Western River Railroad is a steam-powered railroad attraction at Tokyo Disneyland.
Summary[]
It is Tokyo Disneyland's version of the railroad but it does not circle the park; it instead passes Adventureland, Westernland, and Critter Country. Additionally, it differs from other Disney railroads because its track gauge is 30" (762mm) as compared with other Disney railroad track gauges of 36". It only has one stop which is Adventureland, due to Japanese rail regulations for trains with more than one stop to follow a timetable and charge fares (which would either necessitate making a traditional Disneyland Railroad in the park an upcharge attraction, or reintroducing attraction coupons), and that is above Jungle Cruise attraction. Said regulations have since been repealed, but expanding the railroad to encircle the park is impossible, as the route it would traditionally take has been developed over with attraction show buildings.
The train passes the Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder Mountain, the mining town of Stillwater Junction featuring an ex Rio Grande Southern caboose, Rivers of America, Splash Mountain, and it also passes through a version of the Primeval World before heading back to the station.
Locomotives[]
The Western River Railroad has four 2 ft 6 in narrow gauge 2-4-0 steam locomotives built by Kyosan Kogyo Co., with three of them being built in 1982 and the fourth being built in 1991. They were designed to resemble the Denver & Rio Grande Montezuma locomotive. All four locomotives are named after famous rivers located primarily in the Western United States (hence the name):
- 53: Colorado; operating since 15 April 1983. The number refers to the year 1953, when Walt Disney presented the plans for the original Disneyland. The livery is reddish-brown. It has small diamond stack smoke stack. There is an elk on each side of the headlamp.[1]
- 28: Missouri; operating since 15 April 1983. The number refers to the year 1928, when the Disney animated short Steamboat Willie was released, the first cartoon with synchronized sound. The livery is green. It has a small diamond stack smoke stack. There are paintings of the Great Falls found by Lewis and Clark on the sides of the headlamp.[2]
- 25: Rio Grande; operating since 15 April 1983. The number refers to the year 1925, when Walt Disney married his wife, Lillian Disney. The livery is a red. It haw a small diamond stack smoke stack, and a 2-4-0 wheel configuration. There is a grizzly bear on each side of the headlamp.[3]
- 20: Mississippi; operating since October 1991. The number refers to the year 1920, when Walt Disney, along with his friend Ub Iwerks, founded his first company, Iwerks-Disney Commercial Artists. When it was built, some of the design elements on this locomotive were slightly different than those on the other three locomotives. The livery is a red cab with a blue boiler jacket. It had a straight cap smoke stack. There are bison on the sides of the headlamp. It also had a white smokebox.[4] In 2022, the locomotive received the same small diamond stack smoke stack and black smokebox found on the other three locomotives.
Gallery[]
See also[]
- Disneyland Railroad
- Disneyland Railroad (Paris)
- Hong Kong Disneyland Railroad
- Walt Disney World Railroad
References[]
- ↑ Amendola, Dana (September 2015). All Aboard: The Wonderful World of Disney Trains. Disney Editions, page 174. ISBN 978-142311714-8.
- ↑ Amendola, Dana (September 2015). All Aboard: The Wonderful World of Disney Trains. Disney Editions, page 171. ISBN 978-142311714-8.
- ↑ Amendola, Dana (September 2015). All Aboard: The Wonderful World of Disney Trains. Disney Editions, page 172. ISBN 978-142311714-8.
- ↑ Amendola, Dana (September 2015). All Aboard: The Wonderful World of Disney Trains. Disney Editions, page 169. ISBN 978-142311714-8.
