the parks have the most beautiful, well maintained trains in the country and the operators and maintenance staff are rightly proud of them. The book shows construction photos, pictures of the trains, behind the scenes pictures from the rail shop, all lovingly done by a major fan. Both are terrific publications. This is a good companion to the Broggie book, and for live steam fans, backyard railroaders, railroad fans, or Disney fans, it is well worth owning both books.

Wow. Steve D is the MAN. He's written a thoughtful, well-behaved book that belongs right up there on the shelf beside Walt Disney's Railroad Story by Mike Broggie. As a matter of fact, that's where MY copy is right now. If you love trains, and you love Disney, then you love Disney Trains. Steve does, too, and, if you can't sit around at a McDonald's, picking his brain all afternoon, this book is the next best thing. Drawings, photos, anectdotes, a ton of stuff - this is a handsome reference work you may be tempted to hand a friend who's been giving you grief about not being a fan of a "real" railroad, like the Santa Fe or even the Great Smoky Mtns Railway. Hah! Just because they go in circles all day long at a place known for its' imagination running wild doesn't mean they're not as real as you please.

The subtitle of this work, The Complete Disneyland Railroad Reference Guide, is fairly accurate--anything you want to know about the Disneyland Railroad, you will find here. After reading the work, I feel like I could run my own steam railroad! Steve DeGaetano is an avid Disneyland Railroad fan, collector of Disneyland Railroad memorabilia and model railroader. Preston Nirattisai is a Disneyland fan (since age eight), civil engineer and computer artist. He began creating CAD drawings of the Disneyland Railroad in 2002, when he couldn't find any for sale.

To say that the book is comprehensive is an understatement. Steve takes us through a journey that recounts the genesis for the Disneyland Railroad and ends with a look at hobbyists and creating your own Disneyland-inspired model railroad. In between, he covers everything else. The book is obviously home grown--Steve has a deep passion for the Disneyland Railroad and it shines through. Many of the photos used are the author's own and the book is filled with CAD (computer aided drawing) drawings by Preston that provide unparalleled details about the engines, rolling stock and railroad buildings.

The major sections of the book give a detailed look at what is presented:

* Inspiration,
* The Railroad,
* The Locomotives,
* Inside the Cab,
* Locomotive Hardware and Fittings,
* The Crew,
* A Cab Ride!,
* Rolling Stock,
* Spiels,
* A Day in the Roundhouse,
* Other Disney Steam Trains,
* Collectibles, and
* The Disneyland Railroad, Today and Tomorrow


Steve has spent years researching and putting together this guide. He has managed to compile the most comprehensive guide to running and operating the Disney steam trains. Fortunately for us, Steve has been able to spend countless hours riding the Railroad and talking to the crew and engineers. It is obvious that running the Disneyland Railroad is a serious and expensive endeavor for the Disney Company. The section on restoring the engines was quite insightful. Steve was able to spend the day in Roundhouse and saw the Disney engineers and maintenance workers steam up the engines and work on routine maintenance.

One of my favorite sections deals with the structures of the Disneyland Railroad. Steve provides a very detailed look at each station along the route with pictures, facts and a meticulous look at the artifacts in the stations. Preston has also created detailed CAD drawings of the Main Street and Frontierland/New Orleans Stations. The obviously amateur photographs were one of the weaknesses of the book/ I do appreciate the photos that Steve was able to take, but I wish they had been clearer or a little more professionally done. The CAD drawings are mesmerizing and at times overwhelming in their detail.

Bottom Line: This is a fantastic resource about the Disneyland Railroad; future researchers will treasure this volume. It is not for the casual enthusiast or the general Disney Geek, although the history of the engines and the sections on the spiels and structures will make anyone happy. The majority of the book is so focused and so in-depth that it will appeal mainly to the Disneyland Railroad fan and the railroad enthusiast.

Disney and Steam Train information and anecdotes are intertwined in the well done book. This is an interesting volume on the origins of Walt Disney's love for trains and the eventual expression of that interest in live, passenger carrying trains at Disneyland and other Disney parks. The author provides carefully researched information on the mechanics of the Disney trains and the development of the Disney train steam engines over time. If your interest is only Disneyland stories then you may this book find too heavily towards these technical elements. I enjoyed the book and was very glad to be able to add it to my library.