MK/WDW RAILROAD

SaLeone

SaLeone

Active Member
Original Poster
Hey Everybody!

I saw on a recent post in the trip planning section that some sort of tarp was put up around the MK railroad. My questions is, is this tarp still up? Im 2 weeks away from my trip and this tarp really hindered the look of the main entrance of the MK. I just hope it goes back to looking normal by the time i get there! Any feedback would be appreciated!
 
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Disneyrailfan1996

Active Member
SaLeone said:
That would be fantastic! I heard it will be closed for refurb until March 2nd.
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and it is. They are not only rehabbing main street station, but also the tracks at the roundhouse (as seen from world drive or whatever the road is that the backstage track crosses). also looks like they're doing signal work since I saw on 2/19 that the signal at fantasy land station was yellow over green. could also be something else that I'm not aware of, anybody care to enlighten me on this?
 
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Disneyrailfan1996

Active Member
Well it's past March 3rd, and there's no trains yet. The cast brochure says it's been extended through mid march. No idea why. tracks are complete backstage, and even have a photo of the maintenance vehicle on 2/27! On my way to work on 3/03, something caught my eye outside the shed. An axle was apparently dropped from Roger's tender and is sitting outside. No clue why. Something must've raised a red flag during inspection though, as they wouldn't do that for no reason. Haven't seen mainstreet station so I'm not sure whether or not tarps are up. Signals are on though, so it seems like they're expecting to resume operations any day now. Either that, or it's possibly part of the refurb that's having the guys leave them on.
 

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Captain Barbossa

Captain Barbossa

Well-Known Member
Disneyrailfan1996 said:
Well it's past March 3rd, and there's no trains yet. The cast brochure says it's been extended through mid march. No idea why. tracks are complete backstage, and even have a photo of the maintenance vehicle on 2/27! On my way to work on 3/03, something caught my eye outside the shed. An axle was apparently dropped from Roger's tender and is sitting outside. No clue why. Something must've raised a red flag during inspection though, as they wouldn't do that for no reason. Haven't seen mainstreet station so I'm not sure whether or not tarps are up. Signals are on though, so it seems like they're expecting to resume operations any day now. Either that, or it's possibly part of the refurb that's having the guys leave them on.
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Yeah they are now saying March 11
 
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Disneyrailfan1996

Active Member
With the way they've refurbed the WDW railroad a few times now, I'm wondering why not the animal kingdom railroad? The track is 19 or 20 years old, so why not refurb that? Or would that interfere with the operation of rafiki's planet watch since it's only accessible via train?
 
Captain Barbossa

Captain Barbossa

Well-Known Member
Disneyrailfan1996 said:
With the way they've refurbed the WDW railroad a few times now, I'm wondering why not the animal kingdom railroad? The track is 19 or 20 years old, so why not refurb that? Or would that interfere with the operation of rafiki's planet watch since it's only accessible via train?
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I have to agree with you. I've never known of the Wildlife Express Train to be closed for refurb.
 
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Disneyrailfan1996

Active Member
At Magic kingdom right now, and guess what I saw? The trains are out and about for testing! I've caught Roy and Lilly out. Not sure why roger isn't out. Backstory: so I was watching Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress, and all of the sudden while I'm in the 40's I heard this hissing. I thought it was a sprinkler, but something inside me said it was a train. So I went around again to make sure I wasn't crazy, and sure enough is I'm in the 20's I hear <i> I think I can I think I can I think I can I think I can </i> and sure enough it was the sound of a train chugging past in back of the carousel. I then go to fantasyland station. The sign says that the railroad is in available. So I thought I was crazy, but I stuck around for a bit and I heard <i>we'rrrre here</i> and I thought that Roger got his old whistle back since he and Roy were the primary engines. Then I saw this green engine... it was the Lilly Belle! I KNEW I wasn't crazy! I KNEW IT! The first time in YEARS that I've seen her and she never looked better! I chased her along the walkway to tomorrowland as she left the circus, and she put on a good show! I later went over to the gate near the frontierland crossing since the 2 instances of chugging were different sounding, and then I heard this unfamiliar whistle thinking it was a new engine, and out from the trees came roy! Later on I caught both at Main Street. I've got videos of both, but I'll share some still images/screenshots from some of them after I get back from MK. What an AMAZING surprise! I didn't want to sit in on the view today, and I sorta regretted not going. But seeing the train testing? That was even better! It's rare to see them running empty and or for testing purposes! Glad I went to MK today!
 
