DISNEYLAND RAILROAD RUMORED A RETURN OF NATURES WONDERLAND NEAR NEW STAR WARS LAND #80

We went to Disneyland this past Sunday 8/7/2016 and talked with some of the engineers, One had showed us how the track had looked before the renovation of the Rivers of America and new Star Wars Land area.

And showed us the new track layout as seen in the picture above.
He said the new layout with have a bit of a upward climb leading to a trestle where the railroad will cross over the river. I asked him if this will make it a shorter trip around the park. He said actually it will be a longer  and slower trip due to the turns and the climb. Did you know that the track has been changed a few times before? yes the original tracks back in 1955, ran right behind Casey Jr.s Railroad. and then was changed when they added The Haunted Mansion and It's a Small World. So I guess it is always changing as Walt Disney once said himself. "Disneyland will never be finished as long as there is Imagination still left in the world"

I asked the engineer if they would be building a tunnel under Star Wars Land, Like how they have it where you run through Splash Mountain. He said he wasn't sure, But had heard a rumor that they may have a tunnel that would run through the same area where Natures Wonderland once was. like the tunnel you could see when walking from Frontierland towards Fantasyland.

After that I got to sit in the cab of the #1  4-4-0 engine " C.K. Holliday and chatted with Engineer Cara, She was well informed about the steam engines that run on the tracks. she showed me all the gauges and switches that run the engine, She told me that the C.K. Holliday had just come back from being re-furbished 2 days after they closed the ride. so the engine has not been run and wont be until next summer 2017.

I have ridden in the coal car seat before and noticed the gauges were missing, they were set up to look like a Hidden Mickey. They now have a Tachometer in front of the older gauges. I have always wanted to pull the bell cord, But she said rules and regulations do not allow guests to do that, as there might be someone on the tracks that they cannot see. therefore they don't want to scare them, if the train might be running. she said there is a Train at each station, Main Street (where I was) New Orleans Square, and Tomorrowland. Not at Mickey's Toontown as that is too close to the construction area. I then got to get some up-close pictures of the engine.
I want to Thank my wife for getting me a birthday present of "The Lillybelle" Tickets.

We also had gone to Club 33 that day for our wedding Anniversary, later that day we ran into "George" and his friends who had been earlier that day at Walt Disney's Barn. I started talking to him and we traded. He gave me his sticker, and I gave him a napkin from Club 33. Thanks George

I want to thank all the Engineers who helped us on Sunday.
I would also like to dedicate this blog to one of the most beloved and friendliest Cast Members, who was a Train Conductor and a Motorcar and Omnibus driver on Main Street. He passed away a few months back, as Cancer cut his journey short. You will be missed. Vern P. Smith

remember to view larger pictures, just click on them.

Disneyland Park Guests Get a Peek at New Star Wars-Themed Land. #63

In April, we celebrated the official groundbreaking of Star Wars-themed lands coming to Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts, and beginning today, Disneyland park guests can get a glimpse of this exciting and immersive experience. A new image has been unveiled on the fence along Big Thunder Trail in Frontierland – one of the entry points to this never-before-seen planet in the Star Wars galaxy – revealing more about what guests will find in this all-new land.

Nestled between towering spires of rock, this thriving port contains a seemingly familiar architecture of markets, landing zones and buildings. Click here for a larger version of the image above. Look closely and you may find hints of some of the thrilling experiences that are coming – like the Millennium Falcon peeking out of one of the cargo bays, marking the location where guests will get the opportunity to pilot the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy.
The 14-acre land will be the largest-ever single-themed land expansion at Disneyland Resort. Keep an eye on the Disney Parks Blog – we’ll continue to bring you updates as we learn more about this planet, as well as the citizens, aliens and droids who populate it.

This was originally posted by Erin Glover ,on Disney Parks Blog.
By clicking on the picture it will become bigger.
( Just a note from me) I am glad to see that the Disneyland Railroad still exists, if you take a closer look at the sketch, you will see a wooden trestle running over the Rivers of America.

Newer updates added Mad Imaginear on the loose!! Building my own Disneyland Theme park. #56

Hello Friends...
Many have asked me lately, why have we not seen any posts about Disneyland or even the Shanghai Disneyland?
Well, I have been busy working at a new job.

I have not had time to get to the parks in Anaheim, CA.

