Passenger rail begins training runs at Magic Kingdom
The Walt Disney World Railroad has been silent for years. The railway that rings Magic Kingdom theme park has been closed since December 2018, thanks to construction on the Tron ride in Tomorrowland. But park visitors will start seeing and hearing signs of the engines’ return soon.
Disney isn’t ready to holler “all aboard” for guests yet. But the park plans to start using a steam locomotive along select segments of the new track Wednesday, Disney confirmed. A return-to-service date for the public has not been announced.
Cast members have used the extended downtime for repairs, maintenance and refurbishment on the attraction, which debuted on the theme park’s opening day in 1971.
“We’re doing a lot of things that either haven’t been done since Walt Disney World opened, or just kind of really revolutionary things,” said Greg Kelsaris, a project planner with the facility asset management department at WDW.
That goes from the rail to the roof of the locomotives, which are more than 90 years old.
“It was the first time that we actually took everything apart for the railroad. And we’re able to say, ‘OK, we have everything down to the bare bones. What can we do to either improve the guest experience with the ride, or bring it back to where it was, kind of, in the ‘70s when it first started?’ ” Kelsaris said.
Among the updates: The wooden railroad ties are being replaced with composite ties.
“The wooden railroad ties had about a three- to five-year life span,” Kelsaris said. For composites, the life span is about 25 years, he said.
The path of the track has had minor changes, Kelsaris said.
“Here and there, it’s moved a few inches up and down, left and right,” he said.
“What we’re looking to test is basically the elevation of the track to make sure the grading is correct … and kind of do all the adjustments that we’ll need to do before we open to guests again,” Kelsaris said. The entire track is not ready for testing yet, he said.
The locomotive dubbed the Walter E. Disney will be used for the testing. That engine finished its refurbishment while the railway was closed last year. The locomotives project started with Lilly Belle, named for Walt’s wife, in 2010. Next up for rehab will be the Roy O. Disney locomotive, followed by the Roger E. Broggie, named for the transportation specialist (and official Disney Legend), who started working for Disney in 1939.
“That kind of rebuild process hasn’t really been done since park opening,” Kelsaris said. “It’s really incredible to return them to their glory and, honestly, improve some things on them.”
The locomotives were purchased in Mexico by Disney in the 1960s and refurbished for an 1880s feel.
“We really took the time to go through each part and say, ‘Hey, should we improve this? Is it good where it is? Should we replace it?’ ” Kelsaris said.
The park’s train stations in Frontierland, Fantasyland and near the entrance on Main Street will remain the same.
Major changes aren’t expected from the testing.
“It’s really just the get run time on the locomotives and the train because we’ve only been able to use them in our roundhouse, back of house area,” Kelsaris said. “It’s just nice to kind of get the wheels turning.”
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