Captain Barbossa

Captain Barbossa

Well-Known Member
Disneyrailfan1996 said:
At Magic kingdom right now, and guess what I saw? The trains are out and about for testing! I've caught Roy and Lilly out. Not sure why roger isn't out. Backstory: so I was watching Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress, and all of the sudden while I'm in the 40's I heard this hissing. I thought it was a sprinkler, but something inside me said it was a train. So I went around again to make sure I wasn't crazy, and sure enough is I'm in the 20's I hear <i> I think I can I think I can I think I can I think I can </i> and sure enough it was the sound of a train chugging past in back of the carousel. I then go to fantasyland station. The sign says that the railroad is in available. So I thought I was crazy, but I stuck around for a bit and I heard <i>we'rrrre here</i> and I thought that Roger got his old whistle back since he and Roy were the primary engines. Then I saw this green engine... it was the Lilly Belle! I KNEW I wasn't crazy! I KNEW IT! The first time in YEARS that I've seen her and she never looked better! I chased her along the walkway to tomorrowland as she left the circus, and she put on a good show! I later went over to the gate near the frontierland crossing since the 2 instances of chugging were different sounding, and then I heard this unfamiliar whistle thinking it was a new engine, and out from the trees came roy! Later on I caught both at Main Street. I've got videos of both, but I'll share some still images/screenshots from some of them after I get back from MK. What an AMAZING surprise! I didn't want to sit in on the view today, and I sorta regretted not going. But seeing the train testing? That was even better! It's rare to see them running empty and or for testing purposes! Glad I went to MK today!
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Did they put a new whistle on Roy? Just asking because you said that it sounded unfamiliar. Was he not using his Crosby?
 
Captain Barbossa

Captain Barbossa

Well-Known Member
Gwr said:
I do wonder about that, but it is possible that due to the fact it is diesel operated and much newer, it could require less maintenance.
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True, but they still have to close for refurb some point just like the WDWRR do to general federal railroad rules and regulations. And general track maintenance.
 
G

Gwr

New Member
Captain Barbossa said:
True, but they still have to close for refurb some point just like the WDWRR do to general federal railroad rules and regulations. And general track maintenance.
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The difference is that if the paperwork is filed for it to be a 'ride' rather than a transit system then the regulations are not as harsh. Also have you seen the state of some class threes?
 
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Disneyrailfan1996

Active Member
Captain Barbossa said:
Did they put a new whistle on Roy? Just asking because you said that it sounded unfamiliar. Was he not using his Crosby?
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I'm not quite sure whether or not it wasn't his Crosby. I've read somewhere that it was cracked and had a deep tone but it got fixed, but I also read somewhere that it's a new whistle. I may ask an engineer or conductor the next time I'm at MK.
 
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Disneyrailfan1996

Active Member
Captain Barbossa said:
Awesome photos!! You were lucky to see some test runs
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Oh, that's just an understatement! I've even caught the maintenance vehicle backstage plus a dropped axle in front of Roger's shed (no idea why that was, but it looked to be a tender axle), the tracks during the rebuild backstage, and even a tractor with walter's train! A perk of getting to work in MK - getting to see some rare sights of the trains! At the Illinois Railway Museum (not too far from my house in chicago), you can see rare pieces of equipment on display and running like Frisco 1630, the country's only operational Russian decapod (not the only decapod running, keep in mind strasburg has GWR #90, so it's just the only Russian), but these photos I've gotten really take the cake! Here's to hoping I can get some more rare shots of the railroad while I'm in Orlando! As of 3/10, the railroad has OFFICIALLY re-opened to guests! Was testing earlier in the day and through the afternoon, but around 6-6:30ish, when I come back from break, I saw Lilly with passengers onboard Roy's blue train! What an incredible turnaround time for the last test run to officially being open to guests! With all the action that's occurred around the railroad, I wonder what's next for MK! Hall of presidents is adding trump, but maybe we can look forward to a full blown peoplemover rehab or maybe buzz lightyear could get harder (I'm getting closer to galactic hero)! But back on the subject of the railroad, I'm glad they took the time to tear up the old track backstage and re-do it - they've replaced the rest of the original track on the line, so it's about time they replaced the aging 40 year old track!
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