Suzanne Lee returns to MiceChat today with a report from the Walt Disney Family Museum, where a acclaimed Disney trains exhibit has been extended into March.

If you can get to the Walt Disney Family Museum before the March 15 closing of its exhibit “All Aboard: A Celebration of Walt’s Trains,” it is well worth a special trip to San Francisco. The most diehard train enthusiast will learn something new, and those with not much interest in the subject will marvel at just how prevalent trains have been in their everyday lives; for the kids who love trains, plan to spend at least half a day reveling in all that is on display.

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The first thing you notice as you enter the Diane Disney Miller Exhibition Hall for “All Aboard” is the sound of a train circling a track, which immediately transports you to childhood and a bygone time. The exhibit tells the story of how trains fueled Walt’s imagination as a boy, played a key role in his films and theme parks, and continues to influence the world today.

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I was given permission to take pictures of the specially commissioned Grizzly Flats model, an homage to the tabletop model train layout Walt had at his office. “All Aboard” guest curator Michael Campbell, President of the Carolwood Pacific Historical Society, offered some insight into the model, which is in the section honoring Walt’s fellow train buffs Ward Kimball and Ollie Johnston, two of his “Nine Old Men” from the Studio.

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Named Grizzly Flats after Ward and Betty Kimball’s backyard railroad, the Vargas brothers of Images of the Past designed an interactive model that is the same size as Walt’s office one. With the push of a button, or turn of a dial, guests can make the train start, stop, chug and blow its whistle; lumberjacks saw wood; a waterfall flow; a fisherman cast his reel; and make it sunrise or sunset.

 

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Windows at either end of a tunnel are set at kid height so they may watch the train make its rounds through Yosemite. When the hobo camp button is activated, harmonica fills the air – Neil Young (of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young), a hardcore Lionel trains fan, recorded the tune at the request of his friends the Vargas brothers.

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An interesting Lionel fact mentioned in the exhibit is how in 1934 the Lionel Corporation was close to bankruptcy when they signed a licensing agreement with Disney to make Mickey Mouse hand cars. The demand for the hand cars was so great that Lionel couldn’t produce them fast enough. Mickey Mouse helped save the company! In a way, trains helped save Walt, for they provided an outlet through which Walt could relieve his stress from the Studio. Walt’s engineer overalls and jacket from 1955 that he kept in his apartment above the fire station is one of the highlights of the exhibit. Other notable items are related to Casey Jr, the Chicago Railroad Fair, 1954 scenic view sketches of the Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad, the Viewliner and Fort Wilderness.

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Michael Campbell is most excited about the exhibit’s chance to introduce kids who already love trains to the ways in which Walt’s passion for trains influenced his home, work and parks. By learning Walt’s story, these Imagineers of tomorrow will take Walt’s legacy forward. In conjunction with the exhibit, the Walt Disney Family Museum will have a special presentation called “I’ve Been Working on the Railroad: Building and Running Walt’s Trains” on Saturday, January 24. A limited number of tickets remain for this panel featuring Sean Bautista of Hillcrest Shops, which rebuilt the Ernest S. Marsh and Marie E. locomotives; former Retlaw Railroad foreman Bill Colley; and Disneyland Roundhouse Lead Craig Ludwick. The Kalamazoo handcar owned by Walt, and which the Roundhouse restored to its 1950s appearance, is temporarily on loan and in the Museum lobby; those who have visited Disneyland will recognize it from the Main St. Station where it usually resides.

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You can see “All Aboard: A Celebration of Walt’s Trains” at the Walt Disney Family Museum now through March 15th. Please be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments below.