Okay, so I got some scoop re: the WDWRR’s closure. Despite the railroad being closed, Lilly and Roy are fired up. Roy is done once a week when guests are gone, and Lilly is fired and run for a modified steam train tour whenever it goes out (which I believe is daily) and then put away after the tour group is brought back to fantasyland. Lilly is going to assume these duties until Walter comes back per a YouTube video description. Roy, however, sometimes you can smell that he was recently fired depending on what day you visit him. I’m guessing the smell lingers for a day or two after firing, but with no knowledge of when he is fired, it’s hard to say. On a side note Looking at his whistle, the valve says “Lunkenheimer” so at least the valve is a lunkenheimerthe. The whistle could be a lunkenheimer too, but I can’t confirm or deny it as I don’t see “lunkenheimer” or any other name othe whistle itself.
Then another question: why can’t they run the train backwards until they reopen it officially? 3 problems: 1) there’s not enough track (I will get to that in a bit), 2) there’s only Two locos and one is parked at Main Street (this sort of ties in with the missing track), and 3) as a CM told me when I asked if running the train backwards is possible, it’s not good for the springs and couplers. I was told they were damaged over time (how is anybody’s guess.)
as I mentioned earlier there’s track missing the only unaffected section of the route is Frontierland to Fantasyland. That said, Main Street is practically isolated. Per a map that I saw out in plain sight on Main Street: After the curve leaving Main Street until just before the Splash Mountain tunnel, there’s track missing. Next, Fantasyland to Main Street is the most segmented. obviously, there’s the construction on Tron, so there’s missing track there. After Tron and between the old arcade and Space Mountain, track is present, but behind the restrooms and Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress all the way up to a section of the beginning last curve, there’s track missing. Then, if I recall seeing in person correctly, there’s just a brief track section present that runs parallel to the new retention pond (not accounted for on the map) and then between there and somewhere before the bridge, there’s track missing. The map was seen in late august, and from my guess and from what I’ve been able to see, it’s likely still accurate.
hopefully this settles some curious minds and or keeps everyone anticipating the Railroad’s reopening! I may be doing a steam train tour next month, so I’ll be sure to post pictures if I go.
