1/13: Pumped Up, Pt. III

[Al Lutz]

Steve concludes the story of the Disneyland Railroad Handcar, Part Three: Today. Discuss it here!

DIRECT ARTICLE LINK: MiceAge.com - A different look at Disney...

[RiversOfAmerica]

The handcar was noticeably absent from the entrance this weekend (Jan 10th-11th). I took a complete trip around the park on the DLRR, and the handcar was nowhere to be seen.

[Steve DeGaetano]

Interesting!

[toemblem]

Great article/series. I really enjoyed it. Thank you. I am always bummed when a series such as this comes to an end but maybe that will open the door for you to write about the Mark Twain.

[DVkid07]

As always, a great article! I love the amount of insight you provide into the little things that make Disney so magical!

I was also really excited to hear about the working scale model of the handcar to be offered by Carolwood Pacific. I have the commemorative edition Lilly Belle that they partnered with Disney on some years back, and think the handcar would make a handsome addition to my modest display of railroad models.

Any news on when (or how) this sort of thing might be announced? I would have to miss out on it by accident.

[Steve DeGaetano]

Glad everyone liked the article!

I'll try to keep everyone posted on the status of the mode handcar.

Toemblem, a Mark Twain article is definitely in the works--we should see it later this year. There is a lot of interesting lore and history associated with that particular watercraft that needs to be researched.

[toemblem]

a Mark Twain article is definitely in the works

Awesome, I can't wait. In early February I am flying to the bay area for business but I am making a side trip to take a ride on a privately owned steam boat. It is an African Queen style boat and I guess it burns wood to make steam. When I go, I will take a bunch of notes and pictures and post a TR when I get back.

[Outlander]

I too noticed that as of yesterday, 1/14, the handcar is missing. Perhaps it was removed during the installation of the new floral Mickey?

[Steve DeGaetano]

That sounds most likely, Outlander. The boxes and crates that were at either side of the hand car housed the electronics for those fiber optics.

[RiversOfAmerica]

Originally Posted by Steve DeGaetano

The boxes and crates that were at either side of the hand car housed the electronics for those fiber optics.

Then, it makes sense that the handcar is currently not there, if that space was used during floram mickey retrofits.

Great article, Steve, as always. Keep up the excellent work! If you ever get the inlking to do an article on the history of the horse-drawn streetcars, I'd be most interested!

Also, this might sound silly. But I'm trying to remember all the places that the lockers rooms have been. They've been at the current location for at least 15 years or so, but I remember when they were to the left of the Emporium entrance. I also vaguely recall them being on the Opera House side of the street when I was a kid, but I could be huge mistaken.

[Steve DeGaetano]

ROA, I only remember the lockers being to the left of the Emproium, and where they are currently.

I might be able to do a brief horsecar article, but there really hasn't been that much written about them. We'll see!

[Ride Warrior]

The handcar is a beauty! I didn't even realize there was one at the park. Would love to see a handcar race. Perhaps the cars would be more popular if they live fed the handcar races to monitors in the park, and computers. While riding the train, where would i look to catch a glimpse of one?