But since I cannot go at the moment, I've decided to build my own Disneyland.
I have always wanted to work for the theme parks, as a Imaginear. But since I haven't achieved that yet.
I will build my own park with a working railroad.
I will post pictures of the progress.
I have decided to build it in the scales of Z and N.
The layout is 44" X 36" so you can see I don't have much room to work with.

Please be sure to check out the video at the end of the blog.



Started with a drawing

Bought a board, but then found out it was too small, so I added more.

Wired the track to run two trains at the same time. 

built the loop with 2 power packs to run two engines at the same time.

I was not happy with the way Main Street Station came out.

Added hedges and grass.

Added brick walkways



put in some Ballast



Side view of Station.

Bachmann 4-4-0 N scale engine, Turned into the #1 Disneyland Engine

cut out overlay of the Flowered Mickey Mouse

Drew it in so I could glue in the color flowers.

Atlas 4-4-0 Engine  Excursion passenger car and what will be converted into the Lilly Belle car.

Some of the paper models of Main Street USA

A overhead picture, still adding black foam board.

You can make all pictures larger by clicking on them.

Yes those are Subs from the Battleship board game.

IHC N Scale Working Carrousel, Painted to look like the King Arthur one.

a Closer look.

Removed the paper Main St. put in N scale ceramic village buildings. 

Was not happy, so remade Main St. in a smaller size.

 

 

Found a website, that has G scale paper models, of Disneyland I scaled them down.

I will be adding the Sleeping Beauty Castle and Space Mountain.
Just added a mash up of two rides. Disneyland Sub Lagoon and Memo Sub's.
Please remember You can click on the pictures to see them bigger.
This is a scratch built Model layout in N scale of Disneyland.
I hope you have enjoyed the pictures, and I will add more later.
Thanks for looking, and please share this blog. 
So Time to add a behind but newer update. marching forward to the year 2016-2018. I have built the Sleeping Beauty Castle. And The Skyway ride (which was short lived. Thanks to my cat) it ran through the Matterhorn Mountain. From Fantasyland to Tomorrowland over the Sub Lagoon. I made some of the subs ,the original grey and some yellow just like Finding Nemo. I used the submarines from many garage sale Battle ship games.
Here are some of those pictures.

             As the white water drys, It becomes clear and the you can sea the bottom of the lagoon.

                                 Laying in the water on top of the bluish green seafloor of the lagoon.

                                              A front view as the sub enter and exit the waterfalls.                                                                                         

                                                 The underside of the polar ice caps

        

Once the wet water effect dries, you can see the colorful lagoon bottom and the water turns clear.

We are now in the year 2017, You can see pieces of the castle being built. a G scale paper model that I shrank down to a size close to N scale. As we all know Disneyland is all out of scale.

Oops Did you catch a glimpse of the new MARK IIV Monorail? and Space Mountain. Those are both  Metal Earth models, But I painted them.

                           Here is a Metal Earth model I built of the Haunted Mansion Hearse.

        As you can see by the size of my hand, The castle is very small (And might I add hard to build)

      After building all the towers and turrets I had to glue the top half of the castle all together.

                                       Finally after 3 weeks the castle emerges from the paper.

    

                                         Now to build the bridge and add real working lights.

Wow 26 pictures that was a lot of work. I then sprayed the whole model with a clear coat  to preserve it.

Next came inserting the castle into the train board, good thing I had glued down the thin black foam.

I drew out the moat, carved it out, Glued the castle and the bridge in.

             The Moat got that Disneyland Green water bottom, before adding the water effects.

                                  Time to make it shine at night with 4 real working lanterns.

                                           You can click on the pictures to make them bigger.

Speaking of bigger,, Time to build the Matterhorn Mountain with Bobsleds and Skyway tunnels.

I used McDonald's straws to build the bobsleds. Then I cut off the people at their waists, so they would be sitting down.

The Matterhorn was slimmed down, due to the limited space i had on the board. It was made out of cardboard, Plaster cast and N scale train track. I decided to paint it to match the modern day finish.

       I glued it in, the same way I did with the castle, and cut out places for water at the bottom. 

                           In the picture above, you can see the Skyway lines before my cat ate it.

As you can see, I have put much details into my N scale Disneyland.

I am now working on the Jungle cruise in Adventureland, and will continue to build the Rivers of America and the Grand Canyon Diorama.

Thanks for looking. I will continue to post new blogs on the progress.

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