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Gurley Story (continued)
In the same year, Walt Disney was witnessing a
remarkable phenomenon: Ridership on his Santa Fe & Disneyland Railroad was
increasing at an astonishing rate. Between 1955 and 1956, the line had
carried 775,495 passengers; a year later, ridership nearly doubled to
1,329,553. Passenger traffic nearly doubled again by 1958! It was quickly
becoming apparent that more capacity was needed, and that would require
another locomotive. But building another locomotive from scratch would be
costly: Engines 1 and 2 at the Park had cost $45,000 each.
Walt thought he had a solution. He had seen Ward
Kimball's little Hawaiian plantation locomotive Chloe, and thought it
would make a perfect fit for the Park. He approached Ward with the idea, but
Kimball promptly turned him down, not wishing to have his little locomotive
steaming around miles away in Anaheim. Walt didn't take kindly to the
rebuff, and refused to speak to Ward for weeks--an episode Ward amusingly
recalled as "The Great Train Robbery."
Ward, however, did let his boss know that there were
plenty of little steam locomotives sitting around the country, just waiting
to find good homes. Walt went to Roger Broggie with the information, and
asked Roger to look into it.
Broggie turned to Jerry Best, a renowned railroad
author and historian, for advice. Best agreed that it would be cheaper to
purchase an old steam locomotive, which could be rebuilt, and recommended
that Roger contact C.W. Witbeck. Witbeck, along with his business-partner
brother, did indeed have several small engines for sale, including a small
plantation engine built in 1894, and Broggie and Best flew back to New
Orleans shortly thereafter to look it over.
Best introduced Roger Broggie to the Witbecks as a
customer who wanted a locomotive to restore for personal use. Prior, Best
and Broggie had decided not to tell Witbeck the engine was to be used at
Disneyland, in hopes of keeping the price reasonable.
Roger and Jerry inspected the engine for the better part of an hour. The
1894 Baldwin was in sorry shape; her boiler was useless, and her tender tank
floor had rusted through. However, much of the locomotive was salvageable,
including the frame, wheels, cylinders, domes and bell, among other
components. The engine didn't look too good on the surface, but there was
enough there to warrant making an offer. But first, Broggie needed to get
Walt's approval.
Broggie flew back to California and met with Disney and
WED vice president Mickey Clark, and recommended purchasing the engine. A
few days later, back in Louisiana, Broggie concluded negotiating with the
Witbecks, who had initially wanted $1,500 for the engine. The final price
was $1,200, plus $300 for shipping to Los Angeles.
The engine was shipped on the Southern Pacific Railroad
via flatcar, and it soon arrived in Los Angeles' Taylor Yard. It was
transferred to a flatbed truck, and hauled a few miles to the Disney Studio
in Burbank. There, it was unloaded.
The decrepit engine that would soon be
transformed into the Fred
Gurley is unloaded as Walt Disney--hands helping to support his
painful lower back--watches. A Baldwin catalog image was
taped
to the engines tender (below). Photo courtesy Michael Broggie.
Fearing that Walt might be dismayed at the locomotive's
condition, Jerry Best taped a large drawing of how the locomotive looked
when new to the engine's tender.
Editor's Note: This series will progress as work continues on the current rehab of the
engine, which may mean longer breaks between parts than we normally
schedule. - Al